Fibroblast Growth Factor Binding Protein 1 (FGFBP1)
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PhD degree in Molecular Medicine (curriculum in Molecular Oncology) European School of Molecular Medicine (SEMM), University of Milan and University of Naples “Federico II” Settore disciplinare: Med/04 Fibroblast growth factor binding protein 1 (FGFBP1) contributes in the establishment and maintenance of the Blood Brain Barrier Azzurra Cottarelli IFOM, Milan Matricola n.R09406 Supervisor: Prof.ssa Elisabetta Dejana IFOM, Milan Cosupervisor: Dr.ssa Maria Grazia Lampugnani IFOM, Milan Anno accademico 2013-2014 "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." (Robert Frost - The road not taken) 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................................ 9 FIGURE INDEX .............................................................................................................................. 13 ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................... 17 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 19 1.1 The Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) ............................................................................................... 19 1.1.1 Endothelial junctions .................................................................................................... 21 1.1.2 Molecular transport ...................................................................................................... 24 1.1.3 Leukocyte adhesion ...................................................................................................... 25 1.2 Cellular and extracellular components of the NeuroVascular Unit ....................................... 26 1.2.1 Pericytes .......................................................................................................................... 27 1.2.2 Astrocytes ....................................................................................................................... 33 1.2.3 Perivascular macrophages and microglia ................................................................. 34 1.2.4 Basement membrane .................................................................................................... 35 1.3 BBB development and specialization: the role of canonical Wnt/β-catenin pathway ............. 37 1.4 Fibroblast Growth Factor Binding Protein 1 (FGFBP1) ........................................................ 42 1.5 Aim of the work ....................................................................................................................... 46 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS ............................................................................................... 49 2.1 Sequence aligments and phylogenetic tree construction ........................................................ 49 2.2 Animals ................................................................................................................................... 49 2.3 Mouse genotyping ................................................................................................................... 50 2.4 Preparation and culture of bMECs ......................................................................................... 52 2.5 Morpholino microinjections .................................................................................................... 52 2.6 Cell dissociation and sorting from zebrafish embryos ............................................................ 53 2.7 Semiquantitative RT-PCR ...................................................................................................... 54 2.8 Whole-mount In Situ Hybridization ...................................................................................... 54 2.9 O-dianisidine staining ............................................................................................................ 55 2.10 In vivo permeability assays ................................................................................................... 55 2.11 Tamoxifen treatment ............................................................................................................. 56 2.12 Immunofluorescence (IF) analysis of brains and retinas ...................................................... 56 2.13 Transmission electron microscopy ........................................................................................ 57 5 2.14 RNA interference .................................................................................................................. 58 2.15 Affymetrix analysis ............................................................................................................... 58 2.16 Immunofluorescence (IF) analysis of cells ............................................................................ 59 2.17 Quantitative Real Time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) ..................................................................... 59 2.18 Western blot analysis ............................................................................................................ 60 2.19 Antibodies and reagents ....................................................................................................... 60 2.20 Quantifications ..................................................................................................................... 61 2.21 Statistical analysis ................................................................................................................ 62 3. RESULTS ..................................................................................................................................... 63 3.1 Fgfbp1 expression is regulated by canonical Wnt/β-catenin pathway both in vitro and in vivo ................................................................................................................................................ 63 3.1.1 Fgfbp1 expression is upregulated by Wnt3a treatment in primary brain ECs .... 63 3.1.2 Fgfbp1 expression is upregulated in brain, but not lung, ECs in a murine model of β-catenin gain-of-function ................................................................................................ 63 3.1.3 Fgfbp1 is upregulated by Wnt pathway activation in a zebrafish model ............ 66 3.2 Characterization of Fgfbp1 expression and function in the zebrafish model .......................... 68 3.2.1 Fgfbp1a and b are differentially expressed during zebrafish development ........ 68 3.2.2 Fgfbp1a and b knock down in vivo causes brain hemorrhages in zebrafish ....... 70 3.2.3 Fgfbp1a and b knock down in vivo causes defects in zebrafish vascular development ........................................................................................................................... 73 3.2.4 Fgfbp1a knock down in vivo causes increased vascular permeability in zebrafish brains ....................................................................................................................................... 78 3.3 Characterization of Fgfbp1 expression and function in the murine brain vasculature .......... 79 3.3.1 FGFBP1 is expressed age-dependently and is localized perivascularly ............... 79 3.3.2 Fgfbp1 endothelial-specific knock out causes vascular abnormalities in brain and retinas ...................................................................................................................................... 83 3.3.3 Fgfbp1 ECKO mice show alterations in the ultrastructural organization of the NVU ......................................................................................................................................... 88 3.3.4 Fgfbp1 ECKO brain vasculature displays defects in pericyte coverage and BM composition ............................................................................................................................ 89 3.3.5 Fgfbp1 ECKO mice present increased BBB permeability ..................................... 104 6 3.3.6 Endothelial Fgfbp1 knock out does not alter BBB molecular signature ............. 109 3.4 Characterization of FGFBP1 expression and function in murine primary brain ECs (bMECs) ...................................................................................................................................... 111 3.4.1 FGFBP1 is effectively downregulated in vitro by siRNA ...................................... 111 3.4.2 Fgfbp1 knockdown does not affect the autocrine activity of FGF-2 .................... 113 3.4.3 Fgfbp1 knockdown induces a tip cell-like phenotype in vitro .............................. 114 3.4.4 Fgfbp1 knockdown causes the upregulation of Plvap in vitro ............................. 116 3.4.5 Fgfbp1 knock down in bMECs causes alterations in the response to Wnt3a treatment ............................................................................................................................... 119 4. DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................................ 127 4.1 Fgfbp1a and b expression and function in zebrafish: different specializations after the evolutionary divergence of the two paralogues ........................................................................... 128 4.2 The glial barrier: an astrocyte reaction to endothelial barrier impairment ........................... 131 4.3 Pericyte