Mitsialis, S. A. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2025

The cryo-EM structure of mouse radial spoke 3 reveals a unique metabolic and regulatory hub in cilia

Cilia are complex, microtubule-based organelles that protrude from many eukaryotic cells and have important roles in sensing, signaling, and motility. Recent studies have revealed the atomic structures of many multi-component ciliary complexes, providing new insights into their mechanisms of action that are vital for cilias biological functions. However, little is known about the structure, proteome, and function of full-length radial spoke 3 (RS3), which is distinct from the structurally well-characterized RS1 and RS2. Radial spokes are conserved megadalton complexes that transmit mechanochemical signals from the central pair of microtubules to the dynein motors, thereby coordinating ciliary motility. Here, we combined cryo-electron microscopic single-particle reconstruction, cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET), proteomic analysis, and computational modeling to determine the 3D structure and atomic model of RS3 from mouse respiratory cilia. Our structure reveals all protein components of RS3, including regulatory and metabolic enzymes, such as a protein kinase A subunit, adenylate kinases and malate dehydrogenases. We have confirmed the important role of adenylate kinase 7 in RS3 by cryo-ET analyses of respiratory cilia in AK7-deficient mice, which display primary ciliary dyskinesia. Our findings suggest that RS3 is an important regulatory hub and cluster of metabolic proteins that helps to maintain ATP at the levels required for sustained dynein motor activity and ciliary beating. This work advances our understanding of the structure and function of RS3 in ciliary motility and provides insights into the etiology of ciliopathies.

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2023

Immunoregulatory macrophages modify local pulmonary immunity and ameliorate hypoxic-pulmonary hypertension

RationaleMacrophages play a central role in the onset and progression of vascular disease in pulmonary hypertension (PH) and cell-based immunotherapies aimed at treating vascular remodeling are lacking. ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of pulmonary administration of macrophages modified to have an anti-inflammatory/pro-resolving phenotype in attenuating early pulmonary inflammation and progression of experimentally induced PH. MethodsMouse bone marrow derived macrophages (BMDMs) were polarized in vitro to a regulatory (M2reg) phenotype. M2reg profile and anti-inflammatory capacity were assessed in vitro upon lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/interferon-{gamma} (IFN{gamma}) restimulation, before their administration to 8- to 12-week-old mice. M2reg protective effect was tested at early (2 to 4 days) and late (4 weeks) time points during hypoxia (8.5% O2) exposure. Levels of inflammatory markers were quantified in alveolar macrophages and whole lung, while PH development was ascertained by right ventricular systolic pressure (RSVP) and right ventricular hypertrophy (RVH) measurements. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) from M2reg-transplanted hypoxic mice was collected, and its inflammatory potential tested on naive BMDMs. ResultsM2reg macrophages demonstrated a stable anti-inflammatory phenotype upon a subsequent pro-inflammatory stimulus by maintaining the expression of specific anti-inflammatory markers (Tgf{beta}, Il10 and Cd206) and downregulating the induction of proinflammatory cytokines and surface molecules (Cd86, Il6 and Tnf). A single dose of M2regs attenuated the hypoxic monocytic recruitment and perivascular inflammation. Early hypoxic lung and alveolar macrophage inflammation leading to PH development was significantly reduced and, importantly, M2regs attenuated RVH, RVSP and vascular remodeling at 4 weeks post treatment. ConclusionsAdoptive transfer of M2regs halts the recruitment of monocytes and modifies the hypoxic lung microenvironment, potentially changing the immunoreactivity of recruited macrophages and restoring normal immune functionality of the lung. These findings provide new mechanistic insights on the diverse role of macrophage phenotype on lung vascular homeostasis that can be explored as novel therapeutic targets.

cell biology↗