Juan M. Hurle

Analysis of the molecular cascade responsible for mesodermal limb chondrogenesis: sox genes and BMP signaling

Here, we have studied how Sox genes and BMP signaling are functionally coupled during limb chondrogenesis. Using the experimental model of TGFbeta1-induced interdigital digits, we dissect the sequence of morphological and molecular events during in vivo chondrogenesis. Our results show that Sox8 and Sox9 are the most precocious markers of limb cartilage, and their induction is independent and precedes the activation of BMP signaling. Sox10 appears also to cooperate with Sox9 and Sox8 in the establishment of the digit cartilages. In addition, we show that experimental induction of Sox gene expression in the interdigital mesoderm is accompanied by loss of the apoptotic response to exogenous BMPs. L-Sox5 and Sox6 are respectively induced coincident and after the expression of Bmpr1b in the prechondrogenic aggregate, and their activation correlates with the induction of Type II Collagen and Aggrecan genes in the differentiating cartilages. The expression of Bmpr1b precedes the appearance of morphological changes in the prechondrogenic aggregate and establishes a landmark from which the maintenance of the expression of all Sox genes and the progress of cartilage differentiation becomes dependent on BMPs. Moreover, we show that Ventroptin precedes Noggin in the modulation of BMP activity in the developing cartilages. In summary, our findings suggest that Sox8, Sox9, and Sox10 have a cooperative function conferring chondrogenic competence to limb mesoderm in response to BMP signals. In turn, BMPs in concert with Sox9, Sox6, and L-Sox5 would be responsible for the execution and maintenance of the cartilage differentiation program.

Transforming Growth Factors β Coordinate Cartilage and Tendon Differentiation in the Developing Limb Mesenchyme

Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) signaling has an increasing interest in regenerative medicine as a potential tool to repair cartilages, however the chondrogenic effect of this pathway in developing systems is controversial. Here we have analyzed the function of TGFβ signaling in the differentiation of the developing limb mesoderm in vivo and in high density micromass cultures. In these systems highest signaling activity corresponded with cells at stages preceding overt chondrocyte differentiation. Interestingly treatments with TGFβs shifted the differentiation outcome of the cultures from chondrogenesis to fibrogenesis. This phenotypic reprogramming involved down-regulation of Sox9 and Aggrecan and up-regulation of Scleraxis, and Tenomodulin through the Smad pathway. We further show that TGFβ signaling up-regulates Sox9 in the in vivo experimental model system in which TGFβ treatments induce ectopic chondrogenesis. Looking for clues explaining the dual role of TGFβ signaling, we found that TGFβs appear to be direct inducers of the chondrogenic gene Sox9, but the existence of transcriptional repressors of TGFβ signaling modulates this role. We identified TGF-interacting factor Tgif1 and SKI-like oncogene SnoN as potential candidates for this inhibitory function. Tgif1 gene regulation by TGFβ signaling correlated with the differential chondrogenic and fibrogenic effects of this pathway, and its expression pattern in the limb marks the developing tendons. In functional experiments we found that Tgif1 reproduces the profibrogenic effect of TGFβ treatments.

Retinoic acid regulates programmed cell death through BMP signalling

rogrammed cell death by apoptosis is one of the major driving forces that shape and pattern the organs and tissues of a developing embryo. One of the best model systems for the study of apoptosis is the interdigital cell death (INZ) that occurs during the outgrowth of the vertebrate limb. However, although much has been learned about the cells involved in this process, the molecular mechanisms underlying INZ remain unclear. Retinoic acid (RA) and bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are two of the signalling components known to be involved in INZ. However, the exact relationships between these two factors in controlling cell death remain unknown. Here we show that RA can control INZ by promoting BMP gene expression and simultaneously repressing the chondrogenic potential of BMPs. We found that RA-soaked beads implanted in the interdigital regions of the chick limb bud promoted apoptosis before the onset of physiological INZ (assessed by neutral red vital staining and TUNEL assay; Fig. 1a–c). Furthermore, interdigital web regression was accelerated (Fig. 1d,e). These effects were preceded by upregulation of different members of the BMP gene family (bmp-7, Fig. 1f,g and bmp-4, not shown). In accordance with these findings, the P

Developmental Patterning of the Vertebrate Limb

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Bone Morphogenetic Proteins Regulate Interdigital Cell Death in the Avian Embryo

The embryonic limb bud provides an excellent model for analyzing the mechanisms that regulate programmed cell death during development. At the time of digit formation in the developing autopod, the undifferentiated distal mesodermal cells may undergo or chondrogenic differentiation or apoptosis depending whether they are incorporated into the future digital rays or into the interdigital spaces. Both chondrogenesis or apoptosis are induced by local BMPS. However, whereas the chondrogenic‐promoting activity of BMPs appears to be regulated through the BMPR‐ 1b receptor, the mechanism by which the BMPs execute the death program remains unknown. The BMP proapoptotic activity requires the expression of members of the msx family of closely related homeobox‐containing genes and is finally mediated by caspase activation, but the nature of the caspase(s) directly responsible for the cell death is also unknown. Finally, other growth factors present in the developing autopod at the stages of digit formation such as members of the FGF and TGFβ families modulate the ability of BMPs to induce cell death or chondrogenesis.

Activin/TGFβ and BMP crosstalk determines digit chondrogenesis

The progress zone (PZ) is a specialized area at the distal margin of the developing limb where mesodermal cells are kept in proliferation and undifferentiated, allowing limb outgrowth. At stages of digit morphogenesis the PZ cells can undergo two possible fates, either aggregate initiating chondrogenic differentiation to configure the digit blastemas, or to die by apoptosis if they are incorporated in the interdigital mesenchyme. While both processes are controlled by bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) the molecular basis for such contrasting differential behavior of the autopodial mesoderm remains unknown. Here we show that a well-defined crescent domain of high BMP activity located at the tip of the forming digits, which we termed the digit crescent (DC), directs incorporation and differentiation of the PZ mesenchymal cells into the digit aggregates. The presence of this domain does not correlate with an exclusive expression domain of BMP receptors and its abrogation by surgical approaches or by local application of BMP antagonists is followed by digit truncation and cell death. We further show that establishment of the DC is directed by Activin/TGFbeta signaling, which inhibits Smad 6 and Bambi, two specific BMP antagonists expressed in the interdigits and progress zone mesoderm. The interaction between Activin/TGFbeta and BMP pathways at the level of DC promotes the expression of the chondrogenic factor SOX9 accompanied by a local decrease in cell proliferation. Characteristically, the DC domain is asymmetric, it being extended towards the posterior interdigit. The presence of the DC is transitorily dependent of the adjacent posterior interdigit and its maintenance requires also the integrity of the AER.

IMMUNOHISTOLOGICAL AND ULTRASTRUCTURAL STUDY OF THE DEVELOPING TENDONS OF THE AVIAN FOOT

The aim of the present report is to provide a detailed description of the morphogenesis and initial differentiation of the long tendons of the chick foot, the long autopodial tendons (LAT), from day 6 to day 11 of development. The fine structure of the developing LAT was studied by light and transmission electron microscopy. The characterization by immunofluorescent techniques of the extracellular matrix was performed using laser scanning confocal (tenascin, elastin, fibrillin, emilin, collagen type I, II, III, IV and VI) or routine fluorescence (tenascin, 13F4) microscopy. In addition, cell proliferation in pretendinous blastemas was analyzed by the detection of BrdU incorporation by immunofluorescence. The light microscopic analysis permitted the identification of different stages during LAT morphogenesis. The first stage is the formation of a thick ectoderm-mesenchyme interface along the digital rays, followed by the differentiation of the “mesenchyme lamina”, an extracellular matrix tendon precursor, and ending with the formation and differentiation of the cellular condensation that forms the tendon blastema around this lamina. The immunofluorescence study revealed the presence and arrangement of the different molecules analyzed. Tenascin and collagen type VI are precocious markers of the developing tendons and remain present during the whole process of tendon formation. Collagen type I becomes mainly restricted to the developing tendons from day 7.5. Collagens type II and IV are never detected in the developing tendons, while a faint labeling for collagen type III is first detected at day 7. The analysis of the distribution of the elastic matrix components in the developing tendons is a major contribution of our study. Elastin was detected in the periphery of the tendons from day 8 and also in fibrils anchoring the tendons to the skeletal elements. At the same stage, emilin strongly stains the core of the tendon rods, while fibrillin is detected a little later. Our study indicates the existence of an ectoderm-mesoderm interaction at the first stage of tendon formation. In addition, our results show the different spatial and temporal pattern of distribution of extracellular matrix molecules in developing tendons. Of special importance are the findings concerning the tendinous elastic matrix and its possible role in tendon maturation and stabilization.

IN VIVO INHIBITION OF PROGRAMMED CELL DEATH BY LOCAL ADMINISTRATION OF FGF-2 AND FGF-4 IN THE INTERDIGITAL AREAS OF THE EMBRYONIC CHICK LEG BUD

The formation of the digits in amniote vertebrates is accompanied by a massive degeneration process that accounts for the disappearance of the interdigital mesenchyme. The establishment of these areas of interdigital cell death (INZs) is concomitant with the flattening of the apical ectodermal ridge (AER), but a possible causal relationship between these processes has not been demonstrated. Recent studies have shown that the function of the AER can be substituted for by implantation of beads bearing either FGF-2 or FGF-4 into the apical mesoderm of the early limb bud. According to these observations, if the onset of INZs is triggered by the cessation of the AER function, local administration of FGFs to the interdigital tissue prior to cell death should delay or inhibit interdigit degeneration. In the present study we have confirmed this prediction. Implanting Affi-gel blue or heparin beads pre-absorbed with either FGF-2 or FGF-4 into the interdigital tissue of the chick leg bud in the stages prior to cell death stimulates cell proliferation and causes the formation of webbed digits. Vital staining with neutral red confirmed an intense temporal inhibition of interdigital cell death after FGF treatment. This inhibition of interdigital cell death was not accompanied by modifications in the pattern of expression of Msx-1 or Msx-2 genes, which in normal development display a domain of expression in the interdigital tissue preceding the onset of degeneration.

Sculpturing digit shape by cell death

Physiological cell death is a key mechanism that ensures appropriate development and maintenance of tissues and organs in multicellular organisms. Most structures in the vertebrate embryo exhibit defined areas of cell death at precise stages of development. In this regard the areas of interdigital cell death during limb development provide a paradigmatic model of massive cell death with an evident morphogenetic role in digit morphogenesis. Physiological cell death has been proposed to occur by apoptosis, cellular phenomena genetically controlled to orchestrate cell suicide following two main pathways, cytochrome C liberation from the mitochondria or activation of death receptors. Such pathways converge in the activation of cysteine proteases known as caspases, which execute the cell death program, leading to typical morphologic changes within the cell, termed apoptosis. According to these findings it would be expected that caspases loss of function experiments could cause inhibition of interdigital cell death promoting syndactyly phenotypes. A syndactyly phenotype is characterized by absence of digit freeing during development that, when caused by absence of interdigital cell death, is accompanied by the persistence of an interdigital membrane. However this situation has not been reported in any of the KO mice or chicken loss of function experiments ever performed. Moreover histological analysis of dying cells within the interdigit reveals the synchronic occurrence of different types of cell death. All these findings are indicative of caspase alternative and/or complementary mechanisms responsible for physiological interdigital cell death. Characterization of alternative cell death pathways is required to explain vertebrate morphogenesis. Today there is great interest in cell death via autophagy, which could substitute or act synergistically to the apoptotic pathway. Here we discuss what is known about physiological cell death in the developing interdigital tissue of vertebrate embryos, paying special attention to the avian species.

Experimental analysis of the in vivo chondrogenic potential of the interdigital mesenchyme of the chick leg bud subjected to local ectodermal removal

Current in vitro investigations suggest that ectoderm plays a major role in limb morphogenesis by producing a diffusible factor which inhibits the chondrogenesis of the underlying mesenchyme. In the present work we report evidence supporting such an ectodermal role in vivo. Surgical removal of the marginal ectoderm from the third interdigit of chick leg buds at stages 27 to 30 induces the formation of PNA-positive prechondrogenic mesenchymal condensations 15 hr after the operation. The incidence of prechondrogenic condensations achieved 47, 95.2, and 92.8 of the experimental embryos of stages 27, 28, and 29, respectively. This high rate of prechondrogenic aggregate formation contrasted with a lower incidence of ectopic cartilage formation detectable by Alcian blue staining 40 hr after the operation. The sequential analysis of the experimental interdigits by means of peanut lectin labeling suggests that a number of prechondrogenic condensations undergo disaggregation 20 and 30 hr after the operation failing to form fully differentiated cartilages. When ectoderm removal was accompanied by the elimination of a variable amount of interdigital mesenchyme the incidence of prechondrogenic aggregates showed little differences but the formation of fully differentiated cartilages was reduced at a rate proportional to the amount of interdigital mesenchyme removed. From this study it can be concluded that the ectoderm in vivo appears to inhibit the process of aggregation of the mesenchymal cells to form prechondrogenic condensations. Furthermore our results suggest that as observed in vitro (C. P. Cotrill, C. Archer, and L. Wolpert, 1987, Dev. Biol. 122, 503-515) the transformation of prechondrogenic aggregates into fully differentiated cartilage requires the involvement of a critical amount of mesenchymal cells.