Transplanted primary neonatal myoblasts can give rise to functional satellite cells as identified using the Myf5nlacZl+ mouse.

Myoblast transplantation is a potential therapeutic approach for the genetic modification of host skeletal muscle tissue. To be considered an effective, long-lived method of delivery, however, it is essential that at least a proportion of the transplanted cells also retain their proliferative potential. We sought to investigate whether transplanted neonatal myoblasts can contribute to the satellite cell compartment of adult skeletal muscle by using the Myf5nlacZ/+ mouse. The Myf5nlacZ/+ mouse has nlacZ targeted to the Myf5 locus resulting in beta-galactosidase activity in quiescent satellite cells. Following transplantation, beta-galactosidase-labelled nuclei were detected in host muscles, showing that donor cells had been incorporated. Significantly, beta-galactosidase-positive, and therefore donor-derived, satellite cells were detected. When placed in culture, beta-galactosidase marked myogenic cells emanated from the parent fibre. These observations demonstrate that cell transplantation not only results in the incorporation of donor nuclei into the host muscle syncytia, but also that the donor cells can become functional satellite cells. The Myf5nlacZ/+ mouse therefore provides a novel and specific marker for determining the contribution of transplanted cells to the satellite cell pool.

Expression of CD34 and Myf5 defines the majority of quiescent adult skeletal muscle satellite cells.

Skeletal muscle is one of a several adult post-mitotic tissues that retain the capacity to regenerate. This relies on a population of quiescent precursors, termed satellite cells. Here we describe two novel markers of quiescent satellite cells: CD34, an established marker of hematopoietic stem cells, and Myf5, the earliest marker of myogenic commitment. CD34(+ve) myoblasts can be detected in proliferating C2C12 cultures. In differentiating cultures, CD34(+ve) cells do not fuse into myotubes, nor express MyoD. Using isolated myofibers as a model of synchronous precursor cell activation, we show that quiescent satellite cells express CD34. An early feature of their activation is alternate splicing followed by complete transcriptional shutdown of CD34. This data implicates CD34 in the maintenance of satellite cell quiescence. In heterozygous Myf5(nlacZ/+) mice, all CD34(+ve) satellite cells also express beta-galactosidase, a marker of activation of Myf5, showing that quiescent satellite cells are committed to myogenesis. All such cells are positive for the accepted satellite cell marker, M-cadherin. We also show that satellite cells can be identified on isolated myofibers of the myosin light chain 3F-nlacZ-2E mouse as those that do not express the transgene. The numbers of satellite cells detected in this way are significantly greater than those identified by the other three markers. We conclude that the expression of CD34, Myf5, and M-cadherin defines quiescent, committed precursors and speculate that the CD34(-ve), Myf5(-ve) minority may be involved in maintaining the lineage-committed majority.

Autocrine overexpression of CTGF maintains fibrosis: RDA analysis of fibrosis genes in systemic sclerosis.

We have used representational difference analysis (RDA) to identify up-regulated genes in skin fibroblasts from fibrotic lesions obtained from patients with systemic sclerosis (scleroderma). RDA of cDNA libraries derived from fibroblasts from involved and uninvolved skin detected several differentially expressed genes. One such gene consistently up-regulated in scleroderma cells coded for human connective tissue growth factor (CTGF). Other studies described here show that the CTGF protein is readily detected in cultures of systemic sclerosis fibroblasts but was not detected in comparable normal cells. High levels of CTGF are also evident in biological fluids from patients with systemic sclerosis. TGFbeta stimulates CTGF production in both normal and systemic sclerosis fibroblasts with the latter found to be higher producers. Moreover, an analysis of constitutive and TGFbeta-induced CTGF gene activation showed altered and elevated transcriptional responses in systemic sclerosis cells compared with controls. CTGF stimulated a two- to threefold increase in proalpha1(I) collagen and fibronectin synthesis by both dermal and lung fibroblasts in culture and promoted significant matrix remodeling of fibroblast-populated three-dimensional collagen lattices. A direct relation between the overexpression of CTGF and elevated collagen synthesis was suggested by the observation that transfection of a CMV-CTGF cDNA construct and protein expression in fibroblasts increased the transcription of a Col 1alpha2 promoter-reporter construct to levels seen in systemic sclerosis fibroblasts. Using Col 1alpha2 promoter deletion constructs the CTGF responsive element was localized to the first 379 bp upstream of the transcriptional start site. These data indicate that there is an overexpression of CTGF in the systemic sclerosis cells, probably due to increased gene transcription, and suggest that the dysregulation of CTGF production is an important factor in fibroblast activation and the excessive deposition of collagen in systemic sclerosis.

Dynamics of myoblast transplantation reveal a discrete minority of precursors with stem cell-like properties as the myogenic source.

Myoblasts, the precursors of skeletal muscle fibers, can be induced to withdraw from the cell cycle and differentiate in vitro. Recent studies have also identified undifferentiated subpopulations that can self-renew and generate myogenic cells (Baroffio, A., M. Hamann, L. Bernheim, M.-L. Bochaton-Pillat, G. Gabbiani, and C.R. Bader. 1996. Differentiation. 60:47-57; Yoshida, N., S. Yoshida, K. Koishi, K. Masuda, and Y. Nabeshima. 1998. J. Cell Sci. 111:769-779). Cultured myoblasts can also differentiate and contribute to repair and new muscle formation in vivo, a capacity exploited in attempts to develop myoblast transplantation (MT) for genetic modification of adult muscle. Our studies of the dynamics of MT demonstrate that cultures of myoblasts contain distinct subpopulations defined by their behavior in vitro and divergent responses to grafting. By comparing a genomic and a semiconserved marker, we have followed the fate of myoblasts transplanted into muscles of dystrophic mice, finding that the majority of the grafted cells quickly die and only a minority are responsible for new muscle formation. This minority is behaviorally distinct, slowly dividing in tissue culture, but rapidly proliferative after grafting, suggesting a subpopulation with stem cell-like characteristics.

A dual-marker system for quantitative studies of myoblast transplantation in the mouse.

BACKGROUND: Myoblast transplantation (MT) is a potential approach for gene transfer into skeletal muscle, the efficiency of which depends upon the number of copies of donor genome incorporated into the host tissue. We have developed a system for quantitative studies of MT that measures amounts of donor-derived genome in host muscles and estimates the contributions of donor cell survival and proliferation in vivo. METHODS: [14C]thymidine-labeled, male myoblasts were transplanted into female muscles, providing two donor cell markers, Y chromosome and [14C]. The markers were measured in muscle extracts by slot blotting and scintillation counting, respectively. RESULTS: In each extract, the amount of Y chromosome was used to quantify donor-derived genome, whereas the radiolabel provided an estimate of cell survival. Furthermore, the different modes of inheritance of the markers meant that proliferation of surviving donor cells was detected as a change in marker ratio. CONCLUSIONS: This system provides a method for assessing potential improvements of MT.

Establishment of long-term myogenic cultures from patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy by retroviral transduction of a temperature-sensitive SV40 large T antigen.

We have established long-term human myogenic cultures from adult human skeletal muscle biopsies by infecting primary explant cultures with an amphotropic retroviral construct encoding a temperature-sensitive SV40 large T antigen, tsA58-U19. Infected myoblasts expressed the large T antigen and showed greatly enhanced proliferative capacity when cultured at 33 degrees C, compared with noninfected cells. When the infected cultures were incubated at 39 degrees C, the cells withdrew from cycle, aligned, and fused to form multinucleated myotubes which expressed certain antigens that are similarly expressed in nontransduced differentiating muscle cells. Myogenic clones with greatly increased proliferative capacity were generated, for the first time, from biopsies obtained from Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients as well as from normal, dystrophin-positive individuals. Cell lines produced by this approach may prove valuable for in vitro studies of myogenesis and for investigating the cellular and molecular consequences of inherited muscle diseases.

Regulation of transferrin receptor recycling by protein phosphorylation.

The effect of the protein phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid on transferrin receptor internalization and recycling was examined in HeLa and K562 cells. Okadaic acid inhibited receptor uptake by more than 85% in both cell lines, whereas it affected transferrin recycling to differing degrees: recycling in HeLa cells was inhibited by greater than 90%, compared with only 65% in K562 cells. Okadaic acid also caused a marked redistribution of receptors in each cell line, which was accounted for by the difference in the extent to which transferrin uptake and recycling were inhibited. These effects were most likely mediated by a protein kinase, as they were delayed by 10-15 min and could be suppressed by prior incubation with certain protein kinase inhibitors. In addition, it was found that specific kinase inhibitors affected basal rates of transferrin uptake and recycling, although the extent of these effects differed between cell lines. Together, these results suggest that a complex pattern of protein phosphorylation influences the flux of the endocytic pathway in interphase cells.

Myogenic cell lines derived from transgenic mice carrying a thermolabile T antigen: a model system for the derivation of tissue-specific and mutation-specific cell lines.

Skeletal myoblasts cloned from limb muscles of H-2Kb-tsA58 transgenic mice remained proliferative through at least 80 generations under conditions permissive for expression and function of the tsA58 gene product. When switched to nonpermissive conditions or implanted into muscles of nude mdx mice they underwent differentiation but, in one clonal cell line, a small proportion appeared to become quiescent muscle precursors in vivo. H-2Kb-tsA58 X mdx/mdx F1 male mice yielded dystrophin-deficient myoblasts. By such simple genetic crosses, H-2Kb-tsA58 transgenic mice provide a valuable tool for the rapid isolation of cell lines, myogenic or otherwise, bearing mutations of interest.

Expression and function of heterotypic adhesion molecules during differentiation of human skeletal muscle in culture.

The infiltration of skeletal muscle by leukocytes occurs in a variety of myopathies and frequently accompanies muscle degeneration and regeneration. The latter involves development of new myofibers from precursor myoblasts, and so infiltrating cells may interact with muscle at all stages of differentiation. The authors have investigated the surface expression of ligands for T-cell adhesion during the differentiation of human skeletal muscle in vitro. Myoblasts expressed low levels of ICAM-1 (CD54), which remained constant during muscle cell differentiation and could be induced by cytokines such as gamma-interferon. It is therefore likely that ICAM-1 is involved in the invasive accumulation of lymphocytes during skeletal muscle inflammation. In contrast, LFA-3 (CD58) was expressed at higher levels than ICAM-1 on myoblasts, decreased significantly during myogenesis, and was unaffected by immune mediators. Both ICAM-1 and LFA-3 were able to mediate T cell binding to myoblasts, whereas adhesion to myotubes was independent of the LFA-3 ligand. Although expressed throughout myogenesis, human leukocyte antigen class I and CD44 did not appear to mediate T cell binding. The expression of ligands that facilitate interaction of myogenic cells with lymphocytes may have important implications for myoblast transplantation.

Function and regulation of the murine lymphocyte CD2 receptor.

The CD2 receptor on T-lymphocytes plays a major part in mediating adhesive interactions via the LFA-3 ligand and in transducing signals for lymphocyte activation. In this study the expression, function, and internalization of the CD2 receptor was investigated in resting and activated murine T-cells. Surface iodination of intact lymphocytes showed that both types of cell expressed this antigen as a single polypeptide of 63 KDa, and flow cytometry analysis demonstrated that there was four times as much CD2 on lymphoblasts as on resting cells. Moreover, the CD2 receptor had a more prominent role in the adhesion of the activated lymphocytes to extravascular cells than in the binding of resting cells. Only activated lymphocytes internalized CD2, in the presence or absence of the anti-CD2 monoclonal antibody (mAb) 12-15, more than 80% of the 12-15/CD2 complex being removed from the cell surface within 24 hr. Application of 125I-labelled mAb 12-15 followed by subcellular fractionation on Percoll gradients showed that the complex was internalized initially into a low-density compartment and subsequently transported to heavy-density organelles, in which it was degraded. Immunogold electron microscopy revealed that immediately after the initial binding of mAb 12-15 to the lymphoblasts, the gold particles were localized in clusters exclusively at the plasma membrane. After a short period of culture, the mAb 12-15/CD2 complex was detected in small vesicles near the cell surface. Immunogold staining for a lysosomal enzyme beta-glucuronidase (Gus), for the lysosomal membrane protein LAMP-1, and for the mannose 6-phosphate targetting receptor (MPR) showed that the complex was transported from the endosomal compartment to lysosomal organelles in the activated T-cell. Although mAb 12-15 bound to CD2 in resting T-lymphocytes, in these cells the complex remained associated with the plasma membrane compartment only, even after prolonged culture. These data show that activated but not resting lymphocytes endocytosed the receptor, thereby regulating the expression of this antigen at the plasma membrane. This suggests that the endocytic and lysosomal compartments of lymphocytes have major roles in immune functions, by controlling the level of receptors at the lymphocytes cell surface and thus their response to cytokines and inflammatory mediators as well as their direct interaction with other cells.

Acquisition of a lysosomal enzyme by myoblasts in tissue culture.

Skeletal muscle myoblasts from different sources acquired high levels of the lysosomal enzyme beta-glucuronidase, when they were cultured together with mitogen-activated lymphocytes. Immunofluorescent staining, thermal stability, and electrophoretic mobility showed that the increase in enzyme activity in the myoblasts was due to the presence of the lymphocyte form of the enzyme. Although myoblasts were able to take up exogenous beta-glucuronidase from the culture medium by mannose 6-phosphate receptor-mediated endocytosis, enzyme acquisition during co-culture with lymphocytes was independent of this pathway. Enzyme transfer from the lymphocytes was found to require direct cell-cell contact with the muscle cells, and was accompanied by an increase in beta-glucuronidase activity in the lymphocytes themselves. Since this additional activity was also due to the presence of the lymphocyte form of the enzyme, these results indicate that interaction with the muscle cells induced the de novo synthesis of beta-glucuronidase in the lymphocytes.