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To gain insight into the molecular regulation of human heart development,a detailed comparison of the mRNA and miRNA transcriptomes across differentiating human-induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes and biopsies from fetal,adult,and hypertensive human hearts was performed. Gene ontology analysis of the mRNA expression levels of the hiPSCs differentiating into cardiomyocytes revealed 3 distinct groups of genes: pluripotent specific,transitional cardiac specification,and mature cardiomyocyte specific. Hierarchical clustering of the mRNA data revealed that the transcriptome of hiPSC cardiomyocytes largely stabilizes 20 days after initiation of differentiation. Nevertheless,analysis of cells continuously cultured for 120 days indicated that the cardiomyocytes continued to mature toward a more adult-like gene expression pattern. Analysis of cardiomyocyte-specific miRNAs (miR-1,miR-133a/b,and miR-208a/b) revealed an miRNA pattern indicative of stem cell to cardiomyocyte specification. A biostatistitical approach integrated the miRNA and mRNA expression profiles revealing a cardiomyocyte differentiation miRNA network and identified putative mRNAs targeted by multiple miRNAs. Together,these data reveal the miRNA network in human heart development and support the notion that overlapping miRNA networks re-enforce transcriptional control during developmental specification. View Publication

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Measuring spatial and temporal patterns of cytochemical variation in human embryonic stem cell (hESC) colonies is necessary for understanding the role of cellular communication in spontaneous differentiation,the mechanisms of biological niche creation,and structure-generating developmental processes. Such insights will ultimately facilitate directed differentiation and therewith promote advances in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. However,the patterns of cytochemical inhomogeneities of hESC colonies are not well studied and their causes are not fully understood. We used Raman spectroscopic mapping to contrast supracellular variations in cytochemical composition across pluripotent and partly differentiated hESC colonies to gain a better understanding of the early-stage (i.e.,5 days) effects of the differentiation process on the nature and evolution of these patterns. Higher protein-to-nucleic acid ratios,a differentiation status indicator observed previously using Raman spectroscopy,confirmed reported results that spontaneous differentiation is more pronounced on the edges of a colony than elsewhere. In addition,pluripotent and partly differentiated colonies also showed higher lipid concentrations relative to nucleic acids at colony edges in contrast to relative glycogen concentrations,which were up to 400% more pronounced in the colony centers compared to their edges. Pluripotent and partly differentiated colonies differed,with the latter having higher average protein-to-nucleic acid and lipid-to-nucleic acid ratios but a lower glycogen-to-nucleic acid ratio. In both cases,cell density,pluripotency,and high glycogen appeared to vary in tandem. Spatial variations in glycogen- and protein-to-nucleic acid ratios have features on the order of 100 μm and larger. These dimensions are consistent with those reported for stem cell niches and suggest that cytochemical inhomogeneities may provide colony-level information about niches and niche formation. These results demonstrate Raman mapping to be a potentially useful technique for revealing the complexities in the spatial organization of hESC cultures and thus for monitoring the evolution of engineered hESC niches. View Publication

Human pluripotent stem cells hold promising potential in many therapeutics applications including regenerative medicine and drug discovery. Over the past three decades,embryonic stem cell research has illustrated that embryonic stem cells possess two important and distinct properties: the ability to continuously self-renew and the ability to differentiate into all specialized cell types. In this article,we will discuss the continuing evolution of human pluripotent stem cell culture by examining requirements needed for the maintenance of self-renewal in vitro. We will also elaborate on the future direction of the field toward generating a robust and completely defined culture system,which has brought forth collaborations amongst biologists and engineers. As human pluripotent stem cell research progresses towards identifying solutions for debilitating diseases,it will be critical to establish a defined,reproducible and scalable culture system to meet the requirements of these clinical applications. View Publication

The midbody is a singular organelle formed between daughter cells during cytokinesis and required for their final separation. Midbodies persist in cells long after division as midbody derivatives (MB(d)s),but their fate is unclear. Here we show that MB(d)s are inherited asymmetrically by the daughter cell with the older centrosome. They selectively accumulate in stem cells,induced pluripotent stem cells and potential cancer 'stem cells' in vivo and in vitro. MB(d) loss accompanies stem-cell differentiation,and involves autophagic degradation mediated by binding of the autophagic receptor NBR1 to the midbody protein CEP55. Differentiating cells and normal dividing cells do not accumulate MB(d)s and possess high autophagic activity. Stem cells and cancer cells accumulate MB(d)s by evading autophagosome encapsulation and exhibit low autophagic activity. MB(d) enrichment enhances reprogramming to induced pluripotent stem cells and increases the in vitro tumorigenicity of cancer cells. These results indicate unexpected roles for MB(d)s in stem cells and cancer 'stem cells'. View Publication

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and their differentiated progeny allow for investigation of important changes/events during normal embryonic development. Currently most of the research is focused on proteinacous changes occurring as a result of differentiation of stem cells and little is known about changes in cell surface glycosylation patterns. Identification of cell lineage specific glycans can help in understanding their role in maintenance,proliferation and differentiation. Furthermore,these glycans can serve as markers for isolation of homogenous populations of cells. Using a panel of eight biotinylated lectins,the glycan expression of hESCs,hESCs-derived human neural progenitors (hNP) cells,and hESCs-derived mesenchymal progenitor (hMP) cells was investigated. Our goal was to identify glycans that are unique for hNP cells and use the corresponding lectins for cell isolation. Flow cytometry and immunocytochemistry were used to determine expression and localization of glycans,respectively,in each cell type. These results show that the glycan expression changes upon differentiation of hESCs and is different for neural and mesenchymal lineage. For example,binding of PHA-L lectin is low in hESCs (14±4.4%) but significantly higher in differentiated hNP cells (99±0.4%) and hMP cells (90±3%). Three lectins: VVA,DBA and LTL have low binding in hESCs and hMP cells,but significantly higher binding in hNP cells. Finally,VVA lectin binding was used to isolate hNP cells from a mixed population of hESCs,hNP cells and hMP cells. This is the first report that compares glycan expression across these human stem cell lineages and identifies significant differences. Also,this is the first study that uses VVA lectin for isolation for human neural progenitor cells. View Publication

Efficient derivation and isolation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) from human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) populations remains a major goal in the field of developmental hematopoiesis. These enticing pluripotent stem cells (comprising both human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells) have been successfully used to generate a wide array of hematopoietic cells in vitro,from primitive hematoendothelial precursors to mature myeloid,erythroid,and lymphoid lineage cells. However,to date,PSC-derived cells have demonstrated only limited potential for long-term multilineage hematopoietic engraftment in vivo - the test by which putative HSCs are defined. Successful generation and characterization of HSCs from hPSCs not only requires an efficient in vitro differentiation system that provides insight into the developmental fate of hPSC-derived cells,but also necessitates an in vivo engraftment model that allows identification of specific mechanisms that hinder or promote hematopoietic engraftment. In this chapter,we will describe a method that utilizes firefly luciferase-expressing hPSCs and bioluminescent imaging to noninvasively track the survival,proliferation,and migration of transplanted hPSC-derived cells. Combined with lineage and functional analyses of engrafted cells,this system is a useful tool to gain insight into the in vivo potential of hematopoietic cells generated from hPSCs. View Publication

Mitochondrial dysfunction has been demonstrated to result in premature aging due to its effects on stem cells. Nevertheless,a full understanding of the role of mitochondrial bioenergetics through differentiation is still lacking. Here we show the bioenergetics profile of human stem cells of embryonic origin differentiating along the hepatic lineage. Our study reveals especially the transition between hepatic specification and hepatic maturation as dependent on mitochondrial respiration and demonstrates that even though differentiating cells are primarily dependent on glycolysis until induction of hepatocyte maturation,oxidative phosphorylation is essential at all stages of differentiation. View Publication

Evi1 (ecotropic viral integration site 1) is essential for proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells and implicated in the development of myeloid disorders. Particularly,high Evi1 expression defines one of the largest clusters in acute myeloid leukemia and is significantly associated with extremely poor prognosis. However,mechanistic basis of Evi1-mediated leukemogenesis has not been fully elucidated. Here,we show that Evi1 directly represses phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) transcription in the murine bone marrow,which leads to activation of AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling. In a murine bone marrow transplantation model,Evi1 leukemia showed modestly increased sensitivity to an mTOR inhibitor rapamycin. Furthermore,we found that Evi1 binds to several polycomb group proteins and recruits polycomb repressive complexes for PTEN down-regulation,which shows a novel epigenetic mechanism of AKT/mTOR activation in leukemia. Expression analyses and ChIPassays with human samples indicate that our findings in mice models are recapitulated in human leukemic cells. Dependence of Evi1-expressing leukemic cells on AKT/mTOR signaling provides the first example of targeted therapeutic modalities that suppress the leukemogenic activity of Evi1. The PTEN/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway and the Evi1-polycomb interaction can be promising therapeutic targets for leukemia with activated Evi1. View Publication