Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans Mediate Interstitial Flow Mechanotransduction Regulating MMP-13 Expression and Cell Motility via FAK-ERK in 3D Collagen

Tarbell JM (2011) Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans Mediate Interstitial Flow Mechanotransduction Regulating MMP-13 Expression and Cell Motility via FAK-ERK in 3D Collagen. PLoS ONE 6(1): e15956. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0015956 Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans Mediate Interstitial Flow Mechanotransduction Regulating MMP-13 Expression and Cell Motility via FAK-ERK in 3D Collagen Zhong-Dong Shi 0 Hui Wang 0 John M. Tarbell 0 Carol Feghali-Bostwick, University of Pittsburgh, United States of America 0 Department of Biomedical Engineering, The City College of New York, The City University of New York (CUNY) , New York, New York , United States of America Background: Interstitial flow directly affects cells that reside in tissues and regulates tissue physiology and pathology by modulating important cellular processes including proliferation, differentiation, and migration. However, the structures that cells utilize to sense interstitial flow in a 3-dimensional (3D) environment have not yet been elucidated. Previously, we have shown that interstitial flow upregulates matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) expression in rat vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and fibroblasts/myofibroblasts via activation of an ERK1/2-c-Jun pathway, which in turn promotes cell migration in collagen. Herein, we focused on uncovering the flow-induced mechanotransduction mechanism in 3D. Methodology/Principal Findings: Cleavage of rat vascular SMC surface glycocalyx heparan sulfate (HS) chains from proteoglycan (PG) core proteins by heparinase or disruption of HS biosynthesis by silencing N-deacetylase/Nsulfotransferase 1 (NDST1) suppressed interstitial flow-induced ERK1/2 activation, interstitial collagenase (MMP-13) expression, and SMC motility in 3D collagen. Inhibition or knockdown of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) also attenuated or blocked flow-induced ERK1/2 activation, MMP-13 expression, and cell motility. Interstitial flow induced FAK phosphorylation at Tyr925, and this activation was blocked when heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) were disrupted. These data suggest that HSPGs mediate interstitial flow-induced mechanotransduction through FAK-ERK. In addition, we show that integrins are crucial for mechanotransduction through HSPGs as they mediate cell spreading and maintain cytoskeletal rigidity. Conclusions/Significance: We propose a conceptual mechanotransduction model wherein cell surface glycocalyx HSPGs, in the presence of integrin-mediated cell-matrix adhesions and cytoskeleton organization, sense interstitial flow and activate the FAK-ERK signaling axis, leading to upregulation of MMP expression and cell motility in 3D. This is the first study to describe a flow-induced mechanotransduction mechanism via HSPG-mediated FAK activation in 3D. This study will be of interest in understanding the flow-related mechanobiology in vascular lesion formation, tissue morphogenesis, cancer cell metastasis, and stem cell differentiation in 3D, and also has implications in tissue engineering. - Funding: This work was supported by NIH NHLBI grants RO1 HL 57093 (JMT) and RO1 HL 094889 (JMT). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. In living tissues, many cell types including smooth muscle cells (SMCs), fibroblasts, bone cells, and tumor cells are exposed to interstitial fluid flow. Interstitial flow can modulate many cellular processes in a 3-dimensional (3D) microenvironment including proliferation, apoptosis, differentiation, and migration [15]. Interstitial flow therefore plays important roles in tissue physiology and pathology. For example, during the early stages of vascular injury, elevated interstitial flow has been hypothesized to contribute to neointima formation by affecting vascular wall cell phenotype and motility [1,2,68]. To investigate effects of interstitial flow on biology of tissue interstitial cells including vascular wall cells, bone cells, and tumor cells, application of fluid flow shear stress to cells cultured in 2D has been widely used [6,911]. It is now well recognized that culturing cells in a 3D extracellular matrix (ECM) cell culture better mimics in vivo cell physiology than traditional 2D planar culture [12]. It has been reported that interstitial flow can induce cytokine release, cell migration, capillary morphogenesis, and stem cell differentiation in 3D environments [1,3,7,1315]. However, the mechanism by which cells in 3D sense interstitial flow and convert this stimulation into cellular responses (mechanotransduction) has not yet been elucidated. Shear stress-induced mechanotransduction in endothelial cells (ECs) in 2D has been well studied [16,17]. Cells embedded in a 3D ECM have different patterns of cell-matrix adhesions [12] and elongated morphologies compared to 2D [18], which might give rise to different mechanotransduction mechanisms. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the mechanosensors for cells in 3D when exposed to interstitial flow. In 2D studies, it has been suggested that cell surface glycocalyx components are responsible for sensing fluid shear stress on vascular ECs [1921] and SMCs [9]. The surfaces of eukaryotic cells are decorated with a layer of glycocalyx. The glycocalyx consists primarily of proteoglycan (PG) core proteins that are incorporated into the cell membrane and several covalently bound glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains that extend into extracellular space [9]. Heparan sulfate (HS), chondroitin sulfate, and hyaluronan are the dominant GAGs on most cell surfaces. Glycocalyx components, especially heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs), have been shown to play important roles in cellular recognition and signaling, cell growth, adhesion, spreading, and migration, regulating development, tumorigenesis, and vasculogenesis [2225]. Although, in 2D, the role of cell surface glycocalyx component HSPGs in flow-induced mechanotranduction has been extensively studied [9,1921], and also we have shown recently that HSPGs play a role in fluid flow modulation of SMC marker expression in both 2D and 3D [2], the role of HSPGs in flow sensing in 3D has not been well elucidated. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a widely expressed cytoplasmic protein tyrosine kinase located in integrin-mediated focal adhesions that regulates integrin signaling. FAK is a major mechanosensitive kinase that can be rapidly activated by a variety of mechanical stimuli and plays an important role in control of cell adhesion and migration [26,27]. It has been suggested that HSPGs (such as syndecan-1 and -4) can act cooperatively with integrins in creating signals for cell spreading and for assembly of focal adhesion plaques and stress fibers [2831]. HSPGs themselves can also tether to ECM binding domains with HS chains serving as secondary cell-matrix adhesions [22]. When cells are plated on fibronectin, syndecan-4 c (...truncated)