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Toivola DM, Polari L, Schwerd T, Schlegel N, Strnad P. The keratin-desmosome scaffold of internal epithelia in health and disease - The plot is thickening. Curr Opin Cell Biol 2024; 86:102282. [PMID: 38000362 DOI: 10.1016/j.ceb.2023.102282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023]
Abstract
Keratin (K) intermediate filaments are attached to desmosomes and constitute the orchestrators of epithelial cell and tissue architecture. While their relevance in the epidermis is well recognized, our review focuses on their emerging importance in internal epithelia. The significance of keratin-desmosome scaffolds (KDSs) in the intestine is highlighted by transgenic mouse models and individuals with inflammatory bowel disease who display profound KDS alterations. In lung, high K8 expression defines a transitional cell subset during regeneration, and K8 variants are associated with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Inherited variants in desmosomal proteins are overrepresented in idiopathic lung fibrosis, and familiar eosinophilic esophagitis. K18 serum fragments are established hepatocellular injury markers that correlate with the extent of histological inflammation. K17 expression is modified in multiple tumors, and K17 levels might be of prognostic relevance. These data should spur further studies on biological roles of these versatile tissue protectors and efforts on their therapeutic targeting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana M Toivola
- Cell Biology, Biosciences and InFLAMES Research Flagship Center, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland.
| | - Lauri Polari
- Cell Biology, Biosciences and InFLAMES Research Flagship Center, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland
| | - Tobias Schwerd
- Department of Pediatrics, Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80337 Munich, Germany
| | - Nicolas Schlegel
- Department of General, Visceral, Transplant, Vascular and Pediatric Surgery, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Pavel Strnad
- Department of Internal Medicine III, University Hospital, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
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Windoffer R, Schwarz N, Yoon S, Piskova T, Scholkemper M, Stegmaier J, Bönsch A, Di Russo J, Leube R. Quantitative mapping of keratin networks in 3D. eLife 2022; 11:75894. [PMID: 35179484 PMCID: PMC8979588 DOI: 10.7554/elife.75894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2021] [Accepted: 02/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Mechanobiology requires precise quantitative information on processes taking place in specific 3D microenvironments. Connecting the abundance of microscopical, molecular, biochemical, and cell mechanical data with defined topologies has turned out to be extremely difficult. Establishing such structural and functional 3D maps needed for biophysical modeling is a particular challenge for the cytoskeleton, which consists of long and interwoven filamentous polymers coordinating subcellular processes and interactions of cells with their environment. To date, useful tools are available for the segmentation and modeling of actin filaments and microtubules but comprehensive tools for the mapping of intermediate filament organization are still lacking. In this work, we describe a workflow to model and examine the complete 3D arrangement of the keratin intermediate filament cytoskeleton in canine, murine, and human epithelial cells both, in vitro and in vivo. Numerical models are derived from confocal airyscan high-resolution 3D imaging of fluorescence-tagged keratin filaments. They are interrogated and annotated at different length scales using different modes of visualization including immersive virtual reality. In this way, information is provided on network organization at the subcellular level including mesh arrangement, density and isotropic configuration as well as details on filament morphology such as bundling, curvature, and orientation. We show that the comparison of these parameters helps to identify, in quantitative terms, similarities and differences of keratin network organization in epithelial cell types defining subcellular domains, notably basal, apical, lateral, and perinuclear systems. The described approach and the presented data are pivotal for generating mechanobiological models that can be experimentally tested.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reinhard Windoffer
- Institute of Molecular and Cellular Anatomy, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Nicole Schwarz
- Institute of Molecular and Cellular Anatomy, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Sungjun Yoon
- Institute of Molecular and Cellular Anatomy, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Teodora Piskova
- Institute of Molecular and Cellular Anatomy, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | | | - Johannes Stegmaier
- Institute of Imaging and Computer Vision, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Andrea Bönsch
- Visual Computing Institute, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Jacopo Di Russo
- Interdisciplinary Centre for Clinical Research, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Rudolf Leube
- Institute of Molecular and Cellular Anatomy, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
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Prechova M, Adamova Z, Schweizer AL, Maninova M, Bauer A, Kah D, Meier-Menches SM, Wiche G, Fabry B, Gregor M. Plectin-mediated cytoskeletal crosstalk controls cell tension and cohesion in epithelial sheets. J Biophys Biochem Cytol 2022; 221:212995. [PMID: 35139142 PMCID: PMC8932528 DOI: 10.1083/jcb.202105146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Revised: 12/07/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The coordinated interplay of cytoskeletal networks critically determines tissue biomechanics and structural integrity. Here, we show that plectin, a major intermediate filament-based cytolinker protein, orchestrates cortical cytoskeletal networks in epithelial sheets to support intercellular junctions. By combining CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing and pharmacological inhibition, we demonstrate that in an F-actin-dependent context, plectin is essential for the formation of the circumferential keratin rim, organization of radial keratin spokes, and desmosomal patterning. In the absence of plectin-mediated cytoskeletal cross-linking, the aberrant keratin-desmosome (DSM)-network feeds back to the actin cytoskeleton, which results in elevated actomyosin contractility. Also, by complementing a predictive mechanical model with Förster resonance energy transfer-based tension sensors, we provide evidence that in the absence of cytoskeletal cross-linking, major intercellular junctions (adherens junctions and DSMs) are under intrinsically generated tensile stress. Defective cytoarchitecture and tensional disequilibrium result in reduced intercellular cohesion, associated with general destabilization of plectin-deficient sheets upon mechanical stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Prechova
- Laboratory of Integrative Biology, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Zuzana Adamova
- Laboratory of Integrative Biology, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.,Department of Physiology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Anna-Lena Schweizer
- Department of Quantitative Cell Biology, Institute of Molecular Cell Biology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Miloslava Maninova
- Laboratory of Integrative Biology, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Andreas Bauer
- Department of Physics, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Delf Kah
- Department of Physics, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | | | - Gerhard Wiche
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ben Fabry
- Department of Physics, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Martin Gregor
- Laboratory of Integrative Biology, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
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Kolb P, Schundner A, Frick M, Gottschalk KE. In Vitro Measurements of Cellular Forces and their Importance in the Lung-From the Sub- to the Multicellular Scale. Life (Basel) 2021; 11:691. [PMID: 34357063 PMCID: PMC8307149 DOI: 10.3390/life11070691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2021] [Revised: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Throughout life, the body is subjected to various mechanical forces on the organ, tissue, and cellular level. Mechanical stimuli are essential for organ development and function. One organ whose function depends on the tightly connected interplay between mechanical cell properties, biochemical signaling, and external forces is the lung. However, altered mechanical properties or excessive mechanical forces can also drive the onset and progression of severe pulmonary diseases. Characterizing the mechanical properties and forces that affect cell and tissue function is therefore necessary for understanding physiological and pathophysiological mechanisms. In recent years, multiple methods have been developed for cellular force measurements at multiple length scales, from subcellular forces to measuring the collective behavior of heterogeneous cellular networks. In this short review, we give a brief overview of the mechanical forces at play on the cellular level in the lung. We then focus on the technological aspects of measuring cellular forces at many length scales. We describe tools with a subcellular resolution and elaborate measurement techniques for collective multicellular units. Many of the technologies described are by no means restricted to lung research and have already been applied successfully to cells from various other tissues. However, integrating the knowledge gained from these multi-scale measurements in a unifying framework is still a major future challenge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Kolb
- Institute of Experimental Physics, Ulm University, 89069 Ulm, Germany;
| | - Annika Schundner
- Institute of General Physiology, Ulm University, 89069 Ulm, Germany;
| | - Manfred Frick
- Institute of General Physiology, Ulm University, 89069 Ulm, Germany;
| | - Kay-E. Gottschalk
- Institute of Experimental Physics, Ulm University, 89069 Ulm, Germany;
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