Arteries and veins are specified by antagonistic transcriptional programs. However, during development and regeneration, new arteries can arise from pre-existing veins through a poorly understood process of cell fate conversion. Here, using single-cell RNA sequencing and mouse genetics, we show that vein cells of the developing heart undergo an early cell fate switch to create a pre-artery population that subsequently builds coronary arteries. Vein cells underwent a gradual and simultaneous switch from venous to arterial fate before a subset of cells crossed a transcriptional threshold into the pre-artery state. Before the onset of coronary blood flow, pre-artery cells appeared in the immature vessel plexus, expressed mature artery markers, and decreased cell cycling. The vein-specifying transcription factor COUP-TF2 (also known as NR2F2) prevented plexus cells from overcoming the pre-artery threshold by inducing cell cycle genes. Thus, vein-derived coronary arteries are built by pre-artery cells that can differentiate independently of blood flow upon the release of inhibition mediated by COUP-TF2 and cell cycle factors.

Highlights d Artery endothelial cells (ECs) of neonatal hearts have a unique response to injury d Injury stimulates artery cell migration and reassembly into collateral arteries d CXCL12-CXCR4 signaling guides artery reassembly, facilitating heart regeneration d Adult artery ECs can be induced to undergo artery reassembly with exogenous CXCL12

The constant self renewal and differentiation of adult intestinal stem cells maintains a functional intestinal mucosa for a lifetime. However, the molecular mechanisms that regulate intestinal stem cell division and epithelial homeostasis are largely undefined. We report here that the small GTPases Cdc42 and Rab8a are critical regulators of these processes in mice. Conditional ablation of Cdc42 in the mouse intestinal epithelium resulted in the formation of large intracellular vacuolar structures containing microvilli (microvillus inclusion bodies) in epithelial enterocytes, a phenotype reminiscent of human microvillus inclusion disease (MVID), a devastating congenital intestinal disorder that results in severe nutrient deprivation. Further analysis revealed that Cdc42-deficient stem cells had cell division defects, reduced capacity for clonal expansion and differentiation into Paneth cells, and increased apoptosis. Cdc42 deficiency impaired Rab8a activation and its association with multiple effectors, and prevented trafficking of Rab8a vesicles to the midbody. This impeded cytokinesis, triggering crypt apoptosis and disrupting epithelial morphogenesis. Rab8a was also required for Cdc42-GTP activity in the intestinal epithelium, where continued cell division takes place. Furthermore, mice haploinsufficient for both Cdc42 and Rab8a in the intestine demonstrated abnormal crypt morphogenesis and epithelial transporter physiology, further supporting their functional interaction. These data suggest that defects of the stem cell niche can cause MVID. This hypothesis represents a conceptual departure from the conventional view of this disease, which has focused on the affected enterocytes, and suggests stem cell-based approaches could be beneficial to infants with this often lethal condition.

Compartmentalization of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) regulates distinct immune responses to microbes; however, the specific cellular machinery that controls this mechanism has not been fully identified. Here we provide genetic evidences that the recycling endosomal compartment in enterocytes maintains a homeostatic TLR9 intracellular distribution, supporting mucosal tolerance to normal microbiota. Genetic ablation of a recycling endosome resident small GTPase, Rab11a, a gene adjacent to a Crohn's disease risk locus, in mouse IECs and in Drosophila midgut caused epithelial cell-intrinsic cytokine production, inflammatory bowel phenotype, and early mortality. Unlike wild-type controls, germ-free Rab11a-deficient mouse intestines failed to tolerate the intraluminal stimulation of microbial agonists. Thus, Rab11a endosome controls intestinal host-microbial homeostasis at least partially via sorting TLRs.

Communication between stem and niche supporting cells maintains the homeostasis of adult tissues. Wnt signaling is a crucial regulator of the stem cell niche, but the mechanism that governs Wnt ligand delivery in this compartment has not been fully investigated. We identified that Wnt secretion is partly dependent on Rab8a-mediated anterograde transport of Gpr177 (wntless), a Wnt-specific transmembrane transporter. Gpr177 binds to Rab8a, depletion of which compromises Gpr177 traffic, thereby weakening the secretion of multiple Wnts. Analyses of generic Wnt/β-catenin targets in Rab8a knockout mouse intestinal crypts indicate reduced signaling activities; maturation of Paneth cells – a Wnt-dependent cell type – is severely affected. Rab8a knockout crypts show an expansion of Lgr5+ and Hopx+ cells in vivo. However, in vitro, the knockout enteroids exhibit significantly weakened growth that can be partly restored by exogenous Wnts or Gsk3β inhibitors. Immunogold labeling and surface protein isolation identified decreased plasma membrane localization of Gpr177 in Rab8a knockout Paneth cells and fibroblasts. Upon stimulation by exogenous Wnts, Rab8a-deficient cells show ligand-induced Lrp6 phosphorylation and transcriptional reporter activation. Rab8a thus controls Wnt delivery in producing cells and is crucial for Paneth cell maturation. Our data highlight the profound tissue plasticity that occurs in response to stress induced by depletion of a stem cell niche signal.

Throughout the animal kingdom, Wnt-triggered signal transduction pathways play fundamental roles in embryonic development and tissue homeostasis. Wnt proteins are modified as glycolipoproteins and are secreted into the extracellular environment as morphogens. Recent studies on the intracellular trafficking of Wnt proteins demonstrate multiple layers of regulation along its secretory pathway. These findings have propelled a great deal of interest among researchers to further investigate the molecular mechanisms that control the release of Wnts and hence the level of Wnt signaling. This review is dedicated to Wntless, a putative G-protein coupled receptor that transports Wnts intracellularly for secretion. Here, we highlight the conclusions drawn from the most recent cellular, molecular and genetic studies that affirm the role of Wntless in the secretion of Wnt proteins.

Mutations in the APC or β-catenin genes are well established initiators of colorectal cancer (CRC), yet modifiers that facilitate the survival and progression of nascent tumor cells are not well defined. Using genetic and pharmacological approaches in mouse CRC and human CRC xenograft models, we show that incipient intestinal tumor cells activate CDC42, an APC-interacting small GTPase, as a crucial step in malignant progression. In the mouse, Cdc42 ablation attenuated the tumorigenicity of mutant intestinal cells carrying single APC or β-catenin mutations. Similarly, human CRC with relatively higher levels of CDC42 activity were particularly sensitive to CDC42 blockade. Mechanistic studies suggested that Cdc42 may be activated at different levels, including at the level of transcriptional activation of the stem-cell-enriched Rho family exchange factor Arhgef4. Our results suggest that early-stage mutant intestinal epithelial cells must recruit the pleiotropic functions of Cdc42 for malignant progression, suggesting its relevance as a biomarker and therapeutic target for selective CRC intervention.

Abstract-This paper compares the performances of the binocular cues of stereo and vergence, and the monocular cue of focus for range estimation using an active vision system. The performance of each cue is characterized in terms of sensitivity to errors in the imaging parameters. The effects of random, quantizatiain errors are expressed in terms of the standard deviation of the resulting: depth error. The effect of systematic, calibration errors on estimation using each cue is also studied. Performance characterization of each cue is utilized to evaluate the relative performance of the cues. Also discussed, based on such characterization, are ways to select a cue taking into account the computational and reliability aspects of the corresponding estimation process.Index Term-Active vision, range from stereo, range from vergence, range from focus, performance evialuation, uncertainty analysis.