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Introduction Appropriate neural patterning of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) is critical to generate specific neural cells/tissues and even mini-brains that are physiologically relevant to model neurological diseases. However,the capacity of signaling factors that regulate 3-D neural tissue patterning in vitro and differential responses of the resulting neural populations to various biomolecules have not yet been fully understood. Methods By tuning neural patterning of hiPSCs with small molecules targeting sonic hedgehog (SHH) signaling,this study generated different 3-D neuronal cultures that were mainly comprised of either cortical glutamatergic neurons or motor neurons. Results Abundant glutamatergic neurons were observed following the treatment with an antagonist of SHH signaling,cyclopamine,while Islet-1 and HB9-expressing motor neurons were enriched by an SHH agonist,purmorphamine. In neurons derived with different neural patterning factors,whole-cell patch clamp recordings showed similar voltage-gated Na+/K+ currents,depolarization-evoked action potentials and spontaneous excitatory post-synaptic currents. Moreover,these different neuronal populations exhibited differential responses to three classes of biomolecules,including (1) matrix metalloproteinase inhibitors that affect extracellular matrix remodeling; (2) N-methyl-D-aspartate that induces general neurotoxicity; and (3) amyloid ?? (1???42) oligomers that cause neuronal subtype-specific neurotoxicity. Conclusions This study should advance our understanding of hiPSC self-organization and neural tissue development and provide a transformative approach to establish 3-D models for neurological disease modeling and drug discovery. Statement of Significance Appropriate neural patterning of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) is critical to generate specific neural cells,tissues and even mini-brains that are physiologically relevant to model neurological diseases. However,the capability of sonic hedgehog-related small molecules to tune different neuronal subtypes in 3-D differentiation from hiPSCs and the differential cellular responses of region-specific neuronal subtypes to various biomolecules have not been fully investigated. By tuning neural patterning of hiPSCs with small molecules targeting sonic hedgehog signaling,this study provides knowledge on the differential susceptibility of region-specific neuronal subtypes derived from hiPSCs to different biomolecules in extracellular matrix remodeling and neurotoxicity. The findings are significant for understanding 3-D neural patterning of hiPSCs for the applications in brain organoid formation,neurological disease modeling,and drug discovery. View Publication

HIV replication in nondividing host cells occurs in the presence of high concentrations of noncanonical dUTP,apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing,enzyme-catalytic,polypeptide-like 3 (APOBEC3) cytidine deaminases,and SAMHD1 (a cell cycle-regulated dNTP triphosphohydrolase) dNTPase,which maintains low concentrations of canonical dNTPs in these cells. These conditions favor the introduction of marks of DNA damage into viral cDNA,and thereby prime it for processing by DNA repair enzymes. Accessory protein Vpr,found in all primate lentiviruses,and its HIV-2/simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) SIVsm paralogue Vpx,hijack the CRL4(DCAF1) E3 ubiquitin ligase to alleviate some of these conditions,but the extent of their interactions with DNA repair proteins has not been thoroughly characterized. Here,we identify HLTF,a postreplication DNA repair helicase,as a common target of HIV-1/SIVcpz Vpr proteins. We show that HIV-1 Vpr reprograms CRL4(DCAF1) E3 to direct HLTF for proteasome-dependent degradation independent from previously reported Vpr interactions with base excision repair enzyme uracil DNA glycosylase (UNG2) and crossover junction endonuclease MUS81,which Vpr also directs for degradation via CRL4(DCAF1) E3. Thus,separate functions of HIV-1 Vpr usurp CRL4(DCAF1) E3 to remove key enzymes in three DNA repair pathways. In contrast,we find that HIV-2 Vpr is unable to efficiently program HLTF or UNG2 for degradation. Our findings reveal complex interactions between HIV-1 and the DNA repair machinery,suggesting that DNA repair plays important roles in the HIV-1 life cycle. The divergent interactions of HIV-1 and HIV-2 with DNA repair enzymes and SAMHD1 imply that these viruses use different strategies to guard their genomes and facilitate their replication in the host. View Publication

Vascularization of engineered human skin constructs is crucial for recapitulation of systemic drug delivery and for their long-term survival,functionality,and viable engraftment. In this study,the latest microfabrication techniques are used and a novel bioengineering approach is established to micropattern spatially controlled and perfusable vascular networks in 3D human skin equivalents using both primary and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived endothelial cells. Using 3D printing technology makes it possible to control the geometry of the micropatterned vascular networks. It is verified that vascularized human skin equivalents (vHSEs) can form a robust epidermis and establish an endothelial barrier function,which allows for the recapitulation of both topical and systemic delivery of drugs. In addition,the therapeutic potential of vHSEs for cutaneous wounds on immunodeficient mice is examined and it is demonstrated that vHSEs can both promote and guide neovascularization during wound healing. Overall,this innovative bioengineering approach can enable in vitro evaluation of topical and systemic drug delivery as well as improve the potential of engineered skin constructs to be used as a potential therapeutic option for the treatment of cutaneous wounds. View Publication

Helper-dependent adenoviral vectors (HDAd) that express certain transgene products are impossible to produce because the transgene product is toxic to the producer cells,especially when made in large amounts during vector production. Downregulating transgene expression from the HDAd during vector production is a way to solve this problem. In this report,we show that this can be accomplished by inserting the target sequence for the adenoviral VA RNAI into the 3' untranslated region of the expression cassette in the HDAd. Thus during vector production,when the producer cells are coinfected with both the helper virus (HV) and the HDAd,the VA RNAI produced by the HV will target the transgene mRNA from the HDAd via the endogenous cellular RNAi pathway. Once the HDAd is produced and purified,transduction of the target cells results in unimpeded transgene expression because of the absence of HV. This simple and universal strategy permits for the robust production of otherwise recalcitrant HDAds. View Publication

Mechanisms determining intrinsic differentiation bias inherent to human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) toward cardiogenic fate remain elusive. We evaluated the interplay between ErbB4 and EGFR in determining cardiac differentiation in vitro as these receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are key to heart and brain development in vivo. Our results demonstrate that during cardiac differentiation,cell fate biases exist in hPSCs due to cardiac/neuroectoderm divergence post cardiac mesoderm stage. Stage-specific up-regulation of EGFR in concert with persistent Wnt3a signaling post cardiac mesoderm favors commitment towards neural progenitor cells (NPCs). Inhibition of EGFR abrogates these effects with enhanced (textgreater2-fold) cardiac differentiation efficiencies by increasing proliferation of Nkx2-5 expressing cardiac progenitors while reducing proliferation of Sox2 expressing NPCs. Forced overexpression of ErbB4 rescued cardiac commitment by augmenting Wnt11 signaling. Convergence between EGFR/ErbB4 and canonical/non-canonical Wnt signaling determines cardiogenic fate in hPSCs. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. View Publication

Dietary microRNAs (miRNAs) modulation could be important for health and wellbeing. Part of the healthful activities of polyphenols might be due to a modulation of miRNAs' expression. Among the most biologically active polyphenols,hydroxytyrosol (HT) has never been studied for its actions on miRNAs. We investigated whether HT could modulate the expression of miRNAs in vivo. We performed an unbiased intestinal miRNA screening in mice supplemented (for 8 weeks) with nutritionally relevant amounts of HT. HT modulated the expression of several miRNAs. Analysis of other tissues revealed consistent HT-induced modulation of only few miRNAs. Also,HT administration increased triglycerides levels. Acute treatment with HT and in vitro experiments provided mechanistic insights. The HT-induced expression of one miRNA was confirmed in healthy volunteers supplemented with HT in a randomized,double-blind and placebo-controlled trial. HT consumption affects specific miRNAs' expression in rodents and humans. Our findings suggest that the modulation of miRNAs' action through HT consumption might partially explain its healthful activities and might be pharmanutritionally exploited in current therapies targeting endogenous miRNAs. However,the effects of HT on triglycerides warrant further investigations. View Publication

In Wilson disease (WD),functional loss of ATPase copper-transporting $$ (ATP7B) impairs biliary copper excretion,leading to excessive copper accumulation in the liver and fulminant hepatitis. Current US Food and Drug Administration- and European Medicines Agency-approved pharmacological treatments usually fail to restore copper homeostasis in patients with WD who have progressed to acute liver failure,leaving liver transplantation as the only viable treatment option. Here,we investigated the therapeutic utility of methanobactin (MB),a peptide produced by Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b,which has an exceptionally high affinity for copper. We demonstrated that ATP7B-deficient rats recapitulate WD-associated phenotypes,including hepatic copper accumulation,liver damage,and mitochondrial impairment. Short-term treatment of these rats with MB efficiently reversed mitochondrial impairment and liver damage in the acute stages of liver copper accumulation compared with that seen in untreated ATP7B-deficient rats. This beneficial effect was associated with depletion of copper from hepatocyte mitochondria. Moreover,MB treatment prevented hepatocyte death,subsequent liver failure,and death in the rodent model. These results suggest that MB has potential as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of acute WD. View Publication

Neural rosettes derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have been claimed to be a highly robust in vitro cellular model for biomedical application. They are able to propagate in vitro in the presence of mitogens,including basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and epidermal growth factor (EGF). However,these two mitogens are also involved in anterior-posterior patterning in a gradient dependent manner along the neural tube axis. Here,we compared the regional identity of neural rosette cells and specific neural subtypes of their progeny propagated with low and high concentrations of bFGF and EGF. We observed that low concentrations of bFGF and EGF in the culturing system were able to induce forebrain identity of the neural rosettes and promote subsequent cortical neuronal differentiation. On the contrary,high concentrations of these mitogens stimulate a mid-hindbrain fate of the neural rosettes,resulting in subsequent cholinergic neuron differentiation. Thus,our results indicate that different concentrations of bFGF and EGF supplemented during propagation of neural rosettes are involved in altering the identity of the resultant neural cells. View Publication

Human somatic stem cells such as mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) have the capacity to differentiate into mesenchymal tissue lineages and to alter immune regulatory functions. As such,they hold promise for use in stem cell-based therapies. However,no method is currently available to evaluate the actual differentiation capacity of hMSCs prior to cell transplantation. Previously,we performed a comprehensive glycan profiling of adipose-derived hMSCs using high-density lectin microarray and demonstrated that $$2-6-sialylation is a marker of the differentiation potential of these cells. Nevertheless,no information was available about the structural details of these of $$2-6-sialylated glycans. Here we used high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis combined with mass spectrometry (MS) to perform a structural and quantitative glycome analysis targeting both N- and O-glycans derived from early (with differentiation ability) and late (without differentiation ability) passages of adipose tissue-derived hMSCs. Findings in these cells were compared with those from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs),human dermal fibroblasts (hFibs) and cartilage tissue-derived chondrocytes. A higher percentage of $$2-6-sialylated N-glycans was detected in early passage cells (24-28 % of sialylated N-glycans) compared with late passage cells (13-15 %). A major $$2-6-sialylated N-glycan structure detected in adipose-derived hMSCs was that of mono-sialylated biantennary N-glycan. Similar results were obtained for the cartilage tissue-derived chondrocytes,Yub621c (28 % for passage 7 and 5 % for passage 28). In contrast,no significant differences were observed between early and late passage hMSCs with respect to $$2-6-sialylated O-glycan percentages. These results demonstrate that levels of $$2-6-sialylated N-glycans,but not O-glycans,could be used as markers of the differential potential of hMSCs. View Publication

Small molecules are powerful tools for investigating protein function and can serve as leads for new therapeutics. Most human proteins,however,lack small-molecule ligands,and entire protein classes are considered 'undruggable'. Fragment-based ligand discovery can identify small-molecule probes for proteins that have proven difficult to target using high-throughput screening of complex compound libraries. Although reversibly binding ligands are commonly pursued,covalent fragments provide an alternative route to small-molecule probes,including those that can access regions of proteins that are difficult to target through binding affinity alone. Here we report a quantitative analysis of cysteine-reactive small-molecule fragments screened against thousands of proteins in human proteomes and cells. Covalent ligands were identified for textgreater700 cysteines found in both druggable proteins and proteins deficient in chemical probes,including transcription factors,adaptor/scaffolding proteins,and uncharacterized proteins. Among the atypical ligand-protein interactions discovered were compounds that react preferentially with pro- (inactive) caspases. We used these ligands to distinguish extrinsic apoptosis pathways in human cell lines versus primary human T cells,showing that the former is largely mediated by caspase-8 while the latter depends on both caspase-8 and -10. Fragment-based covalent ligand discovery provides a greatly expanded portrait of the ligandable proteome and furnishes compounds that can illuminate protein functions in native biological systems. View Publication

In most human somatic cells,the lack of telomerase activity results in progressive telomere shortening during each cell division. Eventually,DNA damage responses triggered by critically short telomeres induce an irreversible cell cycle arrest termed replicative senescence. However,the cellular responses of human pluripotent stem cells to telomere uncapping remain unknown. We generated telomerase knockout human embryonic stem (ES) cells through gene targeting. Telomerase inactivation in ES cells results in progressive telomere shortening. Telomere DNA damage in ES cells and neural progenitor cells induces rapid apoptosis when telomeres are uncapped,in contrast to fibroblast cells that enter a state of replicative senescence. Significantly,telomerase inactivation limits the proliferation capacity of human ES cells without affecting their pluripotency. By targeting telomerase activity,we can functionally separate the two unique properties of human pluripotent stem cells,namely unlimited self-renewal and pluripotency. We show that the potential of ES cells to form teratomas in vivo is dictated by their telomere length. By controlling telomere length of ES cells through telomerase inactivation,we can inhibit teratoma formation and potentially improve the safety of cell therapies involving terminally differentiated cells as well as specific progenitor cells that do not require sustained cellular proliferation in vivo,and thus sustained telomerase activity. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. View Publication

Generating human podocytes in vitro could offer a unique opportunity to study human diseases. Here,we describe a simple and efficient protocol for obtaining functional podocytes in vitro from human induced pluripotent stem cells. Cells were exposed to a three-step protocol,which induced their differentiation into intermediate mesoderm,then into nephron progenitors and,finally,into mature podocytes. After differentiation,cells expressed the main podocyte markers,such as synaptopodin,WT1,α-Actinin-4,P-cadherin and nephrin at the protein and mRNA level,and showed the low proliferation rate typical of mature podocytes. Exposure to Angiotensin II significantly decreased the expression of podocyte genes and cells underwent cytoskeleton rearrangement. Cells were able to internalize albumin and self-assembled into chimeric 3D structures in combination with dissociated embryonic mouse kidney cells. Overall,these findings demonstrate the establishment of a robust protocol that,mimicking developmental stages,makes it possible to derive functional podocytes in vitro. View Publication