技术资料

Diploidy is a fundamental genetic feature in mammals,in which haploid cells normally arise only as post-meiotic germ cells that serve to ensure a diploid genome upon fertilization. Gamete manipulation has yielded haploid embryonic stem (ES) cells from several mammalian species,but haploid human ES cells have yet to be reported. Here we generated and analysed a collection of human parthenogenetic ES cell lines originating from haploid oocytes,leading to the successful isolation and maintenance of human ES cell lines with a normal haploid karyotype. Haploid human ES cells exhibited typical pluripotent stem cell characteristics,such as self-renewal capacity and a pluripotency-specific molecular signature. Moreover,we demonstrated the utility of these cells as a platform for loss-of-function genetic screening. Although haploid human ES cells resembled their diploid counterparts,they also displayed distinct properties including differential regulation of X chromosome inactivation and of genes involved in oxidative phosphorylation,alongside reduction in absolute gene expression levels and cell size. Surprisingly,we found that a haploid human genome is compatible not only with the undifferentiated pluripotent state,but also with differentiated somatic fates representing all three embryonic germ layers both in vitro and in vivo,despite a persistent dosage imbalance between the autosomes and X chromosome. We expect that haploid human ES cells will provide novel means for studying human functional genomics and development. View Publication

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs),including both embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells,possess the unique ability to readily differentiate into any cell type of the body,including cells of the retina. Although previous studies have demonstrated the ability to differentiate hPSCs to a retinal lineage,the ability to derive retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) from hPSCs has been complicated by the lack of specific markers with which to identify these cells from a pluripotent source. In the current study,the definitive identification of hPSC-derived RGCs was accomplished by their directed,stepwise differentiation through an enriched retinal progenitor intermediary,with resultant RGCs expressing a full complement of associated features and proper functional characteristics. These results served as the basis for the establishment of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from a patient with a genetically inherited form of glaucoma,which results in damage and loss of RGCs. Patient-derived RGCs specifically exhibited a dramatic increase in apoptosis,similar to the targeted loss of RGCs in glaucoma,which was significantly rescued by the addition of candidate neuroprotective factors. Thus,the current study serves to establish a method by which to definitively acquire and identify RGCs from hPSCs and demonstrates the ability of hPSCs to serve as an effective in vitro model of disease progression. Moreover,iPSC-derived RGCs can be utilized for future drug screening approaches to identify targets for the treatment of glaucoma and other optic neuropathies. Stem Cells 2016. View Publication

Hyperfunction of the mTORC1 pathway has been associated with idiopathic and syndromic forms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD),including tuberous sclerosis,caused by loss of either TSC1 or TSC2. It remains largely unknown how developmental processes and biochemical signaling affected by mTORC1 dysregulation contribute to human neuronal dysfunction. Here,we have characterized multiple stages of neurogenesis and synapse formation in human neurons derived from TSC2-deleted pluripotent stem cells. Homozygous TSC2 deletion causes severe developmental abnormalities that recapitulate pathological hallmarks of cortical malformations in patients. Both TSC2(+/-) and TSC2(-/-) neurons display altered synaptic transmission paralleled by molecular changes in pathways associated with autism,suggesting the convergence of pathological mechanisms in ASD. Pharmacological inhibition of mTORC1 corrects developmental abnormalities and synaptic dysfunction during independent developmental stages. Our results uncouple stage-specific roles of mTORC1 in human neuronal development and contribute to a better understanding of the onset of neuronal pathophysiology in tuberous sclerosis. View Publication

Modeling tissues and organs using conventional 2D cell cultures is problematic as the cells rapidly lose their in vivo phenotype. In microfluidic bioreactors the cells reside in microstructures that are continuously perfused with cell culture medium to provide a dynamic environment mimicking the cells natural habitat. These micro scale bioreactors are sometimes referred to as organs-on-chips and are developed in order to improve and extend cell culture experiments. Here,we describe the two manufacturing techniques photolithography and soft lithography that are used in order to easily produce microfluidic bioreactors. The use of these bioreactors is exemplified by a toxicity assessment on 3D clustered human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes by beating frequency imaging. View Publication

Background: Huntington's disease (HD) is an incurable hereditary neurodegenerative disorder,which manifests itself as a loss of GABAergic medium spiny (GABA MS) neurons in the striatum and caused by an expansion of the CAG repeat in exon 1 of the huntingtin gene. There is no cure for HD,existing pharmaceutical can only relieve its symptoms. Results: Here,induced pluripotent stem cells were established from patients with low CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene,and were then efficiently differentiated into GABA MS-like neurons (GMSLNs) under defined culture conditions. The generated HD GMSLNs recapitulated disease pathology in vitro,as evidenced by mutant huntingtin protein aggregation,increased number of lysosomes/autophagosomes,nuclear indentations,and enhanced neuronal death during cell aging. Moreover,store-operated channel (SOC) currents were detected in the differentiated neurons,and enhanced calcium entry was reproducibly demonstrated in all HD GMSLNs genotypes. Additionally,the quinazoline derivative,EVP4593,reduced the number of lysosomes/autophagosomes and SOC currents in HD GMSLNs and exerted neuroprotective effects during cell aging. Conclusions: Our data is the first to demonstrate the direct link of nuclear morphology and SOC calcium deregulation to mutant huntingtin protein expression in iPSCs-derived neurons with disease-mimetic hallmarks,providing a valuable tool for identification of candidate anti-HD drugs. Our experiments demonstrated that EVP4593 may be a promising anti-HD drug. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] View Publication

Purinergic signaling mediated by P2 receptors (P2Rs) plays important roles in embryonic and stem cell development. However,how it mediates Ca2+ signals in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and derived cardiovascular progenitor cells (CVPCs) remains unclear. Here,we aimed to determine the role of P2Rs in mediating Ca2+ mobilizations of these cells. hESCs were induced to differentiate into CVPCs by our recently established methods. Gene expression of P2Rs and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (IP3Rs) was analyzed by quantitative/RT-PCR. IP3R3 knockdown (KD) or IP3R2 knockout (KO) hESCs were established by shRNA- or TALEN-mediated gene manipulations,respectively. Confocal imaging revealed that Ca2+ responses in CVPCs to ATP and UTP were more sensitive and stronger than those in hESCs. Consistently,the gene expression levels of most P2YRs except P2Y1 were increased in CVPCs. Suramin or PPADS blocked ATP-induced Ca2+ transients in hESCs but only partially inhibited those in CVPCs. Moreover,the P2Y1 receptor-specific antagonist MRS2279 abolished most ATP-induced Ca2+ signals in hESCs but not in CVPCs. P2Y1 receptor-specific agonist MRS2365 induced Ca2+ transients only in hESCs but not in CVPCs. Furthermore,IP3R2KO but not IP3R3KD decreased the proportion of hESCs responding to MRS2365. In contrast,both IP3R2 and IP3R3 contributed to UTP-induced Ca2+ responses while ATP-induced Ca2+ responses were more dependent on IP3R2 in the CVPCs. In conclusion,a predominant role of P2Y1 receptors in hESCs and a transition of P2Y-IP3R coupling in derived CVPCs are responsible for the differential Ca2+ mobilization between these cells. View Publication

The ectopic expression of transcription factors can reprogram differentiated tissue cells into induced pluripotent stem cells. However,this is a slow and inefficient process,depending on the simultaneous delivery of multiple genes encoding essential reprogramming factors and on their sustained expression in target cells. Moreover,once cell reprogramming is accomplished,these exogenous reprogramming factors should be replaced with their endogenous counterparts for establishing autoregulated pluripotency. Complete and designed removal of the exogenous genes from the reprogrammed cells would be an ideal option for satisfying this latter requisite as well as for minimizing the risk of malignant cell transformation. However,no single gene delivery/expression system has ever been equipped with these contradictory characteristics. Here we report the development of a novel replication-defective and persistent Sendai virus (SeVdp) vector based on a noncytopathic variant virus,which fulfills all of these requirements for cell reprogramming. The SeVdp vector could accommodate up to four exogenous genes,deliver them efficiently into various mammalian cells (including primary tissue cells and human hematopoietic stem cells) and express them stably in the cytoplasm at a prefixed balance. Furthermore,interfering with viral transcription/replication using siRNA could erase the genomic RNA of SeVdp vector from the target cells quickly and thoroughly. A SeVdp vector installed with Oct4/Sox2/Klf4/c-Myc could reprogram mouse primary fibroblasts quite efficiently; ∼1% of the cells were reprogrammed to Nanog-positive induced pluripotent stem cells without chromosomal gene integration. Thus,this SeVdp vector has potential as a tool for advanced cell reprogramming and for stem cell research. View Publication

The developmental potential of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) holds great promise to provide a source of human hepatocytes for use in drug discovery,toxicology,hepatitis research,and extracorporeal bioartificial liver support. There are,however,limitations to induce fully functional hepatocytes on conventional two-dimensional (2D) static culture. It had been shown that dynamic three-dimensional (3D) perfusion culture is superior to induce maturation in fetal hepatocytes and prolong hepatic functions of primary adult hepatocytes. We investigated the potential of using a four-compartment 3D perfusion culture to induce hepatic differentiation in hESC. Undifferentiated hESC were inoculated into hollow fiber-based 3D perfusion bioreactors with integral oxygenation. Hepatic differentiation was induced with a multistep growth factor cocktail protocol. Parallel controls were operated under equal perfusion conditions without the growth factor supplementations to allow for spontaneous differentiation,as well as in conventional 2D static conditions using growth factors. Metabolism,hepatocyte-specific gene expression,protein expression,and hepatic function were evaluated after 20 days. Significantly upregulated hepatic gene expression was observed in the hepatic differentiation 3D culture group. Ammonia metabolism activity and albumin production was observed in the 3D directed differentiation culture. Drug-induced cytochrome P450 gene expression was increased with rifampicin induction. Using flow cytometry analysis the mature hepatocyte marker asialoglycoprotein receptor was found on up to 30% of the cells in the 3D system with directed hepatic differentiation. Histological and immunohistochemical analysis revealed structural formation of hepatic and biliary marker-positive cells. In contrast to 2D culture,the 3D perfusion culture induced more functional maturation in hESC-derived hepatic cells. 3D perfusion bioreactor technologies may be useful for further studies on generating hESC-derived hepatic cells. View Publication

The generation of hematopoietic cells from human embryonic stem cells (hESC) has raised the possibility of using hESC as an alternative donor source for transplantation. However,functional defects identified in hESC-derived cells limit their use for full lymphohematopoietic reconstitution. The purpose of the present study was to define and quantitate key functional and molecular differences between CD34(+) hematopoietic progenitor subsets derived from hESC and CD34(+) subsets from umbilical cord blood (UCB) representing definitive hematopoiesis. Two distinct sub-populations were generated following mesodermal differentiation from hESC,a CD34(bright) (hematoendothelial) and CD34(dim) (hematopoietic-restricted) subset. Limiting dilution analysis revealed profound defects in clonal proliferation relative to UCB particularly in B lymphoid conditions. Transcription factors normally expressed at specific commitment stages during B lymphoid development from UCB-CD34(+) cells were aberrantly expressed in hESC-derived CD34(+) cells. Moreover,strong negative regulators of lymphopoiesis such as the adaptor protein LNK and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein-α (CEBPα),were exclusively expressed in hESC-CD34(+) subsets. Knockdown of LNK lead to an increase in hematopoietic progenitors generated from hESCs. The aberrant molecular profile seen in hESC-CD34(+) cells represents persistence of transcripts first expressed in undifferentiated hESC and/or CD326-CD56(+) mesoderm progenitors,and may contribute to the block in definitive hematopoiesis from hESC. View Publication

Studies in embryonic development have guided successful efforts to direct the differentiation of human embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) into specific organ cell types in vitro. For example,human PSCs have been differentiated into monolayer cultures of liver hepatocytes and pancreatic endocrine cells that have therapeutic efficacy in animal models of liver disease and diabetes,respectively. However,the generation of complex three-dimensional organ tissues in vitro remains a major challenge for translational studies. Here we establish a robust and efficient process to direct the differentiation of human PSCs into intestinal tissue in vitro using a temporal series of growth factor manipulations to mimic embryonic intestinal development. This involved activin-induced definitive endoderm formation,FGF/Wnt-induced posterior endoderm pattering,hindgut specification and morphogenesis,and a pro-intestinal culture system to promote intestinal growth,morphogenesis and cytodifferentiation. The resulting three-dimensional intestinal 'organoids' consisted of a polarized,columnar epithelium that was patterned into villus-like structures and crypt-like proliferative zones that expressed intestinal stem cell markers. The epithelium contained functional enterocytes,as well as goblet,Paneth and enteroendocrine cells. Using this culture system as a model to study human intestinal development,we identified that the combined activity of WNT3A and FGF4 is required for hindgut specification whereas FGF4 alone is sufficient to promote hindgut morphogenesis. Our data indicate that human intestinal stem cells form de novo during development. We also determined that NEUROG3,a pro-endocrine transcription factor that is mutated in enteric anendocrinosis,is both necessary and sufficient for human enteroendocrine cell development in vitro. PSC-derived human intestinal tissue should allow for unprecedented studies of human intestinal development and disease. View Publication

Despite major advances in the pathophysiological understanding of peripheral nerve damage,the treatment of nerve injuries still remains an unmet medical need. Nerve guidance conduits present a promising treatment option by providing a growth-permissive environment that 1) promotes neuronal cell survival and axon growth and 2) directs axonal extension. To this end,we designed an electrospun nerve guidance conduit using a blend of polyurea and poly-caprolactone with both biochemical and topographical cues. Biochemical cues were integrated into the conduit by functionalizing the polyurea with RGD to improve cell attachment. Topographical cues that resemble natural nerve tissue were incorporated by introducing intraluminal microchannels aligned with nanofibers. We determined that electrospinning the polymer solution across a two electrode system with dissolvable sucrose fibers produced a polymer conduit with the appropriate biomimetic properties. Human neural stem cells were cultured on the conduit to evaluate its ability to promote neuronal growth and axonal extension. The nerve guidance conduit was shown to enhance cell survival,migration,and guide neurite extension. View Publication

The Mediator complex forms the bridge between transcriptional activators and the RNA polymerase II. Med1 (also known as PBP or TRAP220) is a key component of Mediator that interacts with nuclear hormone receptors and GATA transcription factors. Here,we show dynamic recruitment of GATA-1,TFIIB,Mediator,and RNA polymerase II to the β-globin locus in induced mouse erythroid leukemia cells and in an erythropoietin-inducible hematopoietic progenitor cell line. Using Med1 conditional knockout mice,we demonstrate a specific block in erythroid development but not in myeloid or lymphoid development,highlighted by the complete absence of β-globin gene expression. Thus,Mediator subunit Med1 plays a pivotal role in erythroid development and in β-globin gene activation. View Publication