Biomedical subjects

Pierre-Henri Puech

Publications and source records attributed to Pierre-Henri Puech.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

A new technical approach to quantify cell-cell adhesion forces by AFM.

Cell-cell adhesion is a complex process that is involved in the tethering of cells, cell-cell communication, tissue formation, cell migration and the development and metastasis of tumors. Given the heterogeneous and complex nature of cell surfaces it has previously proved difficult to characterize individual cell-cell adhesion events. Force spectroscopy, using an atomic force microscope, is capable of resolving such individual cell-cell binding events, but has previously been limited in its application due to insufficient effective pulling distances. Extended pulling range is critical in studying cell-cell interactions due to the potential for large cell deformations. Here we describe an approach to such experiments, where the sample stage can be moved 100 microm in the z-direction, by closed loop, linearized piezo elements. Such an approach enables an increase in pulling distance sufficient for the observation of long-distance cell-unbinding events without reducing the imaging capabilities of the atomic force microscope. The atomic force microscope head and the piezo-driven sample stage are installed on an inverted optical microscope fitted with a piezo-driven objective, to allow the monitoring of cell morphology by conventional light microscopy, concomitant with force spectroscopy measurements. We have used the example of the WM115 melanoma cell line binding to human umbilical vein endothelial cells to demonstrate the capabilities of this system and the necessity for such an extended pulling range when quantifying cell-cell adhesion events.

Cell Adhesion↗

PubMed2005

Measuring cell adhesion forces of primary gastrulating cells from zebrafish using atomic force microscopy.

During vertebrate gastrulation, progenitor cells of different germ layers acquire specific adhesive properties that contribute to germ layer formation and separation. Wnt signals have been suggested to function in this process by modulating the different levels of adhesion between the germ layers, however, direct evidence for this is still lacking. Here we show that Wnt11, a key signal regulating gastrulation movements, is needed for the adhesion of zebrafish mesendodermal progenitor cells to fibronectin, an abundant extracellular matrix component during gastrulation. To measure this effect, we developed an assay to quantify the adhesion of single zebrafish primary mesendodermal progenitors using atomic-force microscopy (AFM). We observed significant differences in detachment force and work between cultured mesendodermal progenitors from wild-type embryos and from slb/wnt11 mutant embryos, which carry a loss-of-function mutation in the wnt11 gene, when tested on fibronectin-coated substrates. These differences were probably due to reduced adhesion to the fibronectin substrate as neither the overall cell morphology nor the cell elasticity grossly differed between wild-type and mutant cells. Furthermore, in the presence of inhibitors of fibronectin-integrin binding, such as RGD peptides, the adhesion force and work were strongly decreased, indicating that integrins are involved in the binding of mesendodermal progenitors in our assay. These findings demonstrate that AFM can be used to quantitatively determine the substrate-adhesion of cultured primary gastrulating cells and provide insight into the role of Wnt11 signalling in modulating cell adhesion at the single cell scale.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Wnt11 functions in gastrulation by controlling cell cohesion through Rab5c and E-cadherin.

Wnt11 plays a central role in tissue morphogenesis during vertebrate gastrulation, but the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which Wnt11 exerts its effects remain poorly understood. Here, we show that Wnt11 functions during zebrafish gastrulation by regulating the cohesion of mesodermal and endodermal (mesendodermal) progenitor cells. Importantly, we demonstrate that Wnt11 activity in this process is mediated by the GTPase Rab5, a key regulator of early endocytosis, as blocking Rab5c activity in wild-type embryos phenocopies slb/wnt11 mutants, and enhancing Rab5c activity in slb/wnt11 mutant embryos rescues the mutant phenotype. In addition, we find that Wnt11 and Rab5c control the endocytosis of E-cadherin and are required in mesendodermal cells for E-cadherin-mediated cell cohesion. Together, our results suggest that Wnt11 controls tissue morphogenesis by modulating E-cadherin-mediated cell cohesion through Rab5c, a novel mechanism of Wnt signaling in gastrulation.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Cascades of transient pores in giant vesicles: line tension and transport.

Under ordinary circumstances, the membrane tension of a giant unilamellar vesicle is essentially nil. Using visible light, we stretch the vesicles, increasing the membrane tension until the membrane responds by the sudden opening of a large pore (several micrometers in size). Only a single pore is observed at a time in a given vesicle. However, a cascade of transient pores appear, up to 30-40 in succession, in the same vesicle. These pores are transient: they reseal within a few seconds as the inner liquid leaks out. The membrane tension, which is the driving force for pore opening, is relaxed with the opening of a pore and the leakage of the inner liquid; the line tension of the pore's edge is then able to drive the closure of a pore. We use fluorescent membrane probes and real-time videomicroscopy to study the dynamics of the pores. These can be visualized only if the vesicles are prepared in a viscous solution to slow down the leakout of the internal liquid. From measurements of the closure velocity of the pores, we are able to infer the line tension,. We have studied the effect of the shape of inclusion molecules on. Cholesterol, which can be modeled as an inverted cone-shaped molecule, increases the line tension when incorporated into the bilayers. Conversely, addition of cone-shaped detergents reduces. The effect of some detergents can be dramatic, reducing by two orders of magnitude, and increasing pore lifetimes up to several minutes. We give some examples of transport through transient pores and present a rough measurement of the leakout velocity of the inner liquid through a pore. We discuss how our results can be extended to less viscous aqueous solutions which are more relevant for biological systems and biotechnological applications.

Biological Transport↗