技术资料

Conventionally,mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are generated by plating cells from bone marrow (BM) or other sources into culture flasks and selecting plastic-adherent cells with fibroblastoid morphology. These cells express CD9,CD10,CD13,CD73,CD105,CD166,and other markers but show only a weak or no expression of the embryonic markers stage-specific embryonic antigen-4 (SSEA-4),Oct-4 and nanog-3. Using a novel protocol we prepared MSC from BM and non-amniotic placenta (PL) by culture of Ficoll-selected cells in gelatin-coated flasks in the presence of a serum-free,basic fibroblast growth factor (b-FGF)-containing medium that was originally designed for the expansion of human embryonic stem cells (ESC). MSC generated in gelatin-coated flasks in the presence of ESC medium revealed a four-to fivefold higher proliferation rate than conventionally prepared MSC which were grown in uncoated flasks in serum-containing medium. In contrast,the colony forming unit fibroblast number was only 1.5- to twofold increased in PL-MSC and not affected in BM-MSC. PL-MSC grown in ESC medium showed an increased surface expression of SSEA-4 and frizzled-9 (FZD-9),an increased Oct-4 and nestin mRNA expression,and an induced expression of nanog-3. BM-MSC showed an induced expression of FZD-9,nanog-3,and Oct-4. In contrast to PL-MSC,only BM-MSC expressed the MSC-specific W8B2 antigen. When cultured under appropriate conditions,these MSC gave rise to functional adipocytes and osteoblast-like cells (mesoderm),glucagon and insulin expressing pancreatic-like cells (endoderm),as well as cells expressing the neuronal markers neuron-specific enolase,glutamic acid decarboxylase-67 (GAD),or class III beta-tubulin,and the astrocyte marker glial fibrillary acidic protein (ectoderm). In conclusion,using a novel protocol we demonstrate that adult BM-and neonatal PL-derived MSC can be induced to express high levels of FZD-9,Oct-4,nanog-3,and nestin and are able of multi-lineage differentiation. View Publication

Mouse embryonic stem (mES) cells have short duration of their cell cycle and are capable of proliferating in the absence of growth factors. To find out which signaling pathways contribute to the regulation of the mES cell cycle,we used pharmacological inhibitors of MAP and PI3 kinase cascades. The MAP kinase inhibitors as well as serum withdrawal did not affect mES cell cycle distribution,whereas the inhibitor of PI3K activity,LY294002,induced accumulation of cells in G(1) phase followed by apoptotic cell death. Serum withdrawal also causes apoptosis,but it does not change the content and activity of cell cycle regulators. In contrast,in mES cells treated with LY294002,the activities of Cdk2 and E2F were significantly decreased. Interestingly,LY294002had a much stronger effect on cell cycle distribution in low serum conditions,implying that serum can promote G(1)--textgreaterS transition of mES cells by a LY294002-resistant mechanism. Thus,proliferation of mES cells is maintained by at least two separate mechanisms: a LY294002-sensitive pathway,which is active even in the absence of serum,and LY294002-resistant,but serum-dependent,pathway. View Publication

Parthenogenetic embryonic stem (ES) cells with two oocyte-derived genomes (uniparental) have been proposed as a source of autologous tissue for transplantation. The therapeutic applicability of any uniparental cell type is uncertain due to the consequences of genomic imprinting that in mammalian uniparental tissues causes unbalanced expression of imprinted genes. We transplanted uniparental fetal liver cells into lethally irradiated adult mice to test their capacity to replace adult hematopoietic tissue. Both maternal (gynogenetic) and paternal (androgenetic) derived cells conveyed long-term,multilineage reconstitution of hematopoiesis in recipients,with no associated pathologies. We also establish that uniparental ES cells can differentiate into transplantable hematopoietic progenitors in vitro that contribute to long-term hematopoiesis in recipients. Hematopoietic tissue in recipients maintained fidelity of parent-of-origin methylation marks at the Igf2/H19 locus; however,variability occurred in the maintenance of parental-specific methylation marks at other loci. In summary,despite genomic imprinting and its consequences on development that are particularly evident in the androgenetic phenotype,uniparental cells of both parental origins can form adult-transplantable stem cells and can repopulate an adult organ. View Publication

Histone deacetylase inhibitors such as sodium butyrate are known to regulate the differentiation of a variety of cells. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) differentiate into osteoblasts and adipocytes under transcriptional control of Runx2 and PPARgamma2,respectively. How these two transcription factors are regulated by sodium butyrate in order to specify the alternate cell fates remains a pivotal question. Sodium butyrate stimulated osteogenic differentiation and increased expression of Runx2 and genes regulated by Runx2 when cells were induced to undergo osteogenic differentiation. Sodium butyrate suppressed the adipogenic differentiation and decreased the expression of PPARgamma2 and LPL when MSCs were treated under conditions that promote adipogenic differentiation. Sodium butyrate also decreased the ratio of RANKL/OPG gene expression by MSCs. Analysis of MSCs induced in the presence of sodium butyrate revealed an immediate increase in ERK phosphorylation by sodium butyrate. The MEK-specific inhibitor,PD98059 but not p38- or JNK-specific inhibitor and the transfection with dominant negative ERK expressing plasmids blocked the sodium butyrate-induced regulation of MSC differentiation and increase in the RANKL/OPG ratio. Our results suggest that sodium butyrate modulates MSC differentiation and the RANKL/OPG ratio via activating ERK,and could be applied for in vivo bone growth using MSCs. View Publication

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T cell activation is predicated on the interaction between the T cell receptor and peptide-major histocompatibility (pMHC) ligands. The factors that determine the stimulatory potency of a pMHC molecule remain unclear. We describe results showing that a peptide exhibiting many hallmarks of a weak agonist stimulates T cells to proliferate more than the wild-type agonist ligand. An in silico approach suggested that the inability to form the central supramolecular activation cluster (cSMAC) could underlie the increased proliferation. This conclusion was supported by experiments that showed that enhancing cSMAC formation reduced stimulatory capacity of the weak peptide. Our studies highlight the fact that a complex interplay of factors determines the quality of a T cell antigen. View Publication

The kinase inhibitor imatinib mesylate targeting the oncoprotein Bcr-Abl has revolutionized the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). However,even though imatinib successfully controls the leukemia in chronic phase,it seems not to be able to cure the disease,potentially necessitating lifelong treatment with the inhibitor under constant risk of relapse. On a molecular level,the cause of disease persistence is not well understood. Initial studies implied that innate features of primitive progenitor cancer stem cells may be responsible for the phenomenon. Here,we describe an assay using retroviral insertional mutagenesis (RIM) to identify genes contributing to disease persistence in vivo. We transplanted mice with bone marrow cells retrovirally infected with the Bcr-Abl oncogene and subsequently treated the animals with imatinib to select for leukemic cells in which the proviral integration had affected genes modulating the imatinib response. Southern blot analysis demonstrated clonal outgrowth of cells carrying similar integration sites. Candidate genes located near the proviral insertion sites were identified,among them the transcription factor RUNX3. Proviral integration near the RUNX3 promoter induced RUNX3 expression,and Bcr-Abl-positive cell lines with stable or inducible expression of RUNX1 or RUNX3 were protected from imatinib-induced apoptosis. Furthermore,imatinib treatment selected for RUNX1-expressing cells in vitro and in vivo after infection of primary bone marrow cells with Bcr-Abl and RUNX1. Our results demonstrate the utility of RIM for probing molecular modulators of targeted therapies and suggest a role for members of the RUNX transcription factor family in disease persistence in CML patients. View Publication

Umbilical cord blood (UCB) has been used as a potential source of various kinds of stem cells,including hematopoietic stem cells,mesenchymal stem cells,and endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs),for a variety of cell therapies. Recently,EPCs were introduced for restoring vascularization in ischemic tissues. An appropriate procedure for isolating EPCs from UCB is a key issue for improving therapeutic efficacy and eliminating the unexpected expansion of nonessential cells. Here we report a novel method for isolating EPCs from UCB by a combination of negative immunoselection and cell culture techniques. In addition,we divided EPCs into 2 subpopulations according to the aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity. We found that EPCs with low ALDH activity (Alde-Low) possess a greater ability to proliferate and migrate compared to those with high ALDH activity (Alde-High). Moreover,hypoxia-inducible factor proteins are up-regulated and VEGF,CXCR4,and GLUT-1 mRNAs are increased in Alde-Low EPCs under hypoxic conditions,while the response was not significant in Alde-High EPCs. In fact,the introduction of Alde-Low EPCs significantly reduced tissue damage in ischemia in a mouse flap model. Thus,the introduction of Alde-Low EPCs may be a potential strategy for inducing rapid neovascularization and subsequent regeneration of ischemic tissues. View Publication

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are part of the bone marrow that provides signals supporting survival and growth of bystander hematopoietic stem cells (HSC). MSC modulate also the immune response,as they inhibit proliferation of lymphocytes. In order to investigate whether MSC can support survival of T cells,we investigated MSC capacity of rescuing T lymphocytes from cell death induced by different mechanisms. We observed that MSC prolong survival of unstimulated T cells and apoptosis-prone thymocytes cultured under starving conditions. MSC rescued T cells from activation induced cell death (AICD) by downregulation of Fas receptor and Fas ligand on T cell surface and inhibition of endogenous proteases involved in cell death. MSC dampened also Fas receptor mediated apoptosis of CD95 expressing Jurkat leukemic T cells. In contrast,rescue from AICD was not associated with a significant change of Bcl-2,an inhibitor of apoptosis induced by cell stress. Accordingly,MSC exhibited a minimal capacity of rescuing Jurkat cells from chemically induced apoptosis,a process disrupting the mitochondrial membrane potential regulated by Bcl-2. These results suggest that MSC interfere with the Fas receptor regulated process of programmed cell death. Overall,MSC can inhibit proliferation of activated T cells while supporting their survival in a quiescent state,providing a model of their activity inside the HSC niche. Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article. View Publication

BACKGROUND The capability of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) derived of adult bone marrow to undergo in vitro hepatic differentiation was investigated. RESULTS Exposure of hMSC to a cocktail of hepatogenic factors [(fibroblast growth factor-4 (FGF-4),hepatocyte growth factor (HGF),insulin-transferrin-sodium-selenite (ITS) and dexamethasone)] failed to induce hepatic differentiation. Sequential exposure to these factors (FGF-4,followed by HGF,followed by HGF+ITS+dexamethasone),however,resembling the order of secretion during liver embryogenesis,induced both glycogen-storage and cytokeratin (CK)18 expression. Additional exposure of the cells to trichostatin A (TSA) considerably improved endodermal differentiation,as evidenced by acquisition of an epithelial morphology,chronological expression of hepatic proteins,including hepatocyte-nuclear factor (HNF)-3beta,alpha-fetoprotein (AFP),CK18,albumin (ALB),HNF1alpha,multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP)2 and CCAAT-enhancer binding protein (C/EBP)alpha,and functional maturation,i.e. upregulated ALB secretion,urea production and inducible cytochrome P450 (CYP)-dependent activity. CONCLUSION hMSC are able to undergo mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition. TSA is hereby essential to promote differentiation of hMSC towards functional hepatocyte-like cells. View Publication

Ewing sarcoma gene EWS encodes a putative RNA-binding protein with proposed roles in transcription and splicing,but its physiological role in vivo remains undefined. Here,we have generated Ews-deficient mice and demonstrated that EWS is required for the completion of B cell development and meiosis. Analysis of Ews(-/-) lymphocytes revealed a cell-autonomous defect in precursor B lymphocyte (pre-B lymphocyte) development. During meiosis,Ews-null spermatocytes were deficient in XY bivalent formation and showed reduced meiotic recombination,resulting in massive apoptosis and complete arrest in gamete maturation. Inactivation of Ews in mouse embryonic fibroblasts resulted in premature cellular senescence,and the mutant animals showed hypersensitivity to ionizing radiation. Finally,we showed that EWS interacts with lamin A/C and that loss of EWS results in a reduced lamin A/C expression. Our findings reveal essential functions for EWS in pre-B cell development and meiosis,with proposed roles in DNA pairing and recombination/repair mechanisms. Furthermore,we demonstrate a novel role of EWS in cellular senescence,possibly through its interaction and modulation of lamin A/C. View Publication

The identification of self-renewing and multipotent neural stem cells (NSCs) in the mammalian brain holds promise for the treatment of neurological diseases and has yielded new insight into brain cancer. However,the complete repertoire of signaling pathways that governs the proliferation and self-renewal of NSCs,which we refer to as the 'ground state',remains largely uncharacterized. Although the candidate gene approach has uncovered vital pathways in NSC biology,so far only a few highly studied pathways have been investigated. Based on the intimate relationship between NSC self-renewal and neurosphere proliferation,we undertook a chemical genetic screen for inhibitors of neurosphere proliferation in order to probe the operational circuitry of the NSC. The screen recovered small molecules known to affect neurotransmission pathways previously thought to operate primarily in the mature central nervous system; these compounds also had potent inhibitory effects on cultures enriched for brain cancer stem cells. These results suggest that clinically approved neuromodulators may remodel the mature central nervous system and find application in the treatment of brain cancer. View Publication