Bradley B. Olwin

Requirement of heparan sulfate for bFGF-mediated fibroblast growth and myoblast differentiation.

Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) binds to heparan sulfate proteoglycans at the cell surface and to receptors with tyrosine kinase activity. Prevention of binding between cell surface heparan sulfate and bFGF (i) substantially reduces binding of fibroblast growth factor to its cell-surface receptors, (ii) blocks the ability of bFGF to support the growth of Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts, and (iii) induces terminal differentiation of MM14 skeletal muscle cells, which is normally repressed by fibroblast growth factor. These results indicate that cell surface heparan sulfate is directly involved in bFGF cell signaling.

p38 MAPK signaling underlies a cell-autonomous loss of stem cell self-renewal in skeletal muscle of aged mice

Skeletal muscle aging results in a gradual loss of skeletal muscle mass, skeletal muscle function and regenerative capacity, which can lead to sarcopenia and increased mortality. Although the mechanisms underlying sarcopenia remain unclear, the skeletal muscle stem cell, or satellite cell, is required for muscle regeneration. Therefore, identification of signaling pathways affecting satellite cell function during aging may provide insights into therapeutic targets for combating sarcopenia. Here, we show that a cell-autonomous loss in self-renewal occurs via alterations in fibroblast growth factor receptor-1, p38α and p38β mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling in satellite cells from aged mice. We further demonstrate that pharmacological manipulation of these pathways can ameliorate age-associated self-renewal defects. Thus, our data highlight an age-associated deregulation of a satellite cell homeostatic network and reveal potential therapeutic opportunities for the treatment of progressive muscle wasting.

Reciprocal inhibition between Pax7 and muscle regulatory factors modulates myogenic cell fate determination

Postnatal growth and regeneration of skeletal muscle requires a population of resident myogenic precursors named satellite cells. The transcription factor Pax7 is critical for satellite cell biogenesis and survival and has been also implicated in satellite cell self-renewal; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Previously, we showed that Pax7 overexpression in adult primary myoblasts down-regulates MyoD and prevents myogenin induction, inhibiting myogenesis. We show that Pax7 prevents muscle differentiation independently of its transcriptional activity, affecting MyoD function. Conversely, myogenin directly affects Pax7 expression and may be critical for Pax7 down-regulation in differentiating cells. Our results provide evidence for a cross-inhibitory interaction between Pax7 and members of the muscle regulatory factor family. This could represent an additional mechanism for the control of satellite cell fate decisions resulting in proliferation, differentiation, and self-renewal, necessary for skeletal muscle maintenance and repair.

Syndecan-4 Expressing Muscle Progenitor Cells in the SP Engraft as Satellite Cells During Muscle Regeneration

Skeletal muscle satellite cells, located between the basal lamina and plasma membrane of myofibers, are required for skeletal muscle regeneration. The capacity of satellite cells as well as other cell lineages including mesoangioblasts, mesenchymal stem cells, and side population (SP) cells to contribute to muscle regeneration has complicated the identification of a satellite stem cell. We have characterized a rare subset of the muscle SP that efficiently engrafts into the host satellite cell niche when transplanted into regenerating muscle, providing 75% of the satellite cell population and 30% of the myonuclear population, respectively. These cells are found in the satellite cell position, adhere to isolated myofibers, and spontaneously undergo myogenesis in culture. We propose that this subset of SP cells (satellite-SP cells), characterized by ABCG2, Syndecan-4, and Pax7 expression, constitutes a self-renewing muscle stem cell capable of generating both satellite cells and their myonuclear progeny in vivo.

Genesis of olfactory receptor neurons in vitro: Regulation of progenitor cell divisions by fibroblast growth factors

Olfactory receptor neurons are produced continuously in mammalian olfactory epithelium in vivo, but in explant cultures neurogenesis ceases abruptly. We show that in vitro neurogenesis is prolonged by fibroblast growth factors (FGFs), which act in two ways. FGFs increase the likelihood that immediate neuronal precursors (INPs) divide twice, rather than once, before generating neurons; this action requires exposure of INPs to FGFs by early G1. FGFs also cause a distinct subpopulation of explants to generate large numbers of neurons continually for at least several days. The data suggest that FGFs delay differentiation of a committed neuronal transit amplifying cell (the INP) and support proliferation or survival of a rare cell, possibly a stem cell, that acts as a progenitor to INPs.

The p38α/β MAPK functions as a molecular switch to activate the quiescent satellite cell

Somatic stem cells cycle slowly or remain quiescent until required for tissue repair and maintenance. Upon muscle injury, stem cells that lie between the muscle fiber and basal lamina (satellite cells) are activated, proliferate, and eventually differentiate to repair the damaged muscle. Satellite cells in healthy muscle are quiescent, do not express MyoD family transcription factors or cell cycle regulatory genes and are insulated from the surrounding environment. Here, we report that the p38α/β family of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) reversibly regulates the quiescent state of the skeletal muscle satellite cell. Inhibition of p38α/β MAPKs (a) promotes exit from the cell cycle, (b) prevents differentiation, and (c) insulates the cell from most external stimuli allowing the satellite cell to maintain a quiescent state. Activation of satellite cells and p38α/β MAPKs occurs concomitantly, providing further support that these MAPKs function as a molecular switch for satellite cell activation.

Identification of a cysteine-rich receptor for fibroblast growth factors.

The fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family consists of seven members whose activities are thought to be mediated by multiple receptors. Here we describe the cDNA cloning, expression, and characterization of a cysteine-rich FGF receptor (CFR) that is distinct from previously identified FGF receptors. The deduced amino acid sequence for CFR suggests that it is an integral membrane protein containing a large extracellular domain comprising 16 cysteine-rich repeated units and an intracellular domain of 13 amino acids. No reported sequences exhibit significant homologies to either the repeated extracellular motif or to the entire CFR amino acid sequence. Several CFR transcripts are present in embryonic chick tissue, suggesting that CFR undergoes alternate mRNA splicing or that related genes are present. Chinese hamster ovary cells transfected with the CFR cDNA express a 150-kDa polypeptide that binds FGF-1, FGF-2, and FGF-4 but does not bind several non-FGF family members. The high degree of evolutionary conservation among vertebrate CFRs and its ability to bind three different FGFs with high affinity suggest that this unique receptor plays an important role in FGF biology.

[11] Regulation by heparan sulfate in fibroblast growth factor signaling

Abstract The integral role of heparan sulfate proteoglycans in FGF signaling provides a potential means of regulating FGF activity. This regulation may be used by the cell, where the modification of heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycans during their synthesis in the Golgi can produce cell type- and potentially ligand-specific sulfation sequences. The description of these sequences will not only provide information on how this regulation is achieved, perhaps lending insight into other heparan sulfate-ligand interactions, but may also discern sulfated mimetics that can be used to disrupt or alter FGF signaling. These mimetics may be useful in the treatment of disease, or in understanding how FGF signaling via discrete pathways within the cell leads to specific cellular responses, such as activation of mitogenic signaling pathways, calcium fluxes, and cellular differentiation.

Fibroblast growth factor levels in the whole embryo and limb bud during chick development

A growth factor with properties very similar to fibroblast growth factor (FGF) was detected in the yolk and white of unfertilized chick eggs, and in the limb bud and bodies of Day 2.5 (stage 18)-13 chick embryos using two complementary and highly sensitive biological assays-competition of 125I-a-FGF binding to the FGF receptors of 3T3 cells and stimulation of DNA synthesis in MM14 cells, a permanent mouse skeletal muscle cell line that is dependent upon FGF for proliferation. Further evidence of the similarity of this growth factor to FGF is provided by the finding that biological activity is lost when the material is bound to a heparin-Sepharose column and restored upon elution with 2.5 M NaCl; the 2.5 M NaCl fraction from Day 12 embryos contains several polypeptides of apparent molecular weights 12,500-17,500. The level of FGF in the embryonic chick body is fairly constant between Days 2.5 and 6 (stages 18-29), ranging between 1 and 2 ng FGF/mg protein; but thereafter the level increases so that by Day 13 the body contains about 15 ng FGF/mg protein. In contrast, the level of FGF in the limb but is higher than that in the rest of the body until Day 5 (stage 27); it then undergoes a transient decrease between Days 6 and 7, after which it increases but remains below the level observed in the remainder of the body.

Prevention of Muscle Aging by Myofiber-Associated Satellite Cell Transplantation

Transplantation of myofibers and associated stem cells into injured muscle protects against age-related muscle degeneration in mice. Perpetually Powerful Muscles It is plain from the biceps of any bodybuilder that muscles can show startling growth—except when they do not. Patients with muscular dystrophies or the frail elderly could benefit from some of the bodybuilder’s myofiber hypertrophy. In an effort to understand the process by which muscles become weak with age and how that might be reversed, Hall et al. have harnessed the power of muscle stem cells. By augmenting the stem cell supply early in the life of mice through transplantation of myofibers and their companion satellite stem cells, they are able to prevent the age-related wasting of muscle. The key to muscle regeneration in adulthood is the satellite cell, stem cells that reside just outside each myofiber, below the basement membrane. These cells divide and contribute myoblasts to build young muscle and, although usually quiescent in adults, they regenerate muscle damaged from injury or disease. The authors found that if they transplanted intact myofibers, with their associated satellite cells, into young 3-month-old mice whose muscles had been injured (by BaCl2 or cardiotoxin), the mice did not experience the usual age-related decrease in muscle mass and strength 21 months later. When the authors investigated why this occurred, they found that many of the transplanted cells fused to form new myofibers, as revealed by incorporation into myofibers of a green fluorescent protein (GFP) marking the donor cells. In addition, there was a large increase in the number of satellite cells, a result of engraftment and proliferation of these cells from the donor. The excess satellite cells continuously supplied new nuclei to the myofibers so that by 21 months after transplantation, the GFP-positive myofibers were larger than the myofibers derived from the hosts’ own satellite cells. These hypertrophied myofibers, derived from self-renewing donor satellite cells, conferred on these aged muscles youthful mass, force, and allotment of fast twitch fibers. The authors attribute their success in slowing down the clock for these mouse muscles to the manipulation of two critical aspects of satellite cell biology. By injuring the host muscle, they created a general tissue environment in which satellite cell engraftment and function is activated. And, second, by supplying the donor satellite cells still in their intact niches on the donor myofiber, they ensured that the satellite cells were competent to respond. Although what happens in aging muscle to cause the loss of satellite cell function is not clear, the conditions enforced on the young muscles in this study reverse this process or allow the aging muscle to compensate. A better understanding of the hormonal or cellular interactions that allow this to take place will facilitate the use of transplanted stem cells in the treatment of muscular disease and the disability that accompanies the weakened muscles in the elderly. Skeletal muscle is dynamic, adapting to environmental needs, continuously maintained, and capable of extensive regeneration. These hallmarks diminish with age, resulting in a loss of muscle mass, reduced regenerative capacity, and decreased functionality. Although the mechanisms responsible for this decline are unclear, complex changes within the local and systemic environment that lead to a reduction in regenerative capacity of skeletal muscle stem cells, termed satellite cells, are believed to be responsible. We demonstrate that engraftment of myofiber-associated satellite cells, coupled with an induced muscle injury, markedly alters the environment of young adult host muscle, eliciting a near-lifelong enhancement in muscle mass, stem cell number, and force generation. The abrogation of age-related atrophy appears to arise from an increased regenerative capacity of the donor stem cells, which expand to occupy both myonuclei in myofibers and the satellite cell niche. Further, these cells have extensive self-renewal capabilities, as demonstrated by serial transplantation. These near-lifelong, physiological changes suggest an approach for the amelioration of muscle atrophy and diminished function that arise with aging through myofiber-associated satellite cell transplantation.