技术资料

The groundbreaking discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) provides a new source for cell therapy. However,whether the iPS derived functional lineages from different cell origins have different immunogenicity remains unknown. It had been known that the cells isolated from extra-embryonic tissues,such as umbilical cord mesenchymal cells (UMCs),are less immunogenic than other adult lineages such as skin fibroblasts (SFs). In this report,we differentiated iPS cells from human UMCs and SFs into neural progenitor cells (NPCs) and analyzed their immunogenicity. Through co-culture with allologous peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs),we showed that UMCs were indeed less immunogenic than skin cells to simulate proliferation of PBMCs. Surprisingly,we found that the NPCs differentiated from UMC-iPS cells retained low immunogenicity as the parental UMCs based on the PBMC proliferation assay. In cytotoxic expression assay,reactions in most kinds of immune effector cells showed more perforin and granzyme B expression with SF-NPCs stimulation than that with UMC-NPCs stimulation in PBMC co-culture system,in T cell co-culture system as well. Furthermore,through whole genome expression microarray analysis,we showed that over 70 immune genes,including all members of HLA-I,were expressed at lower levels in NPCs derived from UMC-iPS cells than that from SF-iPS cells. Our results demonstrated a phenomenon that the low immunogenicity of the less immunogenic cells could be retained after cell reprogramming and further differentiation,thus provide a new concept to generate functional lineages with lower immunogenicity for regenerative medicine. View Publication

The development of the mature epidermis requires a coordinated sequence of signaling events and transcriptional changes to specify surface ectodermal progenitor cells to the keratinocyte lineage. The initial events that specify epidermal keratinocytes from ectodermal progenitor cells are not well understood. Here,we use both developing mouse embryos and human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) to explore the mechanisms that direct keratinocyte fate from ectodermal progenitor cells. We show that both hESCs and murine embryos express p63 before keratin 14. Furthermore,we find that Notch signaling is activated before p63 expression in ectodermal progenitor cells. Inhibition of Notch signaling pharmacologically or genetically reveals a negative regulatory role for Notch signaling in p63 expression during ectodermal specification in hESCs or mouse embryos,respectively. Taken together,these data reveal a role for Notch signaling in the molecular control of ectodermal progenitor cell specification to the epidermal keratinocyte lineage. View Publication

Genomic abnormalities may accumulate in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) during in vitro maintenance. Characterization of the mechanisms enabling survival and expansion of abnormal hESCs is important due to consequences of genetic changes for the therapeutic utilization of stem cells. Furthermore,these cells provide an excellent model to study transformation in vitro. We report here that the histone deacetylase proteins,HDAC1 and HDAC2,are increased in karyotypically abnormal hESCs when compared to their normal counterparts. Importantly,similar to many cancer cell lines,we found that HDAC inhibitors repress proliferation of the karyotypically abnormal hESCs,whereas normal cells are more resistant to the treatment. The decreased proliferation correlates with downregulation of HDAC1 and HDAC2 proteins,induction of the proliferation inhibitor,cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1A (CDKN1A),and altered regulation of tumor suppressor protein Retinoblastoma 1 (RB1). Through genome-wide transcriptome analysis we have identified genes with altered expression and responsiveness to HDAC inhibition in abnormal cells. Most of these genes are linked to severe developmental and neurological diseases and cancers. Our results highlight the importance of epigenetic mechanisms in the regulation of genomic stability of hESCs,and provide valuable candidates for targeted and selective growth inhibition of karyotypically abnormal cells. textcopyright 2013 Elsevier B.V. View Publication

Human (h) pluripotent stem cells (PSC) such as embryonic stem cells (ESC) can be directed into cardiomyocytes (CMs),representing a potential unlimited cell source for disease modeling,cardiotoxicity screening and myocardial repair. Although the electrophysiology of single hESC-CMs is now better defined,their multi-cellular arrhythmogenicity has not been thoroughly assessed due to the lack of a suitable experimental platform. Indeed,the generation of ventricular (V) fibrillation requires single-cell triggers as well as sustained multi-cellular reentrant events. Although native VCMs are aligned in a highly organized fashion such that electrical conduction is anisotropic for coordinated contractions,hESC-derived CM (hESC-CM) clusters are heterogenous and randomly organized,and therefore not representative of native conditions. Here,we reported that engineered alignment of hESC-VCMs on biomimetic grooves uniquely led to physiologically relevant responses. Aligned but not isotropic control preparations showed distinct longitudinal (L) and transverse (T) conduction velocities (CV),resembling the native human V anisotropic ratio (AR=LCV/TCV=1.8-2.0). Importantly,the total incidence of spontaneous and inducible arrhythmias significantly reduced from 57% in controls to 17-23% of aligned preparations,thereby providing a physiological baseline for assessing arrhythmogenicity. As such,promotion of pro-arrhythmic effect (e.g.,spatial dispersion by ?? adrenergic stimulation) could be better predicted. Mechanistically,such anisotropy-induced electrical stability was not due to maturation of the cellular properties of hESC-VCMs but their physical arrangement. In conclusion,not only do functional anisotropic hESC-VCMs engineered by multi-scale topography represent a more accurate model for efficacious drug discovery and development as well as arrhythmogenicity screening (of pharmacological and genetic factors),but our approach may also lead to future transplantable prototypes with improved efficacy and safety against arrhythmias. ?? 2013. View Publication

INTRODUCTION: The assay of endogenous erythroid colony formation (EEC),a characteristic of polycythemia vera and essential thrombocythemia,is not standardized. In this multicentric study,we tested four semisolid,serum-free,cytokine-free media based on either methylcellulose (M1,M2) or collagen (C1,C2) commercialized for the EEC assay. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMC) from 73 individuals (62 patients with either polycythemia vera (26),essential thrombocythemia (19),secondary polyglobuly (17) or chronic myeloid leukemia (2) and 11 healthy donors) were grown in parallel in the four media without,or with 0.01 U/ml erythropoietin (EPo). RESULTS: In all four media EEC formation was specific,as it was not observed in cultures of patients with secondary polyglobuly or chronic myeloid leukemia,nor of healthy donors. Analysis of fresh or MGG-stained collagen gel cultures allowed detection of EEC formation significantly more frequently than methylcellulose-based media; addition of 0.01 U/ml of EPo had little or no effect on EEC formation. Collagen-based medium C1 gave better results than the other media tested: the 'C1' EEC assay was positive for 68.2% of polycythemia vera cultures with significantly higher median EEC numbers (6.5/10(5) BMMC for patients with one major criteria of polycythemia vera and 19 and 21/10(5) BMMC for patients with two or three major criteria,respectively). Medium C1 was also better for essential thrombocythemia cultures with 47.4% of positive results but with a low median EEC number (6.7/10(5) BMMC). When associated with the ELISA dosage of serum EPo,the 'C1' EEC assay allowed confirmation or elimination of the diagnosis of polycythemia vera for 91% (20/22) of polyglobulic patients. CONCLUSION: We propose that serum-free collagen-based culture systems be considered to standardize the EEC assay,now part of the new criteria of polycythemia vera. View Publication

Because of the wide use of pesticides for domestic and industrial purposes,the evaluation of their potential effects is of major concern for public health. The myelotoxicity of the herbicide propanil (3,4-dichloroproprioanilide) and its metabolite 3,4-dichloroaniline (DCA) is well documented in mice,but evidence that pesticides may severely compromise hematopoiesis in humans is lacking. In this study,an interspecies comparison of in vitro toxicity of these two compounds on murine and human burst- and colony-forming unit-erythrocyte (BFU-E,CFU-E) and colony-forming unit-granulocyte/macrophage (CFU-GM) progenitors,has been carried out. Murine bone marrow progenitors and human cord blood cells were exposed to propanil or DCA in doses ranging from 10 micro M to 1000 micro M,and the toxic effect was detected by a clonogenic assay with continuous exposure to the compounds. The results on murine cells indicate that the erythrocytic lineage is the most sensitive target for propanil and DCA. On the other hand,human progenitors seem to be less sensitive to the toxic effects of both compounds than murine progenitors at the same concentrations (IC(50) values are 305.2 +/- 22.6 micro M [total erythroid colonies] and textgreater500 micro M [CFU-GM] for propanil). Propanil was significantly more toxic to human erythroid progenitors than to human CFU-GM progenitors,as was found for the murine cells,emphasizing the role of the heme pathway as the target for propanil. These data confirm the evidence that the compounds investigated interfere with erythroid colony formation at different stages of the differentiation pathway and have different effects according to the dose. View Publication

CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins (C/EBPs) are a family of factors that regulate cell growth and differentiation. These factors,particularly C/EBPalpha and C/EBPepsilon,have important roles in normal myelopoiesis. In addition,loss of C/EBP activity appears to have a role in the pathogenesis of myeloid disorders including acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a subtype of AML in which a role for C/EBPs has been postulated. In almost all cases of APL,a promyelocytic leukemia-retinoic acid receptor alpha (PML-RARalpha) fusion protein is expressed as a result of a t(15;17)(q22;q12) chromosomal translocation. PML-RARalpha inhibits expression of C/EBPepsilon,whereas all-trans retinoic acid (tRA),a differentiating agent to which APL is particularly susceptible,induces C/EBPepsilon expression. PML-RARalpha may also inhibit C/EBPalpha activity. Thus,the effects of PML-RARalpha on C/EBPs may contribute to both the development of leukemia and the unique sensitivity of APL to tRA. We tested the hypothesis that increasing the activity of C/EBPs would revert the leukemic phenotype. C/EBPalpha and C/EBPepsilon were introduced into the FDC-P1 myeloid cell line and into leukemic cells from PML-RARA transgenic mice. C/EBP factors suppressed growth and induced partial differentiation in vitro. In vivo,enhanced expression of C/EBPs prolonged survival. By using a tamoxifen-responsive version of C/EBPepsilon,we observed that C/EBPepsilon could mimic the effect of tRA,driving neutrophilic differentiation in leukemic animals. Our results support the hypothesis that induction of C/EBP activity is a critical effect of tRA in APL. Furthermore,our findings suggest that targeted modulation of C/EBP activities could provide a new approach to therapy of AML. View Publication

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is associated with the development of malignant lymphomas and lymphoproliferative disorders in immunocompromised individuals. The LMP2A protein of EBV is thought to play a central role in this process by allowing the virus to persist in latently infected B lymphocytes. We have demonstrated that LMP2A,when expressed in B cells of transgenic mice,allows normal B-cell developmental checkpoints to be bypassed. To identify cellular genes targeted by LMP2A that are involved in this process,we have utilized DNA microarrays to compare gene transcription in B cells from wild-type versus LMP2A transgenic mice. In B cells from LMP2A transgenic mice,we observed decreased expression of many genes associated with normal B-cell development as well as reduced levels of the transcription factors that regulate their expression. In particular,expression of the transcription factor E2A was down-regulated in bone marrow and splenic B cells. Furthermore,E2A activity was inhibited in these cells as determined by decreased DNA binding and reduced expression of its target genes,including the transcription factors early B-cell factor and Pax-5. Expression of two E2A inhibitors,Id2 and SCL,was up-regulated in splenic B cells expressing LMP2A,suggesting a possible mechanism for E2A inhibition. These results indicate that LMP2A deregulates transcription factor expression and activity in developing B cells,and this likely allows for a bypass of normal signaling events required for proper B-cell development. The ability of LMP2A to interfere with B-cell transcription factor regulation has important implications regarding its role in EBV latency. View Publication

Kit receptor tyrosine kinase and erythropoietin receptor (Epo-R) cooperate in regulating blood cell development. Mice that lack the expression of Kit or Epo-R die in utero of severe anemia. Stimulation of Kit by its ligand,stem cell factor activates several distinct early signaling pathways,including phospholipase C gamma,phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase,Src kinase,Grb2,and Grb7. The role of these pathways in Kit-induced growth,proliferation,or cooperation with Epo-R is not known. We demonstrate that inactivation of any one of these early signaling pathways in Kit significantly impairs growth and proliferation. However,inactivation of the Src pathway demonstrated the most profound defect. Combined stimulation with Epo also resulted in impaired cooperation between Src-defective Kit mutant and Epo-R and,to a lesser extent,with Kit mutants defective in the activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase or Grb2. The impaired cooperation between the Src-defective Kit mutant and Epo-R was associated with reduced transphosphorylation of Epo-R and expression of c-Myc. Remarkably,restoration of only the Src pathway in a Kit receptor defective in the activation of all early signaling pathways demonstrated a 50% correction in proliferation in response to Kit stimulation and completely restored the cooperation with Epo-R. These data demonstrate an essential role for Src pathway in regulating growth,proliferation,and cooperation with Epo-R downstream from Kit. View Publication

Essential thrombocythemia (ET) and polycythemia vera (PV) are clonal myeloproliferative disorders that are often difficult to distinguish from other causes of elevated blood cell counts. Assays that could reliably detect clonal hematopoiesis would therefore be extremely valuable for diagnosis. We previously reported 3 X-chromosome transcription-based clonality assays (TCAs) involving the G6PD,IDS,and MPP1 genes,which together were informative in about 65% of female subjects. To increase our ability to detect clonality,we developed simple TCA for detecting the transcripts of 2 additional X-chromosome genes: Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) and 4-and-a-half LIM domain 1 (FHL1). The combination of TCA established the presence or absence of clonal hematopoiesis in about 90% of female subjects. We show that both genes are subject to X-chromosome inactivation and are polymorphic in all major US ethnic groups. The 5 TCAs were used to examine clonality in 46 female patients along with assays for erythropoietin-independent erythroid colonies (EECs) and granulocyte PRV-1 mRNA levels to discriminate polycythemias and thrombocytoses. Of these,all 19 patients with familial polycythemia or thrombocytosis had polyclonal hematopoiesis,whereas 22 of 26 patients with clinical evidence of myeloproliferative disorder and 1 patient with clinically obscure polycythemia were clonal. Interestingly,interferon alpha therapy in 2 patients with PV was associated with reversion of clonal to polyclonal hematopoiesis. EECs were observed in 14 of 14 patients with PV and 4 of 12 with ET,and increased granulocyte PRV-1 mRNA levels were found in 9 of 13 patients with PV and 2 of 12 with ET. Thus,these novel clonality assays are useful in the diagnosis and follow-up of polycythemic conditions and disorders with increased platelet levels. View Publication