技术资料

OBJECTIVE: The molecular events that lead to human thyroid cell speciation remain incompletely characterized. It has been shown that overexpression of the regulatory transcription factors Pax8 and Nkx2-1 (ttf-1) directs murine embryonic stem (mES) cells to differentiate into thyroid follicular cells by initiating a transcriptional regulatory network. Such cells subsequently organized into three-dimensional follicular structures in the presence of extracellular matrix. In the current study,human embryonic stem (hES) cells were studied with the aim of recapitulating this scenario and producing functional human thyroid cell lines. METHODS: Reporter gene tagged pEZ-lentiviral vectors were used to express human PAX8-eGFP and NKX2-1-mCherry in the H9 hES cell line followed by differentiation into thyroid cells directed by Activin A and thyrotropin (TSH). RESULTS: Both transcription factors were expressed efficiently in hES cells expressing either PAX8,NKX2-1,or in combination in the hES cells,which had low endogenous expression of these transcription factors. Further differentiation of the double transfected cells showed the expression of thyroid-specific genes,including thyroglobulin (TG),thyroid peroxidase (TPO),the sodium/iodide symporter (NIS),and the TSH receptor (TSHR) as assessed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and immunostaining. Most notably,the Activin/TSH-induced differentiation approach resulted in thyroid follicle formation and abundant TG protein expression within the follicular lumens. On stimulation with TSH,these hES-derived follicles were also capable of dose-dependent cAMP generation and radioiodine uptake,indicating functional thyroid epithelial cells. CONCLUSION: The induced expression of PAX8 and NKX2-1 in hES cells was followed by differentiation into thyroid epithelial cells and their commitment to form functional three-dimensional neo-follicular structures. The data provide proof of principal that hES cells can be committed to thyroid cell speciation under appropriate conditions. View Publication

Terahertz (THz) radiation was proposed recently for use in various applications,including medical imaging and security scanners. However,there are concerns regarding the possible biological effects of non-ionising electromagnetic radiation in the THz range on cells. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are extremely sensitive to environmental stimuli,and we therefore utilised this cell model to investigate the non-thermal effects of THz irradiation. We studied DNA damage and transcriptome responses in hESCs exposed to narrow-band THz radiation (2.3 THz) under strict temperature control. The transcription of approximately 1% of genes was subtly increased following THz irradiation. Functional annotation enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes revealed 15 functional classes,which were mostly related to mitochondria. Terahertz irradiation did not induce the formation of γH2AX foci or structural chromosomal aberrations in hESCs. We did not observe any effect on the mitotic index or morphology of the hESCs following THz exposure. View Publication

Nature Communications 6,(2015). doi:10.1038/ncomms6999 View Publication

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) have demonstrated great potential for hyaline cartilage regeneration. However,current approaches for chondrogenic differentiation of hiPSCs are complicated and inefficient primarily due to intermediate embryoid body formation,which is required to generate endodermal,ectodermal,and mesodermal cell lineages. We report a new,straightforward and highly efficient approach for chondrogenic differentiation of hiPSCs,which avoids embryoid body formation. We differentiated hiPSCs directly into mesenchymal stem /stromal cells (MSC) and chondrocytes. hiPSC-MSC-derived chondrocytes showed significantly increased Col2A1,GAG,and SOX9 gene expression compared to hiPSC-MSCs. Following transplantation of hiPSC-MSC and hiPSC-MSC-derived chondrocytes into osteochondral defects of arthritic joints of athymic rats,magnetic resonance imaging studies showed gradual engraftment,and histological correlations demonstrated hyaline cartilage matrix production. Results present an efficient and clinically translatable approach for cartilage tissue regeneration via patient-derived hiPSCs,which could improve cartilage regeneration outcomes in arthritic joints. View Publication

It is likely that arrhythmias should be avoided for therapies based on human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes (CM) to be effective. Towards achieving this goal,we introduced light-activated channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2),a cation channel activated with 480 nm light,into human embryonic stem cells (hESC). By using in vitro approaches,hESC-CM are able to be activated with light. ChR2 is stably transduced into undifferentiated hESC via a lentiviral vector. Via directed differentiation,hESCChR2-CM are produced and subjected to optical stimulation. hESCChR2-CM respond to traditional electrical stimulation and produce similar contractility features as their wild-type counterparts but only hESCChR2-CM can be activated by optical stimulation. Here it is shown that a light sensitive protein can enable in vitro optical control of hESC-CM and that this activation occurs optimally above specific light stimulation intensity and pulse width thresholds. For future therapy,in vivo optical stimulation along with optical inhibition could allow for acute synchronization of implanted hPSC-CM with patient cardiac rhythms. View Publication

To address existing limitations in live neuron imaging,we have developed NeuO,a novel cell-permeable fluorescent probe with an unprecedented ability to label and image live neurons selectively over other cells in the brain. NeuO enables robust live neuron imaging and isolation in vivo and in vitro across species; its versatility and ease of use sets the basis for its development in a myriad of neuronal targeting applications. View Publication

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is the most common type of diabetes in children and adolescents. Diabetic subjects are more likely to experience a myocardial infarction compared to nondiabetic subjects. In recent years,induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have received increasing attention from basic scientists and clinicians and hold promise for myocardial regeneration due to their unlimited proliferation potential and differentiation capacity. However,cardiomyogenesis of type 1 diabetic donor-derived iPSCs (T1DM-iPSCs) has not been investigated yet. The aim of the study was to comparatively analyze cardiomyocyte (CM) differentiation capacity of nondiabetic donor-derived iPSCs (N-iPSCs) and T1DM-iPSCs. The differentiated CMs were confirmed by both expression of cardiac-specific markers and presence of cardiac action potential. Since mitochondrial bioenergetics is vital to every aspect of CM function,extracellular acidification rates and oxygen consumption rates were measured using Seahorse extracellular flux analyzer. The results showed that N-iPSCs and T1DMiPSCs demonstrated similar capacity of differentiation into spontaneously contracting CMs exhibiting nodal-,atrial-,or ventricular-like action potentials. Differentiation efficiency was up to 90%. In addition,the CMs differentiated from N-iPSCs and T1DM-iPSCs (N-iPSC-CMs and T1DM-iPSC-CMs,respectively) showed 1) well-regulated glucose utilization at the level of glycolysis and mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and 2) the ability to switch metabolic pathways independent of extracellular glucose concentration. Collectively,we demonstrate for the first time that T1DM-iPSCs can differentiate into functional CMs with well-regulated glucose utilization as shown in N-iPSCs,suggesting that T1DM-iPSC-CMs might be a promising autologous cell source for myocardial regeneration in type 1 diabetes patients. View Publication

Cohesin is implicated in establishing and maintaining pluripotency. Whether this is because of essential cohesin functions in the cell cycle or in gene regulation is unknown. Here we tested cohesin's contribution to reprogramming in systems that reactivate the expression of pluripotency genes in the absence of proliferation (embryonic stem [ES] cell heterokaryons) or DNA replication (nuclear transfer). Contrary to expectations,cohesin depletion enhanced the ability of ES cells to initiate somatic cell reprogramming in heterokaryons. This was explained by increased c-Myc (Myc) expression in cohesin-depleted ES cells,which promoted DNA replication-dependent reprogramming of somatic fusion partners. In contrast,cohesin-depleted somatic cells were poorly reprogrammed in heterokaryons,due in part to defective DNA replication. Pluripotency gene induction was rescued by Myc,which restored DNA replication,and by nuclear transfer,where reprogramming does not require DNA replication. These results redefine cohesin's role in pluripotency and reveal a novel function for Myc in promoting the replication-dependent reprogramming of somatic nuclei. View Publication

Monge's disease,also known as chronic mountain sickness (CMS),is a disease that potentially threatens more than 140 million highlanders during extended time living at high altitudes (over 2500m). The prevalence of CMS in Andeans is about 15-20%,suggesting that the majority of highlanders (non-CMS) are rather healthy at high altitudes; however,CMS subjects experience severe hypoxemia,erythrocytosis and many neurologic manifestations including migraine,headache,mental fatigue,confusion,and memory loss. The underlying mechanisms of CMS neuropathology are not well understood and no ideal treatment is available to prevent or cure CMS,except for phlebotomy. In the current study,we reprogrammed fibroblast cells from both CMS and non-CMS subjects' skin biopsies into the induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs),then differentiated into neurons and compared their neuronal properties. We discovered that CMS neurons were much less excitable (higher rheobase) than non-CMS neurons. This decreased excitability was not caused by differences in passive neuronal properties,but instead by a significantly lowered Na+ channel current density and by a shift of the voltage-conductance curve in the depolarization direction. Our findings provide,for the first time,evidence of a neuronal abnormality in CMS subjects as compared to non-CMS subjects,hoping that such studies can pave the way to a better understanding of the neuropathology in CMS. View Publication

Gene- and cell-based therapies are promising strategies for the treatment of degenerative retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration,Stargardt disease,and retinitis pigmentosa. Cellular engineering before transplantation may allow the delivery of cellular factors that can promote functional improvements,such as increased engraftment or survival of transplanted cells. A current challenge in traditional DNA-based vector transfection is to find a delivery system that is both safe and efficient,but using mRNA as an alternative to DNA can circumvent these major roadblocks. In this study,we show that both unmodified and modified mRNA can be delivered to retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) cells with a high efficiency compared with conventional plasmid delivery systems. On the other hand,administration of unmodified mRNA induced a strong innate immune response that was almost absent when using modified mRNA. Importantly,transfection of mRNA encoding a key regulator of RPE gene expression,microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF),confirmed the functionality of the delivered mRNA. Immunostaining showed that transfection with either type of mRNA led to the expression of roughly equal levels of MITF,primarily localized in the nucleus. Despite these findings,quantitative RT-PCR analyses showed that the activation of the expression of MITF target genes was higher following transfection with modified mRNA compared with unmodified mRNA. Our findings,therefore,show that modified mRNA transfection can be applied to human embryonic stem cell-derived RPE cells and that the method is safe,efficient,and functional. View Publication

Human pluripotent stem (hPS) cells are a potential source of cells for medical therapy and an ideal system to study fate decisions in early development. However,hPS cells cultured in vitro exhibit a high degree of heterogeneity,presenting an obstacle to clinical translation. hPS cells grow in spatially patterned colony structures,necessitating quantitative single-cell image analysis. We offer a tool for analyzing the spatial population context of hPS cells that integrates automated fluorescent microscopy with an analysis pipeline. It enables high-throughput detection of colonies at low resolution,with single-cellular and sub-cellular analysis at high resolutions,generating seamless in situ maps of single-cellular data organized by colony. We demonstrate the tool's utility by analyzing inter- and intra-colony heterogeneity of hPS cell cycle regulation and pluripotency marker expression. We measured the heterogeneity within individual colonies by analyzing cell cycle as a function of distance. Cells loosely associated with the outside of the colony are more likely to be in G1,reflecting a less pluripotent state,while cells within the first pluripotent layer are more likely to be in G2,possibly reflecting a G2/M block. Our multi-scale analysis tool groups colony regions into density classes,and cells belonging to those classes have distinct distributions of pluripotency markers and respond differently to DNA damage induction. Lastly,we demonstrate that our pipeline can robustly handle high-content,high-resolution single molecular mRNA FISH data by using novel image processing techniques. Overall,the imaging informatics pipeline presented offers a novel approach to the analysis of hPS cells that includes not only single cell features but also colony wide,and more generally,multi-scale spatial configuration. View Publication

Mesenchymal stem or stromal cells (MSCs) have many potential therapeutic applications including therapies for cancers and tissue damages caused by cancers or radical cancer treatments. However,tissue-derived MSCs such as bone marrow MSCs (BM-MSCs) may promote cancer progression and have considerable donor variations and limited expandability. These issues hinder the potential applications of MSCs,especially those in cancer patients. To circumvent these issues,we derived MSCs from transgene-free human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) efficiently with a modified protocol that eliminated the need of flow cytometric sorting. Our iPSC-derived MSCs were readily expandable,but still underwent senescence after prolonged culture and did not form teratomas. These iPSC-derived MSCs homed to cancers with efficiencies similar to BM-MSCs but were much less prone than BM-MSCs to promote the epithelial-mesenchymal transition,invasion,stemness,and growth of cancer cells. The observations were probably explained by the much lower expression of receptors for interleukin-1 and TGFβ,downstream protumor factors,and hyaluronan and its cofactor TSG6,which all contribute to the protumor effects of BM-MSCs. The data suggest that iPSC-derived MSCs prepared with the modified protocol are a safer and better alternative to BM-MSCs for therapeutic applications in cancer patients. The protocol is scalable and can be used to prepare the large number of cells required for off-the-shelf" therapies and bioengineering applications." View Publication