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Author: Lutz Brusch9

Abstract (Expand)

Hepatocytes form bile canaliculi that dynamically respond to the signalling activity of bile acids and bile flow. Little is known about their responses to intraluminal pressure. During embryonic development, hepatocytes assemble apical bulkheads that increase the canalicular resistance to intraluminal pressure. Here, we investigate whether they also protect bile canaliculi against elevated pressure upon impaired bile flow in adult liver. Apical bulkheads accumulate upon bile flow obstruction in mouse models and patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). Their loss under these conditions leads to abnormally dilated canaliculi, resembling liver cell rosettes described in other hepatic diseases. 3D reconstruction reveals that these structures are sections of cysts and tubes formed by hepatocytes. Mathematical modelling establishes that they positively correlate with canalicular pressure and occur in early PSC stages. Using primary hepatocytes and 3D organoids, we demonstrate that excessive canalicular pressure causes the loss of apical bulkheads and formation of rosettes. Our results suggest that apical bulkheads are a protective mechanism of hepatocytes against impaired bile flow, highlighting the role of canalicular pressure in liver diseases.

Authors: C. Mayer, S. Nehring, M. Kucken, U. Repnik, S. Seifert, A. Sljukic, J. Delpierre, H. Morales-Navarrete, S. Hinz, M. Brosch, B. Chung, T. Karlsen, M. Huch, Y. Kalaidzidis, L. Brusch, J. Hampe, C. Schafmayer, M. Zerial

Date Published: 31st Jul 2023

Publication Type: Journal

Abstract (Expand)

How epithelial cells coordinate their polarity to form functional tissues is an open question in cell biology. Here, we characterize a unique type of polarity found in liver tissue, nematic cell polarity, which is different from vectorial cell polarity in simple, sheet-like epithelia. We propose a conceptual and algorithmic framework to characterize complex patterns of polarity proteins on the surface of a cell in terms of a multipole expansion. To rigorously quantify previously observed tissue-level patterns of nematic cell polarity (Morales-Navarrete et al., eLife 2019), we introduce the concept of co-orientational order parameters, which generalize the known biaxial order parameters of the theory of liquid crystals. Applying these concepts to three-dimensional reconstructions of single cells from high-resolution imaging data of mouse liver tissue, we show that the axes of nematic cell polarity of hepatocytes exhibit local coordination and are aligned with the biaxially anisotropic sinusoidal network for blood transport. Our study characterizes liver tissue as a biological example of a biaxial liquid crystal. The general methodology developed here could be applied to other tissues and in-vitro organoids.

Authors: A. Scholich, S. Syga, H. Morales-Navarrete, F. Segovia-Miranda, H. Nonaka, K. Meyer, W. de Back, L. Brusch, Y. Kalaidzidis, M. Zerial, F. Julicher, B. M. Friedrich

Date Published: 11th Dec 2020

Publication Type: Journal

Abstract (Expand)

How epithelial cells coordinate their polarity to form functional tissues is an open question in cell biology. Here, we characterize a unique type of polarity found in liver tissue, nematic cell polarity, which is different from vectorial cell polarity in simple, sheet-like epithelia. We propose a conceptual and algorithmic framework to characterize complex patterns of polarity proteins on the surface of a cell in terms of a multipole expansion. To rigorously quantify previously observed tissue-level patterns of nematic cell polarity (Morales-Navarette et al., eLife 8:e44860, 2019), we introduce the concept of co-orientational order parameters, which generalize the known biaxial order parameters of the theory of liquid crystals. Applying these concepts to three-dimensional reconstructions of single cells from high-resolution imaging data of mouse liver tissue, we show that the axes of nematic cell polarity of hepatocytes exhibit local coordination and are aligned with the biaxially anisotropic sinusoidal network for blood transport. Our study characterizes liver tissue as a biological example of a biaxial liquid crystal. The general methodology developed here could be applied to other tissues or in-vitro organoids.

Authors: Andre Scholich, Simon Syga, Hernan Morales-Navarrete, Fabian Segovia Miranda, Hidenori Nonaka, Kirstin Meyer, Walter de Back, Lutz Brusch, Yannis Kalaidzidis, Marino Zerial, Frank Julicher, Benjamin M. Friedrich

Date Published: 22nd Apr 2020

Publication Type: Not specified

Abstract (Expand)

The mechanisms of organ size control remain poorly understood. A key question is how cells collectively sense the overall status of a tissue. We addressed this problem focusing on mouse liver regeneration. Using digital tissue reconstruction and quantitative image analysis, we found that the apical surface of hepatocytes forming the bile canalicular network expands concomitant with an increase in F-actin and phospho-myosin, to compensate an overload of bile acids. These changes are sensed by the Hippo transcriptional co-activator YAP, which localizes to apical F-actin-rich regions and translocates to the nucleus in dependence of the integrity of the actin cytoskeleton. This mechanism tolerates moderate bile acid fluctuations under tissue homeostasis, but activates YAP in response to sustained bile acid overload. Using an integrated biophysical-biochemical model of bile pressure and Hippo signaling, we explained this behavior by the existence of a mechano-sensory mechanism that activates YAP in a switch-like manner. We propose that the apical surface of hepatocytes acts as a self-regulatory mechano-sensory system that responds to critical levels of bile acids as readout of tissue status.

Authors: K. Meyer, H. Morales-Navarrete, S. Seifert, M. Wilsch-Braeuninger, U. Dahmen, E. M. Tanaka, L. Brusch, Y. Kalaidzidis, M. Zerial

Date Published: 25th Feb 2020

Publication Type: Journal

Abstract (Expand)

The mechanisms of organ size control remain poorly understood. A key question is how cells collectively sense the overall status of a tissue. We addressed this problem focusing on mouse liver regeneration. Using digital tissue reconstruction and quantitative image analysis, we found that the apical surface of hepatocytes forming the bile canalicular network expands concomitant with an increase in F‐actin and phospho‐myosin, to compensate an overload of bile acids. These changes are sensed by the Hippo transcriptional co‐activator YAP, which localizes to apical F‐actin‐rich regions and translocates to the nucleus in dependence of the integrity of the actin cytoskeleton. This mechanism tolerates moderate bile acid fluctuations under tissue homeostasis, but activates YAP in response to sustained bile acid overload. Using an integrated biophysical–biochemical model of bile pressure and Hippo signaling, we explained this behavior by the existence of a mechano‐sensory mechanism that activates YAP in a switch‐like manner. We propose that the apical surface of hepatocytes acts as a self‐regulatory mechano‐sensory system that responds to critical levels of bile acids as readout of tissue status.

Authors: Kirstin Meyer, Hernan Morales‐Navarrete, Sarah Seifert, Michaela Wilsch‐Braeuninger, Uta Dahmen, Elly M Tanaka, Lutz Brusch, Yannis Kalaidzidis, Marino Zerial

Date Published: 24th Feb 2020

Publication Type: Not specified

Abstract (Expand)

Early disease diagnosis is key to the effective treatment of diseases. Histopathological analysis of human biopsies is the gold standard to diagnose tissue alterations. However, this approach has low resolution and overlooks 3D (three-dimensional) structural changes resulting from functional alterations. Here, we applied multiphoton imaging, 3D digital reconstructions and computational simulations to generate spatially resolved geometrical and functional models of human liver tissue at different stages of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We identified a set of morphometric cellular and tissue parameters correlated with disease progression, and discover profound topological defects in the 3D bile canalicular (BC) network. Personalized biliary fluid dynamic simulations predicted an increased pericentral biliary pressure and micro-cholestasis, consistent with elevated cholestatic biomarkers in patients' sera. Our spatially resolved models of human liver tissue can contribute to high-definition medicine by identifying quantitative multiparametric cellular and tissue signatures to define disease progression and provide new insights into NAFLD pathophysiology.

Authors: F. Segovia-Miranda, H. Morales-Navarrete, M. Kucken, V. Moser, S. Seifert, U. Repnik, F. Rost, M. Brosch, A. Hendricks, S. Hinz, C. Rocken, D. Lutjohann, Y. Kalaidzidis, C. Schafmayer, L. Brusch, J. Hampe, M. Zerial

Date Published: 2nd Dec 2019

Publication Type: Not specified

Abstract (Expand)

Functional tissue architecture originates by self-assembly of distinct cell types, following tissue-specific rules of cell-cell interactions. In the liver, a structural model of the lobule was pioneered by Elias in 1949. This model, however, is in contrast with the apparent random 3D arrangement of hepatocytes. Since then, no significant progress has been made to derive the organizing principles of liver tissue. To solve this outstanding problem, we computationally reconstructed 3D tissue geometry from microscopy images of mouse liver tissue and analyzed it applying soft-condensed-matter-physics concepts. Surprisingly, analysis of the spatial organization of cell polarity revealed that hepatocytes are not randomly oriented but follow a long-range liquid-crystal order. This does not depend exclusively on hepatocytes receiving instructive signals by endothelial cells, since silencing Integrin-beta1 disrupted both liquid-crystal order and organization of the sinusoidal network. Our results suggest that bi-directional communication between hepatocytes and sinusoids underlies the self-organization of liver tissue.

Authors: H. Morales-Navarrete, H. Nonaka, A. Scholich, F. Segovia-Miranda, W. de Back, K. Meyer, R. L. Bogorad, V. Koteliansky, L. Brusch, Y. Kalaidzidis, F. Julicher, B. M. Friedrich, M. Zerial

Date Published: 17th Jun 2019

Publication Type: Not specified

Abstract

Not specified

Authors: Hernan Morales-Navarrete, Hidenori Nonaka, Andre Scholich, Fabian Segovia-Miranda, Walter de Back, Kirstin Meyer, Roman L Bogorad, Victor Koteliansky, Lutz Brusch, Yannis Kalaidzidis, Frank Julicher, Benjamin M. Friedrich, Marino Zerial

Date Published: 13th Dec 2018

Publication Type: Not specified

Abstract (Expand)

Bile, the central metabolic product of the liver, is transported by the bile canaliculi network. The impairment of bile flow in cholestatic liver diseases has urged a demand for insights into its regulation. Here, we developed a predictive 3D multi-scale model that simulates fluid dynamic properties successively from the subcellular to the tissue level. The model integrates the structure of the bile canalicular network in the mouse liver lobule, as determined by high-resolution confocal and serial block-face scanning electron microscopy, with measurements of bile transport by intravital microscopy. The combined experiment-theory approach revealed spatial heterogeneities of biliary geometry and hepatocyte transport activity. Based on this, our model predicts gradients of bile velocity and pressure in the liver lobule. Validation of the model predictions by pharmacological inhibition of Rho kinase demonstrated a requirement of canaliculi contractility for bile flow in vivo. Our model can be applied to functionally characterize liver diseases and quantitatively estimate biliary transport upon drug-induced liver injury.

Authors: K. Meyer, O. Ostrenko, G. Bourantas, H. Morales-Navarrete, N. Porat-Shliom, F. Segovia-Miranda, H. Nonaka, A. Ghaemi, J. M. Verbavatz, L. Brusch, I. Sbalzarini, Y. Kalaidzidis, R. Weigert, M. Zerial

Date Published: 18th Mar 2017

Publication Type: Not specified

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