技术资料

Retinitis pigmentosa,other inherited retinal diseases,and age-related macular degeneration lead to untreatable blindness because of the loss of photoreceptors. We have recently shown that transplantation of mouse photoreceptors can result in improved vision. It is therefore timely to develop protocols for efficient derivation of photoreceptors from human pluripotent stem (hPS) cells. Current methods for photoreceptor derivation from hPS cells require long periods of culture and are rather inefficient. Here,we report that formation of a transient self-organized neuroepithelium from human embryonic stem cells cultured together with extracellular matrix is sufficient to induce a rapid conversion into retinal progenitors in 5 days. These retinal progenitors have the ability to differentiate very efficiently into Crx+ photoreceptor precursors after only 10 days and subsequently acquire rod photoreceptor identity within 4 weeks. Directed differentiation into photoreceptors using this protocol is also possible with human-induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cells,facilitating the use of patient-specific hiPS cell lines for regenerative medicine and disease modeling. STEM CELLS2013;31:408–414 View Publication

In metazoans,the nuclear lamina is thought to play an important role in the spatial organization of interphase chromosomes,by providing anchoring sites for large genomic segments named lamina-associated domains (LADs). Some of these LADs are cell-type specific,while many others appear constitutively associated with the lamina. Constitutive LADs (cLADs) may contribute to a basal chromosome architecture. By comparison of mouse and human lamina interaction maps,we find that the sizes and genomic positions of cLADs are strongly conserved. Moreover,cLADs are depleted of synteny breakpoints,pointing to evolutionary selective pressure to keep cLADs intact. Paradoxically,the overall sequence conservation is low for cLADs. Instead,cLADs are universally characterized by long stretches of DNA of high A/T content. Cell-type specific LADs also tend to adhere to this A/T rule" in embryonic stem cells� View Publication

Human U1 small nuclear (sn)RNA,required for splicing of pre-mRNA,is encoded by genes on chromosome 1 (1p36). Imperfect copies of these U1 snRNA genes,also located on chromosome 1 (1q12-21),were thought to be pseudogenes. However,many of these variant" (v)U1 snRNA genes produce fully processed transcripts. Using antisense oligonucleotides to block the activity of a specific vU1 snRNA in HeLa cells� View Publication

BACKGROUND The clinical use of doxorubicin is limited by cardiotoxicity. Histopathological changes include interstitial myocardial fibrosis and the appearance of vacuolated cardiomyocytes. Whereas dysregulation of autophagy in the myocardium has been implicated in a variety of cardiovascular diseases,the role of autophagy in doxorubicin cardiomyopathy remains poorly defined. METHODS AND RESULTS Most models of doxorubicin cardiotoxicity involve intraperitoneal injection of high-dose drug,which elicits lethargy,anorexia,weight loss,and peritoneal fibrosis,all of which confound the interpretation of autophagy. Given this,we first established a model that provokes modest and progressive cardiotoxicity without constitutional symptoms,reminiscent of the effects seen in patients. We report that doxorubicin blocks cardiomyocyte autophagic flux in vivo and in cardiomyocytes in culture. This block was accompanied by robust accumulation of undegraded autolysosomes. We go on to localize the site of block as a defect in lysosome acidification. To test the functional relevance of doxorubicin-triggered autolysosome accumulation,we studied animals with diminished autophagic activity resulting from haploinsufficiency for Beclin 1. Beclin 1(+/-) mice exposed to doxorubicin were protected in terms of structural and functional changes within the myocardium. Conversely,animals overexpressing Beclin 1 manifested an amplified cardiotoxic response. CONCLUSIONS Doxorubicin blocks autophagic flux in cardiomyocytes by impairing lysosome acidification and lysosomal function. Reducing autophagy initiation protects against doxorubicin cardiotoxicity. View Publication

The current gold standard for the culture of human pluripotent stem cells requires the use of a feeder layer of cells. Here,we develop a spatially defined culture system based on UV/ozone radiation modification of typical cell culture plastics to define a favorable surface environment for human pluripotent stem cell culture. Chemical and geometrical optimization of the surfaces enables control of early cell aggregation from fully dissociated cells,as predicted from a numerical model of cell migration,and results in significant increases in cell growth of undifferentiated cells. These chemically defined xeno-free substrates generate more than three times the number of cells than feeder-containing substrates per surface area. Further,reprogramming and typical gene-targeting protocols can be readily performed on these engineered surfaces. These substrates provide an attractive cell culture platform for the production of clinically relevant factor-free reprogrammed cells from patient tissue samples and facilitate the definition of standardized scale-up friendly methods for disease modeling and cell therapeutic applications. View Publication

Here we describe a protocol for generating 3D human intestinal tissues (called organoids) in vitro from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). To generate intestinal organoids,pluripotent stem cells are first differentiated into FOXA2(+)SOX17(+) endoderm by treating the cells with activin A for 3 d. After endoderm induction,the pluripotent stem cells are patterned into CDX2(+) mid- and hindgut tissue using FGF4 and WNT3a. During this patterning step,3D mid- or hindgut spheroids bud from the monolayer epithelium attached to the tissue culture dish. The 3D spheroids are further cultured in Matrigel along with prointestinal growth factors,and they proliferate and expand over 1-3 months to give rise to intestinal tissue,complete with intestinal mesenchyme and epithelium comprising all of the major intestinal cell types. To date,this is the only method for efficiently directing the differentiation of hPSCs into 3D human intestinal tissue in vitro. View Publication

BACKGROUND Strategies on the basis of doxycycline-inducible lentiviruses in mouse cells allowed the examination of mechanisms governing somatic cell reprogramming. RESULTS Using a doxycycline-inducible human reprogramming system,we identified unreported miRs enhancing reprogramming efficiency. CONCLUSION We generated a drug-inducible human reprogramming reporter system as an invaluable tool for genetic or chemical screenings. SIGNIFICANCE These cellular systems provide a tool to enable the advancement of reprogramming technologies in human cells. Reprogramming of somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells is achieved by the expression of defined transcription factors. In the last few years,reprogramming strategies on the basis of doxycycline-inducible lentiviruses in mouse cells became highly powerful for screening purposes when the expression of a GFP gene,driven by the reactivation of endogenous stem cell specific promoters,was used as a reprogramming reporter signal. However,similar reporter systems in human cells have not been generated. Here,we describe the derivation of drug-inducible human fibroblast-like cell lines that express different subsets of reprogramming factors containing a GFP gene under the expression of the endogenous OCT4 promoter. These cell lines can be used to screen functional substitutes for reprogramming factors or modifiers of reprogramming efficiency. As a proof of principle of this system,we performed a screening of a library of pluripotent-enriched microRNAs and identified hsa-miR-519a as a novel inducer of reprogramming efficiency. View Publication

Human embryonic stem (hES) cells have the dual ability to self-renew and differentiate into specialized cell types. However,in order to realize the full potential of these cells it is important to understand how the genes responsible for their unique characteristics are regulated. In this study we examine the regulation of the tropomyosin-related kinase (TRK) genes which encode for receptors important in hES cell survival and self-renewal. Although the TRK genes have been studied in many neuronal cell types,the regulation of these genes in hES cells is unclear. Our study demonstrates a novel regulatory relationship between the TRKC gene and the transcription factor SOX2. Our results found that hES cells highly express full-length and truncated forms of the TRKC gene. However,examination of the related TRKB gene showed a lower overall expression of both full-length and truncated forms. Through RNA interference,we knocked down expression levels of SOX2 in hES cells and examined the expression of TRKC,as well as TRKB. Upon loss of SOX2 we found that TRKC mRNA levels were significantly downregulated but TRKB levels remained unchanged,demonstrating an important regulatory dependence on SOX2 by TRKC. We also found that TRKC protein levels were also decreased after SOX2 knock down. Further analysis found the regulatory region of TRKC to be highly conserved among many mammals with potential SOX binding motifs. We confirmed a specific binding motif as a site that SOX2 utilizes to directly interact with the TRKC regulatory region. In addition,we found that SOX2 drives expression of the TRKC gene by activating a luciferase reporter construct containing the TRKC regulatory region and the SOX binding motif. View Publication

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress occurs during early embryonic development. The aim of this study is to determine whether ER stress occurs during human embryonic stem cell differentiation induced by retinoic acid (RA). H9 human embryonic stem cells were subjected to RA treatment for up to 29. days to induce differentiation. HEK293 cells were treated with RA as a control. The results demonstrate that several ER stress-responsive genes are differentially regulated in H9 and HEK293 cells in response to 5. days of RA treatment. GRP78/Bip was upregulated in H9 cells but downregulated in HEK293 cells. eIF2?? was downregulated in H9 cells but not in HEK293 cells. Phosphorylation of eIF2?? was downregulated in H9 cells but upregulated in HEK293 cells. XBP-1 was downregulated immediately after RA treatment in H9 cells,but its downregulation was much slower in HEK293 cells. Additionally,two ER-resident E3 ubiquitin ligases,gp78 and Hrd1,were both upregulated in H9 cells following 5. days of exposure to RA. Moreover,the protein Bcl2 was undetectable in H9 cells and H9-derived cells but was expressed in HEK293 cells,and it expression in the two types of cells was unaltered by RA treatment. In H9 cells treated with RA for 29. days,GRP78/Bip,XBP-1 and Bcl2 were all upregulated. These results suggest that ER stress is involved in H9 cell differentiation induced by RA. ?? 2011 Elsevier Inc. View Publication

Embryonic stem cells can replicate continuously in the absence of senescence and,therefore,are immortal in culture. Although genome stability is essential for the survival of stem cells,proteome stability may have an equally important role in stem-cell identity and function. Furthermore,with the asymmetric divisions invoked by stem cells,the passage of damaged proteins to daughter cells could potentially destroy the resulting lineage of cells. Therefore,a firm understanding of how stem cells maintain their proteome is of central importance. Here we show that human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) exhibit high proteasome activity that is correlated with increased levels of the 19S proteasome subunit PSMD11 (known as RPN-6 in Caenorhabditis elegans) and a corresponding increased assembly of the 26S/30S proteasome. Ectopic expression of PSMD11 is sufficient to increase proteasome assembly and activity. FOXO4,an insulin/insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) responsive transcription factor associated with long lifespan in invertebrates,regulates proteasome activity by modulating the expression of PSMD11 in hESCs. Proteasome inhibition in hESCs affects the expression of pluripotency markers and the levels of specific markers of the distinct germ layers. Our results suggest a new regulation of proteostasis in hESCs that links longevity and stress resistance in invertebrates to hESC function and identity. View Publication

Developing an efficient culture system for controlled human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) differentiation into selected lineages is a major challenge in realizing stem cell-based clinical applications. Here,we report the use of chitin-alginate 3D microfibrous scaffolds,previously developed for hPSC propagation,to support efficient neuronal differentiation and maturation under chemically defined culture conditions. When treated with neural induction medium containing Noggin/retinoic acid,the encapsulated cells expressed much higher levels of neural progenitor markers SOX1 and PAX6 than those in other treatment conditions. Immunocytochemisty analysis confirmed that the majority of the differentiated cells were nestin-positive cells. Subsequently transferring the scaffolds to neuronal differentiation medium efficiently directed these encapsulated neural progenitors into mature neurons,as detected by RT-PCR and positive immunostaining for neuron markers βIII tubulin and MAP2. Furthermore,flow cytometry confirmed that textgreater90% βIII tubulin-positive neurons was achieved for three independent iPSC and hESC lines,a differentiation efficiency much higher than previously reported. Implantation of these terminally differentiated neurons into SCID mice yielded successful neural grafts comprising MAP2 positive neurons,without tumorigenesis,suggesting a potential safe cell source for regenerative medicine. These results bring us one step closer toward realizing large-scale production of stem cell derivatives for clinical and translational applications. View Publication

The mechanisms underlying pluripotency and differentiation in embryonic and reprogrammed stem cells are unclear. In this work,we characterized the pluripotent state towards neural differentiated state through analysis of trace elements distribution using the Synchrotron Radiation X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy. Naive and neural-stimulated embryoid bodies (EB) derived from embryonic and induced pluripotent stem (ES and iPS) cells were irradiated with a spatial resolution of 20 µm to make elemental maps and qualitative chemical analyses. Results show that these embryo-like aggregates exhibit self-organization at the atomic level. Metallic elements content rises and consistent elemental polarization pattern of P and S in both mouse and human pluripotent stem cells were observed,indicating that neural differentiation and elemental polarization are strongly correlated. View Publication