技术资料

DPF2,also named ubi-d4/requiem (REQU),interacts with a protein complex containing OCT4. This paper provides data in support of the research article entitled DPF2 regulates OCT4 protein level and nuclear distribution". The highlights include: (1) Denature-immunoprecipitation assay revealed ubiquitination of OCT4 in pluripotent H9 cells� View Publication

The generation of liquefied poly-ɛ-caprolactone (PCL) droplets by means of a microfluidic device results in uniform-sized microspheres,which are validated as microcarriers for human embryonic stem cell culture. Formed droplet size and size distribution,as well as the resulting PCL microsphere size,are correlated with the viscosity and flow rate ratio of the dispersed (Q d) and continuous (Q c) phases. PCL in dichloromethane increases its viscosity with concentration and molecular weight. Higher viscosity and Q d/Q c lead to the formation of larger droplets,within two observed formation modes: dripping and jetting. At low viscosity of dispersed phase and Q d/Q c,the microfluidic device is operated in dripping mode,which generates droplets and microspheres with greater size uniformity. Solutions with lower molecular weight PCL have lower viscosity,resulting in a wider concentration range for the dripping mode. When coated with extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins,the fabricated PCL microspheres are demonstrated capable of supporting the expansion of human embryonic stem cells. View Publication

The present study describes and compares functional properties of Nuli-1 cells and primary human nasal epithelial cells (HNEC) including TLR expression and function. Differences in gene expression were identified for non-TLR genes that play a role in TLR response pathways. However,experiments comparing TLR gene expression for both Nuli-1 cells and HNECs indicated conserved expression in both cell types. Stimulation of the two cell types resulted in a conserved response to TLR3 agonists,but in differences in response to agonists for TLR5 and TLR6/2. HNECs were much more susceptible to infection with Staphylococcus aureus than NuLi-1 cells. Furthermore,when cultured at air-liquid interface (ALI),NuLi-1 cells possessed much lower trans-epithelial resistance than primary HNEC and did not exhibit maintenance of cell morphology or mucous production which was observed in HNECs. Nor did they produce the characteristic interconnecting pattern of tight junction complexes at the apicolateral margin of adjacent cells. Caution should therefore be exercised when selecting cell lines for immunological studies and a thorough screen of properties relevant to the study should always be carried out prior to commencement. View Publication

Primary dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a non-ischemic heart disease with impaired pumping function of the heart. In this study,we used human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) from a healthy volunteer and a primary DCM patient to investigate the impact of DCM on iPSC-CMs' responses to different types of anisotropic strain. A bioreactor system was established that generates cardiac-mimetic forces of 150 kPa at 5% anisotropic cyclic strain and 1. Hz frequency. After confirming cardiac induction of the iPSCs,it was determined that fibronectin was favorable to other extracellular matrix protein coatings (gelatin,laminin,vitronectin) in terms of viable cell area and density,and was therefore selected as the coating for further study. When iPSC-CMs were exposed to three strain conditions (no strain,5% static strain,and 5% cyclic strain),the static strain elicited significant induction of sarcomere components in comparison to other strain conditions. However,this induction occurred only in iPSC-CMs from a healthy volunteer (control iPSC-CMs")� View Publication

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are predicted to be an unlimited source of hepatocytes which can pave the way for applications such as cell replacement therapies or as a model of human development or even to predict the hepatotoxicity of drug compounds. We have optimized a 23-d differentiation protocol to generate hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) from hESCs,obtaining a relatively pure population which expresses the major hepatic markers and is functional and mature. The stability of the HLCs in terms of hepato-specific marker expression and functionality was found to be intact even after an extended period of in vitro culture and cryopreservation. The hESC-derived HLCs have shown the capability to display sensitivity and an alteration in the level of CYP enzyme upon drug induction. This illustrates the potential of such assays in predicting the hepatotoxicity of a drug compound leading to advancement of pharmacology View Publication

BACKGROUND Disruptive mutation in the CHD8 gene is one of the top genetic risk factors in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Previous analyses of genome-wide CHD8 occupancy and reduced expression of CHD8 by shRNA knockdown in committed neural cells showed that CHD8 regulates multiple cell processes critical for neural functions,and its targets are enriched with ASD-associated genes. METHODS To further understand the molecular links between CHD8 functions and ASD,we have applied the CRISPR/Cas9 technology to knockout one copy of CHD8 in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to better mimic the loss-of-function status that would exist in the developing human embryo prior to neuronal differentiation. We then carried out transcriptomic and bioinformatic analyses of neural progenitors and neurons derived from the CHD8 mutant iPSCs. RESULTS Transcriptome profiling revealed that CHD8 hemizygosity (CHD8 (+/-)) affected the expression of several thousands of genes in neural progenitors and early differentiating neurons. The differentially expressed genes were enriched for functions of neural development,$$-catenin/Wnt signaling,extracellular matrix,and skeletal system development. They also exhibited significant overlap with genes previously associated with autism and schizophrenia,as well as the downstream transcriptional targets of multiple genes implicated in autism. Providing important insight into how CHD8 mutations might give rise to macrocephaly,we found that seven of the twelve genes associated with human brain volume or head size by genome-wide association studies (e.g.,HGMA2) were dysregulated in CHD8 (+/-) neural progenitors or neurons. CONCLUSIONS We have established a renewable source of CHD8 (+/-) iPSC lines that would be valuable for investigating the molecular and cellular functions of CHD8. Transcriptomic profiling showed that CHD8 regulates multiple genes implicated in ASD pathogenesis and genes associated with brain volume. View Publication

Human-pluripotent-stem-cell-derived kidney cells (hPSC-KCs) have important potential for disease modelling and regeneration. Whether the hPSC-KCs can reconstitute tissue-specific phenotypes is currently unknown. Here we show that hPSC-KCs self-organize into kidney organoids that functionally recapitulate tissue-specific epithelial physiology,including disease phenotypes after genome editing. In three-dimensional cultures,epiblast-stage hPSCs form spheroids surrounding hollow,amniotic-like cavities. GSK3β inhibition differentiates spheroids into segmented,nephron-like kidney organoids containing cell populations with characteristics of proximal tubules,podocytes and endothelium. Tubules accumulate dextran and methotrexate transport cargoes,and express kidney injury molecule-1 after nephrotoxic chemical injury. CRISPR/Cas9 knockout of podocalyxin causes junctional organization defects in podocyte-like cells. Knockout of the polycystic kidney disease genes PKD1 or PKD2 induces cyst formation from kidney tubules. All of these functional phenotypes are distinct from effects in epiblast spheroids,indicating that they are tissue specific. Our findings establish a reproducible,versatile three-dimensional framework for human epithelial disease modelling and regenerative medicine applications. View Publication

Culturing human embryonic stem and induced pluripotent stem cells (hESCs/iPSCs) is one of the most costly and labor-intensive tissue cultures,as media containing expensive factors/cytokines should be changed every day to maintain and propagate undifferentiated hESCs/iPSCs in vitro. We recently reported that doxycycline,an anti-bacterial agent,had dramatic effects on hESC/iPSC survival and promoted self-renewal. In this study,we extended the effects of doxycycline to a more practical issue to save cost and labor in hESC/iPSC cultures. Regardless of cultured cell conditions,hESCs/iPSCs in doxycycline-supplemented media were viable and proliferating for at least 3 days without media change,while none or few viable cells were detected in the absence of doxycycline in the same conditions. Thus,hESCs/iPSCs supplemented with doxycycline can be cultured for a long period of time with media changes at 3-day intervals without altering their self-renewal and pluripotent properties,indicating that doxycycline supplementation can reduce the frequency of media changes and the amount of media required by 1/3. These findings strongly encourage the use of doxycycline to save cost and labor in culturing hESCs/iPSCs. View Publication

Although endothelial cells (ECs) have been derived from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs),large-scale generation of hPSC-ECs remains challenging and their functions are not well characterized. Here we report a simple and efficient three-stage method that allows generation of approximately 98 and 9500 ECs on day 16 and day 34,respectively,from each human embryonic stem cell (hESC) input. The functional properties of hESC-ECs derived in the presence and absence of a TGF$$-inhibitory molecule SB431542 were characterized and compared with those of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Confluent monolayers formed by SB431542(+) hESC-ECs,SB431542(-) hESC-ECs,and HUVECs showed similar permeability to 10,000 Da dextran,but these cells exhibited striking differences in forming tube-like structures in 3D fibrin gels. The SB431542(+) hESC-ECs were most potent in forming tube-like structures regardless of whether VEGF and bFGF were present in the medium; less potent SB431542(-) hESC-ECs and HUVECs responded differently to VEGF and bFGF,which significantly enhanced the ability of HUVECs to form tube-like structures but had little impact on SB431542(-) hESC-ECs. This study offers an efficient approach to large-scale hPSC-EC production and suggests that the phenotypes and functions of hPSC-ECs derived under different conditions need to be thoroughly examined before their use in technology development. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. View Publication

The diverse progenitors that give rise to the human neocortex have been difficult to characterize because progenitors,particularly radial glia (RG),are rare and are defined by a combination of intracellular markers,position and morphology. To circumvent these problems,we developed Fixed and Recovered Intact Single-cell RNA (FRISCR),a method for profiling the transcriptomes of individual fixed,stained and sorted cells. Using FRISCR,we profiled primary human RG that constitute only 1% of the midgestation cortex and classified them as ventricular zone-enriched RG (vRG) that express ANXA1 and CRYAB,and outer subventricular zone-localized RG (oRG) that express HOPX. Our study identified vRG and oRG markers and molecular profiles,an essential step for understanding human neocortical progenitor development. FRISCR allows targeted single-cell profiling of any tissues that lack live-cell markers. View Publication

Bipolar disorder is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder that is characterized by intermittent episodes of mania and depression; without treatment,15% of patients commit suicide. Hence,it has been ranked by the World Health Organization as a top disorder of morbidity and lost productivity. Previous neuropathological studies have revealed a series of alterations in the brains of patients with bipolar disorder or animal models,such as reduced glial cell number in the prefrontal cortex of patients,upregulated activities of the protein kinase A and C pathways and changes in neurotransmission. However,the roles and causation of these changes in bipolar disorder have been too complex to exactly determine the pathology of the disease. Furthermore,although some patients show remarkable improvement with lithium treatment for yet unknown reasons,others are refractory to lithium treatment. Therefore,developing an accurate and powerful biological model for bipolar disorder has been a challenge. The introduction of induced pluripotent stem-cell (iPSC) technology has provided a new approach. Here we have developed an iPSC model for human bipolar disorder and investigated the cellular phenotypes of hippocampal dentate gyrus-like neurons derived from iPSCs of patients with bipolar disorder. Guided by RNA sequencing expression profiling,we have detected mitochondrial abnormalities in young neurons from patients with bipolar disorder by using mitochondrial assays; in addition,using both patch-clamp recording and somatic Ca(2+) imaging,we have observed hyperactive action-potential firing. This hyperexcitability phenotype of young neurons in bipolar disorder was selectively reversed by lithium treatment only in neurons derived from patients who also responded to lithium treatment. Therefore,hyperexcitability is one early endophenotype of bipolar disorder,and our model of iPSCs in this disease might be useful in developing new therapies and drugs aimed at its clinical treatment. View Publication

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) represent very promising resources for cell-based regenerative medicine. It is essential to determine the biological implications of some fundamental physiological processes (such as glycogen metabolism) in these stem cells. In this report,we employ electron,immunofluorescence microscopy,and biochemical methods to study glycogen synthesis in hPSCs. Our results indicate that there is a high level of glycogen synthesis (0.28 to 0.62 $$g/$$g proteins) in undifferentiated human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) compared with the glycogen levels (0 to 0.25 $$g/$$g proteins) reported in human cancer cell lines. Moreover,we found that glycogen synthesis was regulated by bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP-4) and the glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3) pathway. Our observation of glycogen bodies and sustained expression of the pluripotent factor Oct-4 mediated by the potent GSK-3 inhibitor CHIR-99021 reveals an altered pluripotent state in hPSC culture. We further confirmed glycogen variations under different naïve pluripotent cell growth conditions based on the addition of the GSK-3 inhibitor BIO. Our data suggest that primed hPSCs treated with naïve growth conditions acquire altered pluripotent states,similar to those naïve-like hPSCs,with increased glycogen synthesis. Furthermore,we found that suppression of phosphorylated glycogen synthase was an underlying mechanism responsible for altered glycogen synthesis. Thus,our novel findings regarding the dynamic changes in glycogen metabolism provide new markers to assess the energetic and various pluripotent states in hPSCs. The components of glycogen metabolic pathways offer new assays to delineate previously unrecognized properties of hPSCs under different growth conditions. View Publication