技术资料

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been identified in a growing number of malignancies and are functionally defined by their ability to undergo self-renewal and produce differentiated progeny. These properties allow CSCs to recapitulate the original tumor when injected into immunocompromised mice. CSCs within an epithelial malignancy were first described in breast cancer and found to display specific cell surface antigen expression (CD44+CD24(low/�?�)). Since then,CSCs have been identified in an increasing number of other human malignancies using CD44 and CD24 as well as a number of other surface antigens. Physiologic properties,including aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity,have also been used to isolate CSCs from malignant tissues. Recently,we and others identified CSCs from pancreatic adenocarcinoma based on ALDH activity and the expression of the cell surface antigens CD44 and CD24,and CD133. These highly tumorigenic populations may or may not be overlapping and display other functions. We found that ALDH+ and CD44+CD24+ pancreatic CSCs are similarly tumorigenic,but ALDH+ cells are relatively more invasive. In this protocol we describe a method to isolate viable pancreatic CSCs from low-passage human xenografts. Xenografted tumors are harvested from mice and made into a single-cell suspension. Tissue debris and dead cells are separated from live cells and then stained using antibodies against CD44 and CD24 and using the ALDEFLUOR reagent,a fluorescent substrate of ALDH. CSCs are then isolated by fluorescence activated cell sorting. Isolated CSCs can then be used for analytical or functional assays requiring viable cells. View Publication

Injury induces the recruitment of bone marrow-derived cells (BMDCs) that contribute to the repair and regeneration process. The behavior of BMDCs in injured tissue has a profound effect on repair,but the regulation of BMDC behavior is poorly understood. Aberrant recruitment/retention of these cells in wounds of diabetic patients and animal models is associated with chronic inflammation and impaired healing. BMD Gr-1(+)CD11b(+) cells function as immune suppressor cells and contribute significantly to tumor-induced neovascularization. Here we report that Gr-1(+)CD11b(+) cells also contribute to injury-induced neovascularization,but show altered recruitment/retention kinetics in the diabetic environment. Moreover,diabetic-derived Gr-1(+)CD11b(+) cells fail to stimulate neovascularization in vivo and have aberrant proliferative,chemotaxis,adhesion,and differentiation potential. Previously we demonstrated that gene transfer of HOXA3 to wounds of diabetic mice is taken up by and expressed by recruited BMDCs. This is associated with a suppressed inflammatory response,enhanced neovascularization,and accelerated wound healing. Here we show that sustained expression of Hoxa3 in diabetic-derived BMD Gr-1(+)CD11b(+) cells reverses their diabetic phenotype. These findings demonstrate that manipulation of adult stem/progenitor cells ex vivo could be used as a potential therapy in patients with impaired wound healing. View Publication

Realizing the potential that human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) hold,both for the advancement of biomedical science and the development of new treatments for many human disorders,will be greatly facilitated by the introduction of standardized methods for assessing and altering the biological properties of these cells. The 7-day in vitro alkaline phosphatase colony-forming cell (AP(+)-CFC) assay currently offers the most sensitive and specific method to quantify the frequency of undifferentiated cells present in a culture. In this regard,it is superior to any phenotypic assessment protocol. The AP(+)-CFC assay,thus,provides a valuable tool for monitoring the quality of hESC cultures,and also for evaluating quantitative changes in pluripotent cell numbers following manipulations that may affect the self-renewal and differentiation properties of the treated cells. Two other methods routinely used to evaluate hESC pluripotency involve either culturing the cells under conditions that promote the formation of nonadherent differentiating cell aggregates (termed embryoid bodies),or transplanting the cells into immunodeficient mice to obtain teratomas containing differentiated cells representative of endoderm,mesoderm,and ectoderm lineages. View Publication

Human amniotic fluid cells (AFCs) are routinely obtained for prenatal diagnostics procedures. Recently,it has been illustrated that these cells may also serve as a valuable model system to study developmental processes and for application in regenerative therapies. Cellular reprogramming is a means of assigning greater value to primary AFCs by inducing self-renewal and pluripotency and,thus,bypassing senescence. Here,we report the generation and characterization of human amniotic fluid-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (AFiPSCs) and demonstrate their ability to differentiate into the trophoblast lineage after stimulation with BMP2/BMP4. We further carried out comparative transcriptome analyses of primary human AFCs,AFiPSCs,fibroblast-derived iPSCs (FiPSCs) and embryonic stem cells (ESCs). This revealed that the expression of key senescence-associated genes are down-regulated upon the induction of pluripotency in primary AFCs (AFiPSCs). By defining distinct and overlapping gene expression patterns and deriving the LARGE (Lost,Acquired and Retained Gene Expression) Principle of Cellular Reprogramming,we could further highlight that AFiPSCs,FiPSCs and ESCs share a core self-renewal gene regulatory network driven by OCT4,SOX2 and NANOG. Nevertheless,these cell types are marked by distinct gene expression signatures. For example,expression of the transcription factors,SIX6,EGR2,PKNOX2,HOXD4,HOXD10,DLX5 and RAXL1,known to regulate developmental processes,are retained in AFiPSCs and FiPSCs. Surprisingly,expression of the self-renewal-associated gene PRDM14 or the developmental processes-regulating genes WNT3A and GSC are restricted to ESCs. Implications of this,with respect to the stability of the undifferentiated state and long-term differentiation potential of iPSCs,warrant further studies. View Publication

Neural stem and progenitor cells (NSCs/NPCs) are distinct groups of cells found in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS). Previously we determined that members of the High Mobility Group (HMG) B family of chromatin structural proteins modulate NSC proliferation and self-renewal. Among them HMGB2 was found to be dynamically expressed in proliferating and differentiating NSCs,suggesting that it may regulate NSC maintenance. We report now that Hmgb2(-/-) mice exhibit SVZ hyperproliferation,increased numbers of SVZ NSCs,and a trend towards aberrant increases in newly born neurons in the olfactory bulb (OB) granule cell layer. Increases in the levels of the transcription factor p21 and the Neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM),along with down-regulation of the transcription/pluripotency factor Oct4 in the Hmgb2-/- SVZ point to a possible pathway for this increased proliferation/differentiation. Our findings suggest that HMGB2 functions as a modulator of neurogenesis in young adult mice through regulation of NSC proliferation,and identify a potential target via which CNS repair could be amplified following trauma or disease-based neuronal degeneration. View Publication

The presence of persistent,latent HIV reservoirs in CD4+ T cells obstructs current efforts to cure infection. The so-called kick-and-kill paradigm proposes to purge these reservoirs by combining latency-reversing agents with immune effectors such as cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Support for this approach is largely based on success in latency models,which do not fully reflect the makeup of latent reservoirs in individuals on long-term antiretroviral therapy (ART). Recent studies have shown that CD8+ T cells have the potential to recognize defective proviruses,which comprise the vast majority of all infected cells,and that the proviral landscape can be shaped over time due to in vivo clonal expansion of infected CD4+ T cells. Here,we have shown that treating CD4+ T cells from ART-treated individuals with combinations of potent latency-reversing agents and autologous CD8+ T cells consistently reduced cell-associated HIV DNA,but failed to deplete replication-competent virus. These CD8+ T cells recognized and potently eliminated CD4+ T cells that were newly infected with autologous reservoir virus,ruling out a role for both immune escape and CD8+ T cell dysfunction. Thus,our results suggest that cells harboring replication-competent HIV possess an inherent resistance to CD8+ T cells that may need to be addressed to cure infection. View Publication

In vitro models of human bronchial epithelium are useful for toxicological testing because of their resemblance to in vivo tissue. We constructed a model of human bronchial tissue which has a fibroblast layer embedded in a collagen matrix directly below a fully-differentiated epithelial cell layer. The model was applied to whole cigarette smoke (CS) exposure repeatedly from an air-liquid interface culture while bronchial epithelial cells were differentiating. The effects of CS exposure on differentiation were determined by histological and gene expression analyses on culture day 21. We found a decrease in ciliated cells and perturbation of goblet cell differentiation. We also analyzed the effects of CS exposure on the inflammatory response,and observed a significant increase in secretion of IL-8,GRO-α,IL-1β,and GM-CSF. Interestingly,secretion of these mediators was augmented with repetition of whole CS exposure. Our data demonstrate the usefulness of our bronchial tissue model for in vitro testing and the importance of exposure repetition in perturbing the differentiation and inflammation processes. View Publication

Priming of human NK cells with IL-2 is necessary to render them functionally competent upon NKG2D engagement. We examined the underlying mechanisms that control NKG2D responsiveness in NK cells and found that IL-2 upregulates expression of the amino acid transporters SLC1A5 and CD98. Using specific inhibitors to block SLC1A5 and CD98 function,we found that production of IFN-γ and degranulation by CD56bright and CD56dim NK cells following NKG2D stimulation were dependent on both transporters. IL-2 priming increased the activity of mTORC1,and inhibition of mTORC1 abrogated the ability of the IL-2-primed NK cells to produce IFN-γ in response to NKG2D-mediated stimulation. This study identifies a series of IL-2-induced cellular changes that regulates the NKG2D responsiveness in human NK cells. View Publication

Surgery is an essential component in the treatment of brain tumors. However,delineating tumor from normal brain remains a major challenge. We describe the use of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy for differentiating healthy human and mouse brain tissue from tumor-infiltrated brain based on histoarchitectural and biochemical differences. Unlike traditional histopathology,SRS is a label-free technique that can be rapidly performed in situ. SRS microscopy was able to differentiate tumor from nonneoplastic tissue in an infiltrative human glioblastoma xenograft mouse model based on their different Raman spectra. We further demonstrated a correlation between SRS and hematoxylin and eosin microscopy for detection of glioma infiltration (κ = 0.98). Finally,we applied SRS microscopy in vivo in mice during surgery to reveal tumor margins that were undetectable under standard operative conditions. By providing rapid intraoperative assessment of brain tissue,SRS microscopy may ultimately improve the safety and accuracy of surgeries where tumor boundaries are visually indistinct. View Publication

BIX01294 (Bix) is known to be a euchromatic histone-lysine N-methyltransferase 2 inhibitor and treatment with Bix suppresses cancer cell survival and proliferation. In the present study,it was observed that sequential treatment with low-dose Bix notably increases glioblastoma cell migration and metastasis. It was demonstrated that U251 cells sequentially treated with low-dose Bix exhibited induced characteristic changes in critical epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers,including E-cadherin,N-cadherin,β-catenin and zinc finger protein SNAI2. Notably,sequential treatment with Bix also increased the expression of cancer stem cell-associated markers,including sex determining region Y-box 2,octamer-binding transcription factor 4 and cluster of differentiation 133. Neurosphere formation was significantly enhanced in cells sequentially treated with Bix,compared with control cells (control: P=0.011; single treatment of Bix,P=0.045). The results of the present study suggest that accumulation of low-dose Bix enhanced the migration and metastatic potential of glioblastoma cells by regulating EMT-associated gene expression,which may be the cause of the altered properties of glioblastoma stem cells. View Publication

Human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hPSC-CMs) provide an unlimited source of donor cells for potential cardiac regenerative therapies. However,hPSC-CMs are immature. For instance,hPSC-CMs are only 1/10 of the physical size of their adult counterparts; the majority are mono- rather than bi- or multi-nucleated,which is an evolutionary adaptive feature in metabolically active cells such as adult CMs. Here,we attempted to increase the physical size and nucleation status of hPSC-derived ventricular (V) cardiomyocytes (hPSC-VCMs) using chemically-induced cell fusion,and examined the subsequent functional effects. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) was employed to fuse a 1:1 mixture of lentiviral vectors LV-MLC2v-GFP- or -tdTomato-labeled hPSC-VCMs,such that hPSC-VCMs fused syncytia (FS) were identified as doubly GFP(+)/tdTomato(+) multi-nucleated cells. These microscopically-identified FS were doubled in size as gauged by their capacitance when compared to the control mononucleated hPSC-VCMs using patch-clamp analysis. Reduced automaticity or action potential (AP) firing rate and moderately prolonged AP duration were observed in FS from day 6 post-fusion induction. However,Ca(2+) handling,mitochondrial biogenesis and the extent of apoptosis were not significantly altered. We conclude that larger,multi-nucleated hPSC-VCMs FS can be created by chemically-induced cell fusion but global maturation requires additional triggering cues. View Publication

It is generally believed that cerebellar granule neurons originate exclusively from granule neuron precursors (GNPs) in the external germinal layer (EGL). Here we identified a rare population of neuronal progenitors in mouse developing cerebellum that expresses Nestin. Although Nestin is widely considered a marker for multipotent stem cells,these Nestin-expressing progenitors (NEPs) are committed to the granule neuron lineage. Unlike conventional GNPs,which reside in the outer EGL and proliferate extensively,NEPs reside in the deep part of the EGL and are quiescent. Expression profiling revealed that NEPs are distinct from GNPs and,in particular,express markedly reduced levels of genes associated with DNA repair. Consistent with this,upon aberrant activation of Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling,NEPs exhibited more severe genomic instability and gave rise to tumors more efficiently than GNPs. These studies revealed a previously unidentified progenitor for cerebellar granule neurons and a cell of origin for medulloblastoma. View Publication