scholarly journals Rap1 Is Involved in Angiopoietin-1-Induced Cell-Cell Junction Stabilization and Endothelial Cell Sprouting

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 155
Author(s):  
Vanda Gaonac’h-Lovejoy ◽  
Cécile Boscher ◽  
Chantal Delisle ◽  
Jean-Philippe Gratton

Angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) is an important proangiogenic factor also involved in the maintenance of endothelial-barrier integrity. The small GTPase Rap1 is involved in the regulation of adherens junctions through VE-cadherin-mediated adhesion, and in endothelial permeability. While many studies established that Rap1 activation is critical for endothelial cell–cell adhesions, its roles in the antipermeability effects of Ang-1 are ill-defined. Thus, we determined the contribution of Rap1 to Ang-1-stimulated angiogenic effects on endothelial cells (ECs). We found that Rap1 is activated following Ang-1 stimulation and is required for the antipermeability effects of Ang-1 on EC monolayers. Our results also revealed that Rap1 is necessary for EC sprouting stimulated by Ang-1 but had no significant effect on Ang-1-induced EC migration and adhesion. In contrast, downregulation of VE-cadherin markedly increased the adhesiveness of ECs to the substratum, which resulted in inhibition of Ang-1-stimulated migration. These results revealed that Rap1 is central to the effects of Ang-1 at intercellular junctions of ECs, whereas VE-cadherin is also involved in the adhesion of ECs to the extracellular matrix.

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 529-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenichi Funamoto ◽  
Daisuke Yoshino ◽  
Kento Matsubara ◽  
Ioannis K. Zervantonakis ◽  
Kiyoe Funamoto ◽  
...  

Exposure of endothelial cell monolayer to hypoxia leads to internalization of VE-cadherins, loss of cell–cell junction integrity, and increased endothelial permeability.


1998 ◽  
Vol 275 (2) ◽  
pp. L203-L222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy M. Moore ◽  
Paul M. Chetham ◽  
John J. Kelly ◽  
Troy Stevens

Pulmonary endothelium forms a semiselective barrier that regulates fluid balance and leukocyte trafficking. During the course of lung inflammation, neurohumoral mediators and oxidants act on endothelial cells to induce intercellular gaps permissive for transudation of proteinaceous fluid from blood into the interstitium. Intracellular signals activated by neurohumoral mediators and oxidants that evoke intercellular gap formation are incompletely understood. Cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) and cAMP are two signals that importantly dictate cell-cell apposition. Although increased [Ca2+]ipromotes disruption of the macrovascular endothelial cell barrier, increased cAMP enhances endothelial barrier function. Furthermore, during the course of inflammation, elevated endothelial cell [Ca2+]idecreases cAMP to facilitate intercellular gap formation. Given the significance of both [Ca2+]iand cAMP in mediating cell-cell apposition, this review addresses potential sites of cross talk between these two intracellular signaling pathways. Emerging data also indicate that endothelial cells derived from different vascular sites within the pulmonary circulation exhibit distinct sensitivities to permeability-inducing stimuli; that is, elevated [Ca2+]ipromotes macrovascular but not microvascular barrier disruption. Thus this review also considers the roles of [Ca2+]iand cAMP in mediating site-specific alterations in endothelial permeability.


2010 ◽  
Vol 299 (3) ◽  
pp. C621-C629 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benoît Melchior ◽  
John A. Frangos

Atheroprone regions of the arterial circulation are characterized by time-varying, reversing, and oscillatory wall shear stress. Several in vivo and in vitro studies have demonstrated that flow reversal (retrograde flow) is atherogenic and proinflammatory. The molecular and structural basis for the sensitivity of the endothelium to flow direction, however, has yet to be determined. It has been hypothesized that the ability to sense flow direction is dependent on the direction of inclination of the interendothelial junction. Immunostaining of the mouse aorta revealed an inclination of the cell-cell junction by 13° in direction of flow in the descending aorta where flow is unidirectional. In contrast, polygonal cells of the inner curvature where flow is disturbed did not have any preferential inclination. Using a membrane specific dye, the angle of inclination of the junction was dynamically monitored using live cell confocal microscopy in confluent human endothelial cell monolayers. Upon application of shear the junctions began inclining within minutes to a final angle of 10° in direction of flow. Retrograde flow led to a reversal of junctional inclination. Flow-induced junctional inclination was shown to be independent of the cytoskeleton or glycocalyx. Additionally, within seconds, retrograde flow led to significantly higher intracellular calcium responses than orthograde flow. Together, these results show for the first time that the endothelial intercellular junction inclination is dynamically responsive to flow direction and confers the ability to endothelial cells to rapidly sense and adapt to flow direction.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesús Gómez-Escudero ◽  
Cristina Clemente ◽  
Diego García-Weber ◽  
Rebeca Acín-Pérez ◽  
Jaime Millán ◽  
...  

Abstract Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones, occurs in pathophysiological contexts such as wound healing, cancer, and chronic inflammatory disease. During sprouting angiogenesis, endothelial tip and stalk cells coordinately remodel their cell-cell junctions to allow collective migration and extension of the sprout while maintaining barrier integrity. All these processes require energy, and the predominant ATP generation route in endothelial cells is glycolysis. However, it remains unclear how ATP reaches the plasma membrane and intercellular junctions. In this study, we demonstrate that the glycolytic enzyme pyruvate kinase 2 (PKM2) is required for sprouting angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo through the regulation of endothelial cell-junction dynamics and collective migration. We show that PKM2-silencing decreases ATP required for proper VE-cadherin internalization/traffic at endothelial cell-cell junctions. Our study provides fresh insight into the role of ATP subcellular compartmentalization in endothelial cells during angiogenesis. Since manipulation of EC glycolysis constitutes a potential therapeutic intervention route, particularly in tumors and chronic inflammatory disease, these findings may help to refine the targeting of endothelial glycolytic activity in disease.


Blood ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 110 (11) ◽  
pp. 3713-3713
Author(s):  
Marloes R. Tijssen ◽  
Franca di Summa ◽  
Anne-Marieke van Stalborch ◽  
C. Ellen Van der Schoot ◽  
Jaap D. van Buul ◽  
...  

Abstract In addition to hematopoietic cells, the receptor for thrombopoietin (Tpo), c-Mpl, is expressed on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). In this study, we demonstrated that Mpl mRNA and protein can also be detected in immortalized human bone marrow endothelial cells (HBMEC). Furthermore, it was investigated whether Tpo affects endothelial monolayer integrity by either cell spreading or cell-cell contacts. By continuously monitoring the electrical resistance of freshly plated HUVEC or HBMEC with ECIS (electric cell-substrate impedance sensing), we observed a significant increase in the electrical resistance when endothelial cells were treated with 100 ng/ml of Tpo just prior to seeding, as shown in the figure below. This increase in electrical resistance was not due to increased cell adhesion or proliferation of the endothelial cells. However, a significant increase in initial spreading could be detected. Besides its effect on spreading, Tpo increased the electrical resistance of a confluent endothelial monolayer when compared to untreated monolayers. This indicates that Tpo promotes the formation of endothelial cell-cell contacts. Indeed, a decrease in immunostaining levels of phosphotyrosine could be observed in monolayers treated with Tpo. Also the junctional protein VE-cadherin showed diminished co-localization with phosphotyrosine staining when cells were treated with Tpo. The small GTPase Rap1 plays an important role in the formation of endothelial cell-cell contacts. In a pull-down experiment, using RalGDS as bait for active Rap1, we could demonstrate that Tpo transiently activates Rap1 in HUVEC. Thus, these results may put Tpo forward as a regulator of endothelial cell-cell contacts, possibly after vascular damage and subsequent release of Tpo by activated platelets. To our knowledge, Tpo is the first cytokine exerting this effect on endothelial cells. Figure Figure


1991 ◽  
Vol 114 (5) ◽  
pp. 1059-1068 ◽  
Author(s):  
S M Albelda ◽  
W A Muller ◽  
C A Buck ◽  
P J Newman

PECAM-1 is a 130-120-kD integral membrane glycoprotein found on the surface of platelets, at endothelial intercellular junctions in culture, and on cells of myeloid lineage. Previous studies have shown that it is a member of the immunoglobulin gene superfamily and that antibodies against the bovine form of this protein (endoCAM) can inhibit endothelial cell-cell interactions. These data suggest that PECAM-1 may function as a vascular cell adhesion molecule. The function of this molecule has been further evaluated by transfecting cells with a full-length PECAM-1 cDNA. Transfected COS-7, mouse 3T3 and L cells expressed a 130-120-kD glycoprotein on their cell surface that reacted with anti-PECAM-1 polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies. COS-7 and 3T3 cell transfectants formed cell-cell junctions that were highly enriched in PECAM-1, reminiscent of its distribution at endothelial cell-cell borders. In contrast, this protein remained diffusely distributed within the plasma membrane of PECAM-1 transfected cells that were in contact with mock transfectants. Mouse L cells stably transfected with PECAM-1 demonstrated calcium-dependent aggregation that was inhibited by anti-PECAM antibodies. These results demonstrate that PECAM-1 mediates cell-cell adhesion and support the idea that it may be involved in some of the interactive events taking place during thrombosis, wound healing, and angiogenesis.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document