Aging Disrupts Muscle Stem Cell Function by Impairing Matricellular WISP1 Secretion from Fibro-Adipogenic Progenitors

Research on age-related regenerative failure of skeletal muscle has extensively focused on the phenotypes of muscle stem cells (MuSCs). In contrast, the impact of aging on regulatory cells in the MuSC niche remains largely unexplored. Here, we demonstrate that aging impairs the function of mouse fibro- adipogenic progenitors (FAPs) and thereby indirectly affects the myogenic potential of MuSCs. Using transcriptomic profiling, we identify WNT1 Inducible Signaling Pathway Protein 1 (WISP1) as a FAP-derived matricellular signal that is lost during aging. WISP1 is required for efficient muscle regeneration and controls the expansion and asymmetric commitment of MuSCs through Akt signaling. Transplantation of young FAPs or systemic treatment with WISP1 restores the myogenic capacity of MuSCs in aged mice and rescues skeletal muscle regeneration. Our work establishes that loss of WISP1 from FAPs contributes to MuSC dysfunction in aged skeletal muscles and demonstrates that this mechanism can be targeted to rejuvenate myogenesis.

Novel interventions to recover the regenerative capacity of aged skeletal muscle by targeting the interactions in the stem cell niche

Laura Lukjanenko

The remarkable ability of skeletal muscle to regenerate upon injury is conferred by tissue-resident stem cells called satellite cells. With age, the regenerative capacity of muscle stem cells (MuSCs) dramatically declines. Developing strategies to enhance muscle repair in elderly people is therefore required; in particular to accelerate their recovery from injuries following falls or from surgical interventions affecting muscle tissues. As the causes of MuSC dysfunction with age are multi-systemic, we decided to dissect age-related changes at different levels of the MuSC environment, in order to uncover synergistic ways to restore their regenerative capacities. This thesis describes three major interventions at the extracellular matrix, cell-cell interaction and tissue/systemic level that successfully restored skeletal muscle regeneration in aged mice. Using a proteomic screen, we identified fibronectin as a structural and signaling molecule of the extracellular matrix that is lost in the aged muscle niche. Loss of fibronectin in aged regenerating muscle primarily arises from perturbed cellular turnover of hematopoietic and endothelial cells which were shown to be the major fibronectin producers in muscle upon injury. Our work also uncovered that the function of old MuSCs is impaired by loss of adhesion and cell death by anoikis, and can be rescued by fibronectin treatment both ex vivo and in vivo. At the molecular level, loss of fibronectin is an upstream trigger leading to perturbed MuSC signaling. Fibronectin treatment rescues perturbations of pathways, such as p38 and ERK, that were previously known to be altered in aged MuSCs, as well as the newly discovered age-related perturbations of FAK signaling. Altogether we demonstrated that aging impairs the remodeling of the extracellular matrix of the MuSC niche, and thereby triggers multiple dysfunction of old MuSCs that can be rescued therapeutically. In a second project, we dissected the cellular cross-talk between MuSCs and non-myogenic support cells called Fibro-Adipogenic Progenitors (FAPs). We uncovered that the adipogenic fate of FAPs is tightly correlated to the muscle micro-environment and the myogenic regenerative capacity in different models of regeneration and aging. The function of FAPs and their cross-talk with MuSCs are impaired with age. We identified the secreted protein WISP1 as a paracrine communication factor between FAPs and MuSCs which is perturbed with age. Treating aged mice with WISP1 restored stem cell function and muscle regeneration, highlighting the possibility to target the cross-talk of MuSC with other cells of the niche to ameliorate their function. Our last project identified altered signaling of the small circulating peptide apelin in aged MuSCs through lowered circulating levels of apelin and down-regulation of its receptor APJ in aged MuSCs. We demonstrated that apelin treatment rescued muscle stem cell function and regeneration in aged mice, highlighting that MuSC dysfunction can also be targeted systemically. Taken together, these approaches reveal the multiple possibilities to ameliorate muscle repair by targeting MuSC interactions with their niche. Our results also pave the way to develop integrated therapeutic strategies to boost old MuSC function.

EPFL2016

Metabolic control of muscle and muscle stem cell function

Hongbo Zhang

Skeletal muscle composed of myofibers and a small amount of muscle stem cells (MuSCs). It plays important roles in energy metabolism. Some of the key metabolites, such as NAD+ and acetyl-CoA were recently found to regulate muscle and MuSCs function. Most of these functions are related to the cellular mitochondria. In my PhD thesis projects, we aimed at exploring the link between NAD+ levels, mitochondrial function, muscle structural homeostasis and MuSCs senescence. We also investigated the impact of acetyl-CoA on MuSCs activation and proliferation, through the control of protein acetylation. These projects mainly focus on three aspects: Rejuvenation of adult stem cells by NAD+ repletion. Aging is accompanied by SCs senescence. However, the initial signaling events mediating SCs senescence are still not well defined. We demonstrate the importance of mitochondrial activity as a pivotal modulator of MuSCs senescence. MuSCs from aged mice have reduced NAD+ levels, mitochondrial content and capacity for oxidative respiration. Importantly, the induction of the mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt), subsequent to increasing cellular NAD+ with the precursor nicotinamide riboside (NR), prevents MuSCs senescence and improves muscle function and regeneration in aged mice. NR also prevents MuSCs dysfunction in the mdx mouse, a known mouse model of accelerated MuSCs senescence. Extending these observations to other SC pools and on the organism as a whole, we demonstrate that NR delays neural and melanocyte SCs senescence, while also increasing mouse lifespan. Control of MuSCs function by acetyltransferase KAT2A. MuSCs are essential for skeletal muscle homeostasis and repair. The complete mechanism controlling MuSCs maintenance and differentiation, however, remains elusive. We found that the acetyltransferase KAT2A expression is essential for myogenic differentiation of MuSCs. KAT2A loss-of-function in cells blocks MuSCs differentiation, and in mice impairs muscle regeneration after damage. The regulation of KAT2A in MuSCs function might rely on its ability to enzymatically acetylate other proteins, and in particular the transcription factor PAX7. NAD+ repletion improves muscle function in muscular dystrophy. Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is caused by dystrophin gene mutations that lead to progressive muscle degeneration. Our bioinformatics analysis in mice and DMD patients suggests a role for NAD+ in protecting the muscle from metabolic and structural degeneration. Validating these findings, we reveal that the mdx mouse is characterized by reductions in muscle NAD+ levels, concurrent to increased PARP activity and reduced expression of nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT), the key enzymes for NAD+ consumption and biosynthesis. Replenishing the NAD+ pool by dietary NR supplementation benefits muscle function in mdx and mdx/Utr-/- mice, an effect replicated in C. elegans models of DMD. The beneficial effects of NAD+ repletion in muscular dystrophy are pleiotropic and rely on the improvement in mitochondrial function, structural protein expression and on reductions in general PARylation, inflammation and fibrosis. In summary, our work demonstrates the critical role of NAD+ and Acetyl-coA in maintaining muscle and MuSCs function. Repletion of NAD+ levels, by NR administration, and/or boosting the function of acetyltransferase KAT2A might be attractive strategies to maintain muscle homeostasis and MuSCs function in aging and muscular dystrophy.

EPFL2016

Bioengineering the Human Muscle Stem-Cell Niche for Therapeutic Applications

Omid Mashinchian

In spite of decades of research, no feasible method for obtaining sufficient numbers of uncommitted muscle stem cells (MuSCs) for therapy of degenerative muscle diseases exists. One of the most fundamental problems associated with stem cell therapy of muscle is that removal of MuSCs from their tissue microenvironment and expansion in conventional culture induces their terminal commitment to myogenic differentiation. This in-vitro loss of stemness impairs the long-term engraftment potential of MuSCs and renders them unsuitable for stem cell therapy. In another disease relevant context, aging, dramatic changes in the functionality of MuSCs have been shown to depend on an altered composition of their microenvironment. Thus, muscle progenitors are fundamentally dependent on their local environment, commonly known as the âstem cell niche", and a better understanding of its role in guiding stem cell function is highly relevant for the development of therapies for aging and muscle diseases. The muscle stem cell niche is composed of diverse cellular and acellular elements, including different supportive cell types, growth factors and extracellular matrix, and as outlined above, is critical for maintaining healthy stem cell characteristics such as the capacity for self-renewal, commitment, and differentiation. Using molecular biology approaches, we decided to interrogate (I) the role of the cellular environment on stem cell commitment, (II) to test whether, in a physiological context, the systemic circulation has niche-independent effects on MuSC stemness, and (III) to study a population of MuSC-supportive cells that is affected by the aging process. In the first study of this thesis, we have successfully developed an organoid-like-approach for the scalable derivation of uncommitted MuSCs from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in a biologically faithful cellular 3D-environment in suspension embryoids. To this end, we employed human iPSCs and a spectrum of immortalized cell lines to screen for 3D-aggregation conditions promoting mesoderm formation and subsequent specification to the myogenic lineage without the parallel upregulation of myogenic commitment markers. Compared to myogenic cells derived from adult human skeletal muscle, this niche-mimetic embryoid derived progenitors display significantly enhanced engraftment into the muscle stem cell position peripheral to muscle fibers, and restoration of dystrophin expression when transplanted into muscles of a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. In a second study, we present a novel method for encapsulation of human muscle progenitors in highly diffusible polyethersulfone hollow fiber capsules to identify highly specific "transcriptional-signature" induced by systemic aging in-vivo. This technique allows to study the systemic circulation in health, disease and aging at an unprecedented level in human cell types of choice. Finally, in our third study, we investigated the cellular cross-talk between muscle stem cells and non-myogenic niche-based cell type, called fibro/adipogenic progenitors (FAPs). Interestingly, the support-function and the cross-talk with stem cells are dramatically impaired in aged FAPs. We demonstrate that this mechanism can be targeted to rejuvenate myogenesis. Taken together, "mimicking" the physicochemical-interactions of MuSCs with their niche-resident cell types, represents a powerful opportunity to manipulate MuSC function in aging and disease.

EPFL2019

Bioengineering the Human Muscle Stem-Cell Niche for Therapeutic Applications

Omid Mashinchian

EPFL2019

Metabolic control of muscle and muscle stem cell function

Hongbo Zhang

EPFL2016

Novel interventions to recover the regenerative capacity of aged skeletal muscle by targeting the interactions in the stem cell niche

Laura Lukjanenko

EPFL2016