| 1. |
- Aase, Karin, et al.
(författare)
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Angiomotin regulates endothelial cell migration during embryonic angiogenesis
- 2007
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Ingår i: Genes & Development. - : Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. - 0890-9369 .- 1549-5477. ; 21:16, s. 2055-2068
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The development of the embryonic vascular system into a highly ordered network requires precise control over the migration and branching of endothelial cells (ECs). We have previously identified angiomotin (Amot) as a receptor for the angiogenesis inhibitor angiostatin. Furthermore, DNA vaccination targeting Amot inhibits angiogenesis and tumor growth. However, little is known regarding the role of Amot in physiological angiogenesis. We therefore investigated the role of Amot in embryonic neovascularization during zebrafish and mouse embryogenesis. Here we report that knockdown of Amot in zebrafish reduced the number of filopodia of endothelial tip cells and severely impaired the migration of intersegmental vessels. We further show that 75% of Amot knockout mice die between embryonic day 11 (E11) and E11.5 and exhibit severe vascular insufficiency in the intersomitic region as well as dilated vessels in the brain. Furthermore, using ECs differentiated from embryonic stem (ES) cells, we demonstrate that Amot-deficient cells have intact response to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in regard to differentiation and proliferation. However, the chemotactic response to VEGF was abolished in Amot-deficient cells. We provide evidence that Amot is important for endothelial polarization during migration and that Amot controls Rac1 activity in endothelial and epithelial cells. Our data demonstrate a critical role for Amot during vascular patterning and endothelial polarization.
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| 2. |
- Ali, Zaheer, et al.
(författare)
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Intussusceptive Vascular Remodeling Precedes Pathological Neovascularization
- 2019
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Ingår i: Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology. - : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. - 1079-5642 .- 1524-4636. ; 39:7, s. 1402-1418
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective—Pathological neovascularization is crucial for progression and morbidity of serious diseases such as cancer, diabetic retinopathy, and age-related macular degeneration. While mechanisms of ongoing pathological neovascularization have been extensively studied, the initiating pathological vascular remodeling (PVR) events, which precede neovascularization remains poorly understood. Here, we identify novel molecular and cellular mechanisms of preneovascular PVR, by using the adult choriocapillaris as a model.Approach and Results—Using hypoxia or forced overexpression of VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) in the subretinal space to induce PVR in zebrafish and rats respectively, and by analyzing choriocapillaris membranes adjacent to choroidal neovascular lesions from age-related macular degeneration patients, we show that the choriocapillaris undergo robust induction of vascular intussusception and permeability at preneovascular stages of PVR. This PVR response included endothelial cell proliferation, formation of endothelial luminal processes, extensive vesiculation and thickening of the endothelium, degradation of collagen fibers, and splitting of existing extravascular columns. RNA-sequencing established a role for endothelial tight junction disruption, cytoskeletal remodeling, vesicle- and cilium biogenesis in this process. Mechanistically, using genetic gain- and loss-of-function zebrafish models and analysis of primary human choriocapillaris endothelial cells, we determined that HIF (hypoxia-induced factor)-1α-VEGF-A-VEGFR2 signaling was important for hypoxia-induced PVR.Conclusions—Our findings reveal that PVR involving intussusception and splitting of extravascular columns, endothelial proliferation, vesiculation, fenestration, and thickening is induced before neovascularization, suggesting that identifying and targeting these processes may prevent development of advanced neovascular disease in the future.Visual Overview—An online visual overview is available for this article.
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| 3. |
- Blust, Kelly, 1993-, et al.
(författare)
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Integration of stem cell-derived pancreatic aggregates into FN-silk network for in vitro cultivation and in vivo transplantation
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Type 1 diabetes is a life-threatening disease characterized by lifelong insulin dependency and a reduced quality of life. Pancreatic islet transplantation is a promising treatment but is limited by donor shortages and significant islet loss during the procedures. The usage of pancreatic islet-like aggregates derived from pluripotent stem cells (SC-islets) could solve the problem of shortage of islets. Incorporating these SC-islets into a supporting scaffold could protect them during handling.FN-silk, a recombinantly produced spider silk protein functionalized with a cell adhesion motif from fibronectin, can generate 3D networks that mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM). We herein demonstrate a reproducible method for integrating SC-islets well-distributed within stable 3D networks of FN-silk. These SC-islets showed high viability and maintained functionality, with increased glucagon expression and improved beta cell maturation as compared to free SC-islets. Additionally, the support of FN-silk networks enables cultivation of SC-islets under conditions needed for scale-up. Moreover, the integration of the SC-islets into sheets of FN-silk networks facilitates handling during transplantation into the anterior chamber of the eye (ACE) of rabbits. Such transplanted FN-silk incorporated SC-islets were found vascularized six weeks post-transplantation, with sustained insulin and glucagon expression.
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| 4. |
- Karlsson, Markus
(författare)
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Oxidative stress-related damage of retinal pigment epithelial cells : possible protective properties of autophagocytosed iron-binding proteins
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Oxidative stress is a major pathogenic factor in the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is the most common cause of severe central visual impairment in the elderly population in the western world.It is believed that the degenerative process starts in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). The post-mitotic RPE is a single layer of pigmented cells located behind the photoreceptors – rods and cones – of the retina. Daily, the RPE cells phagocytose and recycle the expended tips of the photoreceptor outer segments. This heavy phagocytic burden leads to substantial oxidative stress in the cells, which is further enhanced by intense illumination and a high oxygen tension. A hallmark of early AMD is a progressive build-up of the non-degradable age pigment lipofuscin (LF) in lysosomes of the RPE. LF accumulation hampers phagocytosis and autophagy in the RPE, resulting in increased amounts of cellular debris in and around the cells. This decreases the function and viability of both RPE cells and photoreceptors.Iron is known to accumulate in the retina with increasing age, particularly in AMDaffected eyes, and amplifies oxidative stress by acting as a potent catalyst in the generation of hydroxyl radicals. These highly reactive radicals contribute to LF formation and may, if abundantly present, also directly damage lysosomal membranes. The subsequent leakage of degrading enzymes to the cytosol initiates cell death via apoptosis or necrosis.In this thesis, we have investigated the oxidative stress response of human RPE (ARPE-19) cells compared to murine J774 cells, another type of lysosome-rich cells with a high phagocytic capacity. The ARPE-19 cells were found to be extremely resistant to oxidative stress and tolerated exposure to single doses of H2O2 in concentrations up to 150 times higher than the J774 cells before lysosomal rupture and ensuing cell death occurred. This resistance was increased even further when the cells were protected with a potent iron chelator that prevents redox-active iron to participate in hydroxyl radical generation. Both cell lines were shown to be equally effective in degrading H2O2 and seem to contain comparable amounts of total as well as intralysosomal iron. Therefore, we reasoned that the insensitivity of ARPE-19 cells to H2O2 exposure might be related to a mechanism which keeps their intralysosomal iron bound in a non redox-active form. This theory was supported by our finding of very high basal expression levels of metallothionein (MT), heat shock-protein 70 (HSP70) and ferritin (FT) in ARPE-19 cells compared to J774 cells. All of these proteins have previously been shown to possess potent iron-binding properties. The ARPE-19 cells were also shown to have a higher basal rate of autophagy. SiRNA-mediated attenuation of MT, HSP70 and FT levels in the ARPE-19 cells resulted, to some degree, in an increased sensitivity to H2O2 treatment. Furthermore, a human cell stress array showed several other stress-related proteins to be up-regulated in ARPE-19 cells.Additionally, we evaluated the commonly used, but frequently misinterpreted, H2DCF test for oxidative stress. It was demonstrated that oxidation of H2DCF into fluorescent DCF mainly reflects relocation to the cytosol of lysosomal iron and mitochondrial cytochrome c, rather than being the result of some poorly defined “general” oxidative stress.In conclusion, our results indicate that the extreme resistance to oxidative stress exhibited by the ARPE-19 cells might be related to a high continuous autophagic influx of iron-binding proteins into the lysosomal compartment. Before being degraded, such proteins will temporarily keep intralysosomal iron bound in a non redox-active form, thereby inhibiting hydroxyl radical formation. This may partly explain why RPE cells, in spite of their exposed location and heavy burden of phagocytosis, usually manage to survive and evade significant LF accumulation until late in life.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Kilarski, Witold W., et al.
(författare)
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Biomechanical regulation of blood vessel growth during tissue vascularization
- 2009
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Ingår i: Nature Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1078-8956 .- 1546-170X. ; 15:6, s. 657-664
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Formation of new vessels in granulation tissue during wound healing has been assumed to occur solely through sprouting angiogenesis. In contrast, we show here that neovascularization can be accomplished by nonangiogenic expansion of preexisting vessels. Using neovascularization models based on the chick chorioallantoic membrane and the healing mouse cornea, we found that tissue tension generated by activated fibroblasts or myofibroblasts during wound contraction mediated and directed translocation of the vasculature. These mechanical forces pulled vessels from the preexisting vascular bed as vascular loops with functional circulation that expanded as an integral part of the growing granulation tissue through vessel enlargement and elongation. Blockade of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 confirmed that biomechanical forces were sufficient to mediate the initial vascular growth independently of endothelial sprouting or proliferation. The neovascular network was further remodeled by splitting, sprouting and regression of individual vessels. This model explains the rapid appearance of large functional vessels in granulation tissue during wound healing.
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| 7. |
- Lindqvist, Niclas
(författare)
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Neurotrophic Factor Receptors in the Normal and Injured Visual System : Focus on Retinal Ganglion Cells
- 2003
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The focus of this thesis is the life and death of adult retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). RGCs are neurons that convey visual information from the retina to higher centers in the brain. If the optic nerve is transected (ONT), adult RGCs die by a form of cell death called apoptosis, and a general hypothesis is that neurotrophic factors can support the survival of injured neurons.With the intention to gain knowledge about systems that can be used to decrease RGC death after ONT, we have studied growth factor receptors belonging to the tyrosine kinase family of receptors (RTK), known to mediate important cell survival signals. We found that the RTK Ret and its coreceptor GFRα1 were expressed by RGCs, and to test the above-mentioned hypothesis, we intraocularly administered glial cell-line derived factor, which activates a Ret-GFRα1 complex, and found transiently mediated RGC survival after ONT.To identify new, potential neurotrophic factor receptors expressed by RGCs, with the aim to improve RGC survival after ONT, we developed a method for the molecular analysis of acutely isolated RGCs. The method involves retrograde neuronal tracing, mechanical retinal layer-separation, and isolation of individual RGCs under UV-light for RT-PCR analysis. Using this method, in combination with degenerate PCR directed towards the tyrosine kinase domain, several RTKs were identified. Axl, Sky, VEGFR-2, VEGFR-3, CSF-1R, and PDGF-βR are expressed by adult RGCs, and considered to be receptors with potential neurotrophic activity. Other results have shown that RGCs may require depolarization or increase in intracellular cAMP levels in order to fully respond to exogenously added trophic factors. We found that melanocortin receptors (MCRs) were expressed by RGCs, and MCRs can mediate elevation of intracellular AMP. We observed that α-MSH induced neurite outgrowth from embryonic retinal cells, indicating that MCR ligands have direct effects on retinal cells. RTKs and their ligands may be involved in endogenous systems for neuronal repair within the visual system. BDNF, NT-3, FGF2, and HGFR all increased in the retina after ONT and may be a part of an activated system for neuronal repair locally within the retina.Adult axotomized RGCs die by apoptosis, therefore we examined the regulation of apoptotic genes after ONT. Bim and Bax increased in the retina after ONT, and may promote death of axotomized RGCs, whereas the increase in Bcl-2 may contribute to limit RGC apoptosis after ONT.All in all, this thesis provides insights into the expression and regulation of molecules involved in the death and survival of RGCs. The results have revealed a number of potential neurotrophic receptors expressed by RGCs, and both identified RTKs and MCRs will serve as new targets in therapeutic approaches aiming at counteraction of RGC death after injury.
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| 8. |
- Mohlin, Camilla, 1972-, et al.
(författare)
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A model to study complement involvement in experimental retinal degeneration
- 2018
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Ingår i: Upsala Journal of Medical Sciences. - : Taylor & Francis. - 0300-9734 .- 2000-1967. ; 123:1, s. 28-42
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The complement system (CS) plays a role in the pathogenesis of a number of ocular diseases, including diabetic retinopathy (DR), glaucoma, uveitis, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Given that many of the complex eye-related degenerative diseases have limited treatment opportunities, we aimed to mimic the in vivo retinal degenerative process by developing a relevant co-culture system.METHOD AND MATERIALS: The adult porcine retina was co-cultured with the spontaneously arising human retinal pigment epithelial cells-19 (ARPE-19).RESULTS: Inflammatory activity was found after culture and included migrating microglial cells, gliosis, cell death, and CS activation (demonstrated by a minor increase in the secreted anaphylotoxin C3a in co-culture). CS components, including C1q, C3, C4, soluble C5b-9, and the C5a receptor, were expressed in the retina and/or ARPE cells after culture. C1q, C3, and CS regulators such as C4 binding protein (C4BP), factor H (CFH), and factor I (CFI) were secreted after culture.DISCUSSION: Thus, our research indicates that this co-culturing system may be useful for investigations of the CS and its involvement in experimental neurodegenerative diseases.
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| 9. |
- Mohlin, Camilla, 1972-, et al.
(författare)
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Evaluation of Congo Red Staining in Degenerating Porcine Photoreceptors In Vitro : Protective Effects by Structural and Trophic Support
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry. - : Sage Publications. - 0022-1554 .- 1551-5044. ; 66:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Congo red (CR) is a histological stain used for the detection of extracellular amyloids mediating various neurodegenerative diseases. Given that damaged photoreceptors appear to degenerate similarly to other nerve cells, CR staining was evaluated in experimentally injured porcine retina. CR staining appeared mostly as discrete cytosolic deposits with no obvious plaque formation during the investigated time period. Increases of CR labeling coincided temporally with the known accumulation of mislocalized opsins and increases of cell death. Coculture, either with human retinal pigment epithelium (ARPE) or human neural progenitor (ReN) cells, was accompanied by a significant reduction of CR labeling. Of particular interest was the reduction of CR labeling in cone photoreceptors, which are important for the perception of color and fine details and afflicted in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Electron microscopy revealed inclusions in the inner segment, cell body, and occasionally synaptic terminals of photoreceptor cells in cultured specimens. Closer examinations indicated the presence of different types of inclusions resembling protein aggregates as well as inclusion bodies. The current results indicate that injury-related response resulted in accumulation of CR deposits in photoreceptor cells, and that trophic and/or structural support attenuated this response.
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| 10. |
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