技术资料

Embryonic stem cell (ESC) identity and self-renewal is maintained by extrinsic signaling pathways and intrinsic gene regulatory networks. Here,we show that three members of the Ccr4-Not complex,Cnot1,Cnot2,and Cnot3,play critical roles in maintaining mouse and human ESC identity as a protein complex and inhibit differentiation into the extraembryonic lineages. Enriched in the inner cell mass of blastocysts,these Cnot genes are highly expressed in ESC and downregulated during differentiation. In mouse ESCs,Cnot1,Cnot2,and Cnot3 are important for maintenance in both normal conditions and the 2i/LIF medium that supports the ground state pluripotency. Genetic analysis indicated that they do not act through known self-renewal pathways or core transcription factors. Instead,they repress the expression of early trophectoderm (TE) transcription factors such as Cdx2. Importantly,these Cnot genes are also necessary for the maintenance of human ESCs,and silencing them mainly lead to TE and primitive endoderm differentiation. Together,our results indicate that Cnot1,Cnot2,and Cnot3 represent a novel component of the core self-renewal and pluripotency circuitry conserved in mouse and human ESCs. View Publication

Here we describe a protocol for generating 3D human intestinal tissues (called organoids) in vitro from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). To generate intestinal organoids,pluripotent stem cells are first differentiated into FOXA2(+)SOX17(+) endoderm by treating the cells with activin A for 3 d. After endoderm induction,the pluripotent stem cells are patterned into CDX2(+) mid- and hindgut tissue using FGF4 and WNT3a. During this patterning step,3D mid- or hindgut spheroids bud from the monolayer epithelium attached to the tissue culture dish. The 3D spheroids are further cultured in Matrigel along with prointestinal growth factors,and they proliferate and expand over 1-3 months to give rise to intestinal tissue,complete with intestinal mesenchyme and epithelium comprising all of the major intestinal cell types. To date,this is the only method for efficiently directing the differentiation of hPSCs into 3D human intestinal tissue in vitro. View Publication

Pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (PSC-CMs) are a potentially unlimited source of cardiomyocytes (CMs) for cardiac transplantation therapies. The establishment of pure PSC-CM populations is important for this application,but is hampered by a lack of CM-specific surface markers suitable for their identification and sorting. Contemporary purification techniques are either non-specific or require genetic modification. We report a second harmonic generation (SHG) signal detectable in PSC-CMs that is attributable to sarcomeric myosin,dependent on PSC-CM maturity,and retained while PSC-CMs are in suspension. Our study demonstrates the feasibility of developing a SHG-activated flow cytometer for the non-invasive purification of PSC-CMs. View Publication

INTRODUCTION: The induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology allows generation of patient-specific pluripotent stem cells,thereby providing a novel cell-therapy platform for severe degenerative diseases. One of the key issues for clinical-grade iPSC derivation is the accessibility of donor cells used for reprogramming. METHODS: We examined the feasibility of reprogramming mobilized GMP-grade hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and tested the pluripotency of derived iPS clones. RESULTS: Ectopic expression of OCT4,SOX2,KLF4,and c-MYC in HPCs and PBMCs resulted in rapid iPSC derivation. Long-term time-lapse imaging revealed efficient iPSC growth under serum- and feeder-free conditions with frequent mitotic events. HPC- and PBMC-derived iPS cells expressed pluripotency-associated markers,including SSEA-4,TRA-1-60,and NANOG. The global gene-expression profiles demonstrated the induction of endogenous pluripotent genes,such as LIN28,TERT,DPPA4,and PODXL,in derived iPSCs. iPSC clones from blood and other cell sources showed similar ultrastructural morphologies and genome-wide gene-expression profiles. On spontaneous and guided differentiation,HPC- and PBMC-derived iPSCs were differentiated into cells of three germ layers,including insulin-producing cells through endodermal lineage,verifying the pluripotency of the blood-derived iPSC clones. CONCLUSIONS: Because the use of blood cells allows minimally invasive tissue procurement under GMP conditions and rapid cellular reprogramming,mobilized HPCs and unmobilized PBMCs would be ideal somatic cell sources for clinical-grade iPSC derivation,especially from diabetes patients complicated by slow-healing wounds. View Publication

HIV-1 Tat-interacting protein of 110 kDa [Tip110; p110(nrb)/SART3/p110] is an RNA binding nuclear protein implicated in regulation of HIV-1 gene and host gene transcription,pre-mRNA splicing,and cancer immunology. Recently,we demonstrated a role for Tip110 in regulation of hematopoiesis. Here,we show that TIP110 is also expressed in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and expression was decreased with differentiation of these ESCs. TIP110 was found,through up- and down-modulation of expression of Tip110,to be important in maintaining pluripotent factor (NANOG,OCT4,and SOX2) expression in and pluripotency of hESCs,although the mechanisms involved and whether the Tip110 effects are direct remain to be determined. View Publication

The mechanisms underlying pluripotency and differentiation in embryonic and reprogrammed stem cells are unclear. In this work,we characterized the pluripotent state towards neural differentiated state through analysis of trace elements distribution using the Synchrotron Radiation X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy. Naive and neural-stimulated embryoid bodies (EB) derived from embryonic and induced pluripotent stem (ES and iPS) cells were irradiated with a spatial resolution of 20 µm to make elemental maps and qualitative chemical analyses. Results show that these embryo-like aggregates exhibit self-organization at the atomic level. Metallic elements content rises and consistent elemental polarization pattern of P and S in both mouse and human pluripotent stem cells were observed,indicating that neural differentiation and elemental polarization are strongly correlated. View Publication

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress occurs during early embryonic development. The aim of this study is to determine whether ER stress occurs during human embryonic stem cell differentiation induced by retinoic acid (RA). H9 human embryonic stem cells were subjected to RA treatment for up to 29. days to induce differentiation. HEK293 cells were treated with RA as a control. The results demonstrate that several ER stress-responsive genes are differentially regulated in H9 and HEK293 cells in response to 5. days of RA treatment. GRP78/Bip was upregulated in H9 cells but downregulated in HEK293 cells. eIF2?? was downregulated in H9 cells but not in HEK293 cells. Phosphorylation of eIF2?? was downregulated in H9 cells but upregulated in HEK293 cells. XBP-1 was downregulated immediately after RA treatment in H9 cells,but its downregulation was much slower in HEK293 cells. Additionally,two ER-resident E3 ubiquitin ligases,gp78 and Hrd1,were both upregulated in H9 cells following 5. days of exposure to RA. Moreover,the protein Bcl2 was undetectable in H9 cells and H9-derived cells but was expressed in HEK293 cells,and it expression in the two types of cells was unaltered by RA treatment. In H9 cells treated with RA for 29. days,GRP78/Bip,XBP-1 and Bcl2 were all upregulated. These results suggest that ER stress is involved in H9 cell differentiation induced by RA. ?? 2011 Elsevier Inc. View Publication

Human embryonic stem (hES) cells have the dual ability to self-renew and differentiate into specialized cell types. However,in order to realize the full potential of these cells it is important to understand how the genes responsible for their unique characteristics are regulated. In this study we examine the regulation of the tropomyosin-related kinase (TRK) genes which encode for receptors important in hES cell survival and self-renewal. Although the TRK genes have been studied in many neuronal cell types,the regulation of these genes in hES cells is unclear. Our study demonstrates a novel regulatory relationship between the TRKC gene and the transcription factor SOX2. Our results found that hES cells highly express full-length and truncated forms of the TRKC gene. However,examination of the related TRKB gene showed a lower overall expression of both full-length and truncated forms. Through RNA interference,we knocked down expression levels of SOX2 in hES cells and examined the expression of TRKC,as well as TRKB. Upon loss of SOX2 we found that TRKC mRNA levels were significantly downregulated but TRKB levels remained unchanged,demonstrating an important regulatory dependence on SOX2 by TRKC. We also found that TRKC protein levels were also decreased after SOX2 knock down. Further analysis found the regulatory region of TRKC to be highly conserved among many mammals with potential SOX binding motifs. We confirmed a specific binding motif as a site that SOX2 utilizes to directly interact with the TRKC regulatory region. In addition,we found that SOX2 drives expression of the TRKC gene by activating a luciferase reporter construct containing the TRKC regulatory region and the SOX binding motif. View Publication

The glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) inhibitor,6-bromoindirubin-3'-oxime (BIO),is a key regulator of many signaling pathways to maintain pluripotency of human and mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs). However,the effect of BIO on derivation of dairy goat male germline stem cells (mGSCs) remains unclear. The objectives of this study were to investigate whether BIO influences derivation of dairy goat mGSCs. Dairy goat mGSCs were cultured in mTeSR containing BIO medium and its effects on the proliferation ability of goat mGSCs (derived from goats ≤2 mo of age) were evaluated by 5-Bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation and alkaline phosphatase (AP) staining. Furthermore,its effects on maintenance of the undifferentiated state of mGSCs in late passages of cultures,as well as the capacity of mGSCs to differentiate into embryoid bodies (EBs) were examined. The presence of BIO increased the mitosis index and the number of AP positive colonies,as well as expression of pluripotent markers,Oct4,Nanog,Sox2,C-myc,Klf4,E-cadherin,and the proliferative markers,Pcna and C-myc. In contrast,there was no significant change in expression of apoptosis markers,P53,P21 and cyclin-related genes (Cyclin A,CDK2,Cyclin D1),as determined by RT-PCR analysis. When mGSCs were cultured in mTeSR medium containing BIO,EBs were formed,which were capable of further differentiating into various cell types found in the three embryonic germ layers,as determined by immunofluorescence and/or histologic staining. In conclusion,adding BIO to cultures BIO significantly promoted establishment of goat mGSC colonies and maintained their undifferentiated state. View Publication

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) require specific niches for adhesion,expansion,and lineage-specific differentiation. In this study,we showed that a membrane substrate offers better tissue niches for hESC attachment,spreading,proliferation,and differentiation. The cell doubling time was shortened from 46.3±5.7 h for hESCs grown on solid substrates to 25.6±2.6 h for those on polyester (PE) membrane substrates with pore size of 0.4 μm. In addition,we observed an increase of approximately five- to ninefold of definitive endoderm marker gene expression in hESCs differentiated on PE or polyethylene terephthalate membrane substrates. Global gene expression analysis revealed upregulated expressions of a number of extracellular matrix and cell adhesion molecules in hESCs grown on membrane substrates. Further,an enhanced nuclear translocation of β-catenin was detected in these cells. These observations suggested the augmentation of Wnt signaling in hESCs grown on membrane substrates. These results also demonstrated that a membrane substrate can offer better physicochemical cues for enhancing in vitro hESC attachment,proliferation,and differentiation. View Publication

The mechanisms by which human embryonic stem cells (hESC) differentiate to endodermal lineage have not been extensively studied. Mathematical models can aid in the identification of mechanistic information. In this work we use a population-based modeling approach to understand the mechanism of endoderm induction in hESC,performed experimentally with exposure to Activin A and Activin A supplemented with growth factors (basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF2) and bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4)). The differentiating cell population is analyzed daily for cellular growth,cell death,and expression of the endoderm proteins Sox17 and CXCR4. The stochastic model starts with a population of undifferentiated cells,wherefrom it evolves in time by assigning each cell a propensity to proliferate,die and differentiate using certain user defined rules. Twelve alternate mechanisms which might describe the observed dynamics were simulated,and an ensemble parameter estimation was performed on each mechanism. A comparison of the quality of agreement of experimental data with simulations for several competing mechanisms led to the identification of one which adequately describes the observed dynamics under both induction conditions. The results indicate that hESC commitment to endoderm occurs through an intermediate mesendoderm germ layer which further differentiates into mesoderm and endoderm,and that during induction proliferation of the endoderm germ layer is promoted. Furthermore,our model suggests that CXCR4 is expressed in mesendoderm and endoderm,but is not expressed in mesoderm. Comparison between the two induction conditions indicates that supplementing FGF2 and BMP4 to Activin A enhances the kinetics of differentiation than Activin A alone. This mechanistic information can aid in the derivation of functional,mature cells from their progenitors. While applied to initial endoderm commitment of hESC,the model is general enough to be applicable either to a system of adult stem cells or later stages of ESC differentiation. View Publication

In this unit,we describe a simple coculture-free method for obtaining mast cells from mouse and human embryonic stem (ES) cells. Much of our knowledge regarding the mechanisms by which mast cells are activated comes from studies of mouse bone marrow-derived mast cells. Studies of human mast cells have been hampered by the limited sources from which they can be cultured,the difficulty in introducing specific genetic changes into these cells,and differences between established cultures that reflect the unique genetic makeup of the tissue donor. Derivation of mast cells from embryonic stem cells addresses these limitations. ES-derived mast cells can be generated in numbers sufficient for studies of the pathways involved in mast cell effector functions. These ES cell-derived mast cells respond to antigens and other stimuli by releasing histamine,cytokines,lipids,and other bioactive mediators. The derivation of human mast cells from ES cells carrying mutations introduced by homologous recombination should provide a novel means of testing the function of genes in both the development and the effector functions of mast cells. View Publication