Biology subjects

Solmonson, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Solmonson, A..

7 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Reconstituting Mouse Embryogenesis Ex Utero from Gastrulation to Fetal Development Reveals Maternally Independent Metabolic Programs

Mammalian development takes place inside the maternal uterus, creating technological constraints that make difficult the study of embryogenesis in live developing embryos. A central challenge for understanding the role of metabolism in mammalian development is discriminating placental and uterine-regulated signals from embryo-intrinsic processes independent of maternal influence, a process that until now has remained inseparable during gastrulation and organogenesis1-3. Ex utero culture systems allowing continuous growth of embryos during pre-gastrulation to organogenesis4,5 offer a promising solution to this challenge. Here, we present optimized ex utero culture platforms that support faithful development of mouse embryos from gastrulation (embryonic day 6.5/7.5) through the fetal period (embryonic day [~]12.5) and harnessed these platforms for dissecting metabolic transitions in vivo during embryogenesis independently of uterus and placenta. We characterized the metabolome of in utero and ex utero whole embryos, fetal organs and culture medium between embryonic days E6.5 and E12.5 by liquid chromatography mass-spectrometry (LC-MS) metabolomics, isotope tracing, and single cell transcriptomics. These datasets present a comprehensive overview of the dynamic embryonic metabolism during gastrulation and organogenesis in utero and ex utero. This analysis revealed that the midgestational metabolic switch occurring at E10.5-E11.5 is faithfully recapitulated ex utero, indicating that this transition is intrinsically programmed in embryonic tissues and does not require direct maternal or placental cues. Notably, oxygen availability modulated the extent of this transition, but elevated oxygen was insufficient to induce it prematurely, demonstrating that the switch is developmentally timed and only partially environmental-responsive. We further harnessed the ex utero platform for identifying and perturbing a mitochondrial redox shift at E7.5-E8.5 that is critical for developmental progress after gastrulation. These findings uncover the remarkable metabolic plasticity of the mammalian embryo, demonstrating its capacity to sustain growth independently of maternal inputs from the establishment of the body plan through the onset of the fetal period. Moreover, they highlight the use of long-term ex utero culture as a unique framework for dissecting the mechanisms that shape embryogenesis under physiological and experimentally perturbed conditions, while functionally uncoupling embryonic programs from maternal and placental influences.

developmental biology↗

bioRxiv2026

Midgestation metabolic constraint in purine metabolism drives distinct strategies for placenta and fetal growth

Purine nucleotides are essential for mammalian development1,2. Purine monophosphates support cell signaling and proliferation and are synthesized by cells through either de novo synthesis or a salvage pathway3. We previously identified a midgestational metabolic transition in mice (gestational days gd10.5-11.5) characterized by changes in purine metabolism4. Midgestation is a period of rapid growth for placenta and embryo, yet it remains unclear how the placental tissues expand without directly competing with the embryo for biosynthetic resources. Here, we show that this midgestational metabolic transition is associated with a marked reduction in embryonic expression of purine salvage enzymes, which constrains embryonic metabolism and leads to different strategies for purine synthesis between the placenta and embryo. Midgestation embryos are unable to engage the purine salvage pathway even when de novo purine synthesis is blocked either in vivo or in ex utero embryo culture, whereas placental tissue and trophoblasts retain the capacity to use either pathway. Disruption of de novo purine synthesis in mice causes reduced embryonic growth, impaired axial elongation, and abnormal brain and placental development, which are only partially rescued by supplementation with purine salvage precursors. In human placenta, trophoblast stem cells readily switch between the de novo and salvage pathways based on nutrient availability, and syncytiotrophoblasts (STB) preferentially rely on the salvage pathway. We identified guanosine monophosphate (GMP) as a metabolic checkpoint regulating STB differentiation, with insufficient GMP levels causing degradation of the small GTPase Rheb and failure of mTOR activation. Supplementation of purine salvage substrates restored GMP synthesis and STB differentiation in humans, but not mice. Further, in vivo measurements in humans revealed that maternal circulating hypoxanthine decreases during pregnancy and is further reduced in women with clinically small placentas, highlighting the role of hypoxanthine in supporting placental growth. These results uncover compartmentalized purine salvage between the embryo and placenta as a mechanism that limits competition for biosynthetic resources and enables coordinated growth during mammalian development.

developmental biology↗

bioRxiv2025

Nitrogen metabolism profiling reveals cell state-specific pyrimidine synthesis pathway choice

Conventional stable isotope tracing assays track one or several metabolites. However, cells use an array of nutrients to sustain nitrogen metabolic pathways. This incongruency hampers a system level understanding of cellular nitrogen metabolism. Therefore, we created a platform to simultaneously trace 30 nitrogen isotope-labeled metabolites. This platform revealed that while primitive cells engage both de novo and salvage pyrimidine synthesis pathways, differentiated cells nearly exclusively salvage uridine despite expressing de novo pathway enzymes. This link between cell state and pyrimidine synthesis routes persisted in physiological contexts, including primary murine and human tissues and tumor xenografts. Mechanistically, we found that Ser1900 phosphorylation of CAD, the first enzyme of the de novo pathway, was enriched in primitive cells and that mimicking this modification in differentiated cells abrogated their preference for pyrimidine salvage. Collectively, we establish a method for nitrogen metabolism profiling and define a mechanism of cell state-specific pyrimidine synthesis pathway choice.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2025

L-2-hydroxyglutarate impairs neuronal differentiation through epigenetic activation of MYC expression

High levels of L- and D-2-hydroxyglutarate, the reduced forms of -ketoglutarate (KG), are implicated in human neurodevelopmental disorders and cancer. Both enantiomers exert effects on epigenetics by modulating a family of KG-dependent dioxygenases involved in histone, DNA and RNA demethylation. L-2HG dehydrogenase (L2HGDH) converts L-2HG to KG. Its deficiency is a rare, autosomal recessive inborn error of metabolism (IEM) characterized by systemic elevations of L-2HG, progressive neurological disability and a high risk of malignancy in the brain. The mechanisms behind these aberrations are unknown. Here we used an isogenic, patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) system to study the impact of L2HGDH deficiency on neural progenitor cell (NPC) function and neuronal differentiation. We demonstrate that L2HGDH deficiency causes accumulation of L-2HG, NPC hyperproliferation, increased clonogenicity, excessive growth, and defective neuronal differentiation in 2D cultures and cortical spheroids. Editing the L2HGDH locus to wild-type reverses these effects. Blocking L-2HG accumulation in NPCs with a glutaminase inhibitor also induces neuronal differentiation. L-2HG-dependent inhibition of KDM5 histone demethylases leads to widespread retention of H3K4me2 and H3K4me3, markers of active gene expression. These marks are prominently elevated at the MYC locus in L2HGDH-deficient cells, and consequently cells express high MYC both in 2D culture and in many distinct cell types within cortical spheroids. Although thousands of loci display altered histone methylation, genetically or pharmacologically normalizing MYC is sufficient to completely reverse defective neuronal differentiation. These data indicate that the primary metabolic disturbance in an iPSC IEM model activates the MYC oncogene, favoring stem cell self-renewal and suppressing lineage commitment to neurons.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2025

NAD+ Sensing by PARP7 Regulates the C/EBPβ-Dependent Transcription Program in Adipose Tissue In Vivo

We have identified PARP7, an NAD+-dependent mono(ADP-ribosyl) transferase, as a key regulator of the C/EBP{beta}-dependent proadipogenic transcription program. Moreover, PARP7 is required for efficient adipogenesis and downstream biological functions, including involution of the lactating mammary gland. PARP7 serves as a coregulator of C/EBP{beta}, and depletion of PARP7 causes a dramatic reduction in C/EBP{beta} binding across the genome. PARP7 functions as a sensor of nuclear NAD+ levels to control gene expression. At the relatively high nuclear NAD+ concentrations in undifferentiated preadipocytes, PARP7 is catalytically active for auto- mono(ADP-ribosyl)ation (autoMARylation). As nuclear NAD+ concentrations decline post- differentiation, autoMARylation decreases dramatically. AutoMARylation promotes instability of PARP7 through an E3 ligase-ubiquitin-proteasome pathway mediated by the ADP-ribose (ADPR)-binding ubiquitin E3 ligases DTX2 and RNF114. Genetic depletion of PARP7 in mice promotes a dramatic reduction in a wide array of lipids in the mammary gland fat pads and milk from lactating females, as well as a significant decrease in nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), a key nutrient in mothers milk. The latter is due to reduced expression of Nampt, the gene encoding NAMPT, the enzyme that produces NMN, which is a direct transcriptional target of PARP7 and C/EBP{beta}. Collectively, our results extend the biology of PARP7 to adipogenesis and perinatal health. Moreover, our results describe the molecular events that regulate these downstream biological functions.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis coordinates mitochondrial oxidative metabolism

Cells harbor two systems for fatty acid synthesis, one in the cytoplasm (catalyzed by fatty acid synthase, FASN) and one in the mitochondria (mtFAS). In contrast to FASN, mtFAS is poorly characterized, especially in higher eukaryotes, with the major product(s), metabolic roles, and cellular function(s) being essentially unknown. Here we show that hypomorphic mtFAS mutants display a severe loss of electron transport chain (ETC) complexes and exhibit compensatory metabolic activities including reductive carboxylation. This effect on ETC complexes appears to be independent of protein lipoylation, the best characterized function of mtFAS, as mutants lacking lipoylation have an intact ETC. Finally, mtFAS impairment blocks the differentiation of skeletal myoblasts in vitro. Together, these data suggest that ETC activity in mammals is profoundly controlled by mtFAS function, thereby connecting anabolic fatty acid synthesis with the oxidation of carbon fuels.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2019

Identification of a fatty acid-sensitive interaction between mitochondrial uncoupling protein 3 and enoyl-CoA hydratase 1 in skeletal muscle

Skeletal muscle mitochondrial fatty acid (FA) overload in response to chronic overnutrition is a prominent pathophysiological mechanism in obesity-induced metabolic disease. Increased disposal of FAs is therefore an attractive strategy for intervening in obesity and related disorders. Skeletal muscle uncoupling protein 3 (UCP3) activity is associated with increased FA oxidation and antagonizes weight gain in mice on obesogenic diets, but the mechanisms involved are not clear. Here, we show that UCP3 forms a direct, FA-stimulated, mitochondrial matrix-localized complex with the auxiliary unsaturated FA-metabolizing enzyme, {Delta}3,5-{Delta}2,4dienoyl-CoA-isomerase (ECH1). Expression studies in C2C12 myoblasts that functionally augments state 4 (uncoupled) respiration and FA oxidation in skeletal myocytes.\n\nMechanistic studies indicate that ECH1:UCP3 complex formation is likely stimulated by FA import into the mitochondria to enhance uncoupled respiration and unsaturated FA oxidation in mouse skeletal myocytes. In order to characterize the contribution of ECH1-dependent FA metabolism in NST, we generated an ECH1 knockout mouse and found that these mice were severely cold intolerant, despite an up-regulation of UCP3 expression in SKM. These findings illuminate a novel mechanism that links unsaturated FA metabolism with mitochondrial uncoupling and non-shivering thermogenesis in SKM.

biochemistry↗