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The interleukin-3 receptor (IL-3R) subunits are overexpressed on acute myeloid leukemia (AML) blasts compared with normal hematopoietic cells and are thus potential targets for novel therapeutic agents. Both fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS) analysis and quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (QRT-PCR) were used to quantify expression of the IL-3Ralpha and beta(c) subunits on AML cells. QRT-PCR for both subunits was most predictive of killing of AML colony-forming cells (AML-CFCs) by diphtheria toxin-IL-3 fusion protein (DT(388)IL3). Among 19 patient samples,the relative level of the IL-3Ralpha was higher than the IL-3Rbeta(c) and highest in CD34(+)CD38(-)CD71(-) cells,enriched for candidate leukemia stem cells,compared with cell fractions depleted of such progenitors. Overall,the amount of IL-3Rbeta(c) subunit did not vary among sorted subpopulations. However,expression of both subunits varied by more than 10-fold among different AML samples for all subpopulations studied. The level of IL-3Rbeta(c) expression versus glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) (set at 1000) ranged from 0.14 to 13.56 in CD34(+)CD38(-)CD71(-) cells from different samples; this value was correlated (r = .76,P = .05) with the ability of DT(388)IL3 to kill AML progenitors that engraft in beta(2)-microglobin-deficient nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient (NOD/SCID) mice (n = 7). Thus,quantification of IL-3R subunit expression on AML blasts predicts the effectiveness IL-3R-targeted therapy in killing primitive leukemic progenitors. View Publication

Survivin,which is the smallest member of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) family,is a chromosomal passenger protein that mediates the spindle assembly checkpoint and cytokinesis,and also functions as an inhibitor of apoptosis. Frequently overexpressed in human cancers and not expressed in most adult tissues,survivin has been proposed as an attractive target for anticancer therapies and,in some cases,has even been touted as a cancer-specific gene. Survivin is,however,expressed in proliferating adult cells,including human hematopoietic stem cells,T-lymphocytes,and erythroid cells throughout their maturation. Therefore,it is unclear how survivin-targeted anticancer therapies would impact steady-state blood development. To address this question,we used a conditional gene-targeting strategy and abolished survivin expression from the hematopoietic compartment of mice. We show that inducible deletion of survivin leads to ablation of the bone marrow,with widespread loss of hematopoietic progenitors and rapid mortality. Surprisingly,heterozygous deletion of survivin causes defects in erythropoiesis in a subset of the animals,with a dramatic reduction in enucleated erythrocytes and the presence of immature megaloblastic erythroblasts. Our studies demonstrate that survivin is essential for steady-state hematopoiesis and survival of the adult,and further,that a high level of survivin expression is critical for proper erythroid differentiation. View Publication

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is an often fatal demyelinating disease caused by lytic infection of oligodendrocytes with JC virus (JCV). The development of PML in non-immunosuppressed individuals is a growing concern with reports of mortality in patients treated with mAb therapies. JCV can persist in the kidneys,lymphoid tissue and bone marrow. JCV gene expression is restricted by non-coding viral regulatory region sequence variation and cellular transcription factors. Because JCV latency has been associated with cells undergoing haematopoietic development,transcription factors previously reported as lymphoid specific may regulate JCV gene expression. This study demonstrates that one such transcription factor,Spi-B,binds to sequences present in the JCV promoter/enhancer and may affect early virus gene expression in cells obtained from human brain tissue. We identified four potential Spi-B-binding sites present in the promoter/enhancer elements of JCV sequences from PML variants and the non-pathogenic archetype. Spi-B sites present in the promoter/enhancers of PML variants alone bound protein expressed in JCV susceptible brain and lymphoid-derived cell lines by electromobility shift assays. Expression of exogenous Spi-B in semi- and non-permissive cells increased early viral gene expression. Strikingly,mutation of the Spi-B core in a binding site unique to the Mad-4 variant was sufficient to abrogate viral activity in progenitor-derived astrocytes. These results suggest that Spi-B could regulate JCV gene expression in susceptible cells,and may play an important role in JCV activity in the immune and nervous systems. View Publication

Structural bone allografts are widely used in the clinic to treat critical sized bone defects,despite lacking the osteoinductive characteristics of live autografts. To address this,we generated revitalized structural allografts wrapped with mesenchymal stem/progenitor cell (MSC) sheets,which were produced by expanding primary syngenic bone marrow derived cells on temperature-responsive plates,as a tissue-engineered periosteum. In vitro assays demonstrated maintenance of the MSC phenotype in the sheets,suggesting that short-term culturing of MSC sheets is not detrimental. To test their efficacy in vivo,allografts wrapped with MSC sheets were transplanted into 4-mm murine femoral defects and compared to allografts with direct seeding of MSCs and allografts without cells. Evaluations consisted of X-ray plain radiography,3D microCT,histology,and biomechanical testing at 4- and 6-weeks post-surgery. Our findings demonstrate that MSC sheets induce prolonged cartilage formation at the graft-host junction and enhanced bone callus formation,as well as graft-host osteointegration. Moreover,a large periosteal callus was observed spanning the allografts with MSC sheets,which partially mimics live autograft healing. Finally,biomechanical testing showed a significant increase in the structural and functional properties of MSC sheet grafted femurs. Taken together,MSC sheets exhibit enhanced osteogenicity during critical sized bone defect repair,demonstrating the feasibility of this tissue engineering solution for massive allograft healing. View Publication

Human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived endothelial cells and their progenitors may provide the means for vascularization of tissue-engineered constructs and can serve as models to study vascular development and disease. Here,we report a method to efficiently produce endothelial cells from hPSCs via GSK3 inhibition and culture in defined media to direct hPSC differentiation to CD34(+)CD31(+) endothelial progenitors. Exogenous vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) treatment was dispensable,and endothelial progenitor differentiation was β-catenin dependent. Furthermore,by clonal analysis,we showed that CD34(+)CD31(+)CD117(+)TIE-2(+) endothelial progenitors were multipotent,capable of differentiating into calponin-expressing smooth muscle cells and CD31(+)CD144(+)vWF(+)I-CAM1(+) endothelial cells. These endothelial cells were capable of 20 population doublings,formed tube-like structures,imported acetylated low-density lipoprotein,and maintained a dynamic barrier function. This study provides a rapid and efficient method for production of hPSC-derived endothelial progenitors and endothelial cells and identifies WNT/β-catenin signaling as a primary regulator for generating vascular cells from hPSCs. View Publication

Targeted nucleases,including zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs),transcription activator-like (TAL) effector nucleases (TALENs) and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9),have provided researchers with the ability to manipulate nearly any genomic sequence in human cells and model organisms. However,realizing the full potential of these genome-modifying technologies requires their safe and efficient delivery into relevant cell types. Unlike methods that rely on expression from nucleic acids,the direct delivery of nuclease proteins to cells provides rapid action and fast turnover,leading to fewer off-target effects while maintaining high rates of targeted modification. These features make nuclease protein delivery particularly well suited for precision genome engineering. Here we describe procedures for implementing protein-based genome editing in human embryonic stem cells and primary cells. Protocols for the expression,purification and delivery of ZFN proteins,which are intrinsically cell-permeable; TALEN proteins,which can be internalized via conjugation with cell-penetrating peptide moieties; and Cas9 ribonucleoprotein,whose nucleofection into cells facilitates rapid induction of multiplexed modifications,are described,along with procedures for evaluating nuclease protein activity. Once they are constructed,nuclease proteins can be expressed and purified within 6 d,and they can be used to induce genomic modifications in human cells within 2 d. View Publication

The use of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) as a source of cells for cell-based therapy in regenerative medicine is hampered by the limited efficiency and safety of the reprogramming procedure and the low efficiency of iPSC differentiation to specialized cell types. Evidence suggests that iPSCs retain an epigenetic memory of their parental cells with a possible influence on their differentiation capacity in vitro. We reprogramme three cell types,namely human umbilical cord vein endothelial cells (HUVECs),endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs),to iPSCs and compare their hematoendothelial differentiation capacity. HUVECs and EPCs were at least two-fold more efficient in iPSC reprogramming than HDFs. Both HUVEC- and EPC-derived iPSCs exhibited high potentiality toward endothelial cell differentiation compared with HDF-derived iPSCs. However,only HUVEC-derived iPSCs showed efficient differentiation to hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. Examination of DNA methylation at promoters of hematopoietic and endothelial genes revealed evidence for the existence of epigenetic memory at the endothelial genes but not the hematopoietic genes in iPSCs derived from HUVECs and EPCs indicating that epigenetic memory involves an endothelial differentiation bias. Our findings suggest that endothelial cells and EPCs are better sources for iPSC derivation regarding their reprogramming efficiency and that the somatic cell type used for iPSC generation toward specific cell lineage differentiation is of importance. View Publication

OVERVIEW: We show the existence of adult human mesenchymal progenitor cells (hMPCs) that can proliferate,in a cytokine-dependent manner,as individual cells in stirred suspension cultures (SSC) while maintaining their ability to form functional differentiated mesenchymal cell types. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ficolled human bone marrow (BM)-derived cells were grown in SSC (and adherent controls) in the presence and absence of exogenously added cytokines. Phenotypic,gene expression,and functional assays for hematopoietic and nonhematopoietic cell populations were used to kinetically track cell production. Limiting-dilution analysis was used to relate culture-produced cells to input cell populations. RESULTS: Cytokine cocktail influenced total and progenitor cell expansion,as well as the types of cells generated upon plating. Flow cytometric analysis of CD117,CD123,and CD45 expression showed that cytokine supplementation influenced SSC output. The concomitant growth of CD45(+) and CD45(-) cells in the cultures that exhibited the greatest hMPC expansions suggests that the growth of these cells may benefit from interactions with hematopoietic cells. Functional assays demonstrated that the SSC-derived cells (input CFU-O number: 1990+/-377) grown in the presence of SCF+IL-3 resulted,after 21 days,in the generation of a significantly greater number (ptextless0.05) of bone progenitors (33,700+/-8763 CFU-O) than similarly initiated adherent cultures (214+/-75 CFU-O). RT-PCR analysis confirmed that the SSC-derived cells grown in osteogenic conditions express bone-specific genes (Cbfa1/Runx2,bone sialoprotein,and osteocalcin). CONCLUSIONS: Our approach not only provides an alternative strategy to expand adult BM-derived nonhematopoietic progenitor cell numbers in a scalable and controllable bioprocess,but also questions established biological paradigms concerning the properties of connective-tissue stem and progenitor cells. View Publication

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The immune system can act as an extrinsic suppressor of tumors. Therefore,tumor progression depends in part on mechanisms that downmodulate intrinsic immune surveillance. Identifying these inhibitory pathways may provide promising targets to enhance antitumor immunity. Here,we show that Stat3 is constitutively activated in diverse tumor-infiltrating immune cells,and ablating Stat3 in hematopoietic cells triggers an intrinsic immune-surveillance system that inhibits tumor growth and metastasis. We observed a markedly enhanced function of dendritic cells,T cells,natural killer (NK) cells and neutrophils in tumor-bearing mice with Stat3(-/-) hematopoietic cells,and showed that tumor regression requires immune cells. Targeting Stat3 with a small-molecule drug induces T cell- and NK cell-dependent growth inhibition of established tumors otherwise resistant to direct killing by the inhibitor. Our findings show that Stat3 signaling restrains natural tumor immune surveillance and that inhibiting hematopoietic Stat3 in tumor-bearing hosts elicits multicomponent therapeutic antitumor immunity. View Publication

Differences in clinical outcome of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection in disease-resistant African sooty mangabeys (SM) and disease-susceptible Asian rhesus macaques (RM) prompted us to examine the role of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in these two animal models. Results from a cross-sectional study revealed maintenance of the frequency and absolute number of peripheral Tregs in chronically SIV-infected SM while a significant loss occurred in chronically SIV-infected RM compared to uninfected animals. A longitudinal study of experimentally SIV-infected animals revealed a transient increase in the frequency of Tregs from baseline values following acute infection in RM,but no change in the frequency of Tregs occurred in SM during this period. Further examination revealed a strong correlation between plasma viral load (VL) and the level of Tregs in SIV-infected RM but not SM. A correlation was also noted in SIV-infected RM that control VL spontaneously or in response to antiretroviral chemotherapy. In addition,immunofluorescent cell count assays showed that while Treg-depleted peripheral blood mononuclear cells from RM led to a significant enhancement of CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses to select pools of SIV peptides,there was no detectable T-cell response to the same pool of SIV peptides in Treg-depleted cells from SIV-infected SM. Our data collectively suggest that while Tregs do appear to play a role in the control of viremia and the magnitude of the SIV-specific immune response in RM,their role in disease resistance in SM remains unclear. View Publication