技术资料

Nature Chemical Biology 10,677 (2014). doi:10.1038/nchembio.1563 View Publication

Embryos allocate cells to the three germ layers in a spatially ordered sequence. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) can generate the three germ layers in culture; however,differentiation is typically heterogeneous and spatially disordered. We show that geometric confinement is sufficient to trigger self-organized patterning in hESCs. In response to BMP4,colonies reproducibly differentiated to an outer trophectoderm-like ring,an inner ectodermal circle and a ring of mesendoderm expressing primitive-streak markers in between. Fates were defined relative to the boundary with a fixed length scale: small colonies corresponded to the outer layers of larger ones. Inhibitory signals limited the range of BMP4 signaling to the colony edge and induced a gradient of Activin-Nodal signaling that patterned mesendodermal fates. These results demonstrate that the intrinsic tendency of stem cells to make patterns can be harnessed by controlling colony geometries and provide a quantitative assay for studying paracrine signaling in early development. View Publication

Airway epithelial mucus hypersecretion and mucus plugging are prominent pathologic features of chronic inflammatory conditions of the airway (e.g. asthma and cystic fibrosis) and in most of these conditions,women have worse prognosis compared with male patients. We thus investigated the effects of estradiol on mucus expression in primary normal human bronchial epithelial cells from female donors grown at an air liquid interface (ALI). Treatment with estradiol in physiological ranges for 2 weeks caused a concentration-dependent increase in the number of PAS-positive cells (confirmed to be goblet cells by MUC5AC immunostaining) in ALI cultures,and this action was attenuated by estrogen receptor beta (ER-$$) antagonist. Protein microarray data showed that nuclear factor of activated T-cell (NFAT) in the nuclear fraction of NHBE cells was increased with estradiol treatment. Estradiol increased NFATc1 mRNA and protein in ALI cultures. In a human airway epithelial (1HAE0) cell line,NFATc1 was required for the regulation of MUC5AC mRNA and protein. Estradiol also induced post-translational modification of mucins by increasing total fucose residues and fucosyltransferase (FUT-4,-5,-6) mRNA expression. Together,these data indicate a novel mechanism by which estradiol increases mucus synthesis in the human bronchial epithelium. View Publication

The reprogramming of somatic cells to pluripotency using defined transcription factors holds great promise for biomedicine. However,human reprogramming remains inefficient and relies either on the use of the potentially dangerous oncogenes KLF4 and CMYC or the genetic inhibition of the tumor suppressor gene p53. We hypothesized that inhibition of signal transduction pathways that promote differentiation of the target somatic cells during development might relieve the requirement for non-core pluripotency factors during induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) reprogramming. Here,we show that inhibition of Notch greatly improves the efficiency of iPSC generation from mouse and human keratinocytes by suppressing p21 in a p53-independent manner and thereby enriching for undifferentiated cells capable of long-term self-renewal. Pharmacological inhibition of Notch enabled routine production of human iPSCs without KLF4 and CMYC while leaving p53 activity intact. Thus,restricting the development of somatic cells by altering intercellular communication enables the production of safer human iPSCs. View Publication

IMPORTANCE: Uveal melanoma is characterized by mutations in GNAQ and GNA11,resulting in mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway activation. OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of selumetinib,a selective,non-adenosine triphosphate competitive inhibitor of MEK1 and MEK2,in uveal melanoma. DESIGN,SETTING,AND PARTICIPANTS: Randomized,open-label,phase 2 clinical trial comparing selumetinib vs chemotherapy conducted from August 2010 through December 2013 among 120 patients with metastatic uveal melanoma at 15 academic oncology centers in the United States and Canada. INTERVENTIONS: One hundred one patients were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive selumetinib,75 mg orally twice daily on a continual basis (n = 50),or chemotherapy (temozolomide,150 mg/m2 orally daily for 5 of every 28 days,or dacarbazine,1000 mg/m2 intravenously every 21 days [investigator choice]; n = 51) until disease progression,death,intolerable adverse effects,or withdrawal of consent. After primary outcome analysis,19 patients were registered and 18 treated with selumetinib without randomization to complete the planned 120-patient enrollment. Patients in the chemotherapy group could receive selumetinib at the time of radiographic progression. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Progression-free survival,the primary end point,was assessed as of April 22,2013. Additional end points,including overall survival,response rate,and safety/toxicity,were assessed as of December 31,2013. RESULTS: Median progression-free survival among patients randomized to chemotherapy was 7 weeks (95% CI,4.3-8.4 weeks; median treatment duration,8 weeks; interquartile range [IQR],4.3-16 weeks) and among those randomized to selumetinib was 15.9 weeks (95% CI,8.4-21.1 weeks; median treatment duration,16.1 weeks; IQR,8.1-25.3 weeks) (hazard ratio,0.46; 95% CI,0.30-0.71; P textless .001). Median overall survival time was 9.1 months (95% CI,6.1-11.1 months) with chemotherapy and 11.8 months (95% CI,9.8-15.7 months) with selumetinib (hazard ratio,0.66; 95% CI,0.41-1.06; P = .09). No objective responses were observed with chemotherapy. Forty-nine percent of patients treated with selumetinib achieved tumor regression,with 14% achieving an objective radiographic response to therapy. Treatment-related adverse events were observed in 97% of patients treated with selumetinib,with 37% requiring at least 1 dose reduction. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this hypothesis-generating study of patients with advanced uveal melanoma,selumetinib compared with chemotherapy resulted in a modestly improved progression-free survival and response rate; however,no improvement in overall survival was observed. Improvement in clinical outcomes was accompanied by a high rate of adverse events. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01143402. View Publication

Pluripotent stem cells display significant heterogeneity in gene expression,but whether this diversity is an inherent feature of the pluripotent state remains unknown. Single-cell gene expression analysis in cell subsets defined by surface antigen expression revealed that human embryonic stem cell cultures exist as a continuum of cell states,even under defined conditions that drive self-renewal. The majority of the population expressed canonical pluripotency transcription factors and could differentiate into derivatives of all three germ layers. A minority subpopulation of cells displayed high self-renewal capacity,consistently high transcripts for all pluripotency-related genes studied,and no lineage priming. This subpopulation was characterized by its expression of a particular set of intercellular signaling molecules whose genes shared common regulatory features. Our data support a model of an inherently metastable self-renewing population that gives rise to a continuum of intermediate pluripotent states,which ultimately become primed for lineage specification. ?? 2014 The Authors. View Publication

NK cells are innate immune cells known for their cytolytic activities toward tumors and infections. They are capable of expressing diverse killer Ig-like receptors (KIRs),and KIRs are implicated in susceptibility to Crohn's disease (CD),a chronic intestinal inflammatory disease. However,the cellular mechanism of this genetic contribution is unknown. In this study,we show that the licensing" of NK cells� View Publication

We evaluated a cocktail of HLA-A2-specific peptides including heteroclitic XBP1 US184-192 (YISPWILAV),heteroclitic XBP1 SP367-375 (YLFPQLISV),native CD138260-268 (GLVGLIFAV) and native CS1239-247 (SLFVLGLFL),for their ability to elicit multipeptide-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (MP-CTLs) using T cells from smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM) patients. Our results demonstrate that MP-CTLs generated from SMM patients' T cells show effective anti-MM responses including CD137 (4-1BB) upregulation,CTL proliferation,interferon-γ production and degranulation (CD107a) in an HLA-A2-restricted and peptide-specific manner. Phenotypically,we observed increased total CD3(+)CD8(+) T cells (textgreater80%) and cellular activation (CD69(+)) within the memory SMM MP-CTL (CD45RO(+)/CD3(+)CD8(+)) subset after repeated multipeptide stimulation. Importantly,SMM patients could be categorized into distinct groups by their level of MP-CTL expansion and antitumor activity. In high responders,the effector memory (CCR7(-)CD45RO(+)/CD3(+)CD8(+)) T-cell subset was enriched,whereas the remaining responders' CTL contained a higher frequency of the terminal effector (CCR7(-)CD45RO(-)/CD3(+)CD8(+)) subset. These results suggest that this multipeptide cocktail has the potential to induce effective and durable memory MP-CTL in SMM patients. Therefore,our findings provide the rationale for clinical evaluation of a therapeutic vaccine to prevent or delay progression of SMM to active disease. View Publication

Most patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) relapse and die of their disease. Increasing evidence indicates that AML relapse is driven by the inability to eradicate leukemia stem cells (LSC). Thus,it is imperative to identify novel therapies that can ablate LSCs. Using an in silico gene expression-based screen for compounds evoking transcriptional effects similar to the previously described anti-LSC agent parthenolide,we identified AR-42 (OSU-HDAC42),a novel histone deacetylase inhibitor that is structurally similar to phenylbutyrate,but with improved activity at submicromolar concentrations. Here,we report that AR-42 induces NF-κB inhibition,disrupts the ability of Hsp90 to stabilize its oncogenic clients,and causes potent and specific cell death of LSCs but not normal hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Unlike parthenolide,the caspase-dependent apoptosis caused by AR-42 occurs without activation of Nrf-2-driven cytoprotective pathways. As AR-42 is already being tested in early clinical trials,we expect that our results can be extended to the clinic. View Publication

Accumulating evidence suggests elements within tumors induce exhaustion of effector T cells and infiltration of immunosuppressive regulatory T cells (Tregs),thus preventing the development of durable antitumor immunity. Therefore,the discovery of agents that simultaneously block Treg suppressive function and reinvigorate effector function of lymphocytes is key to the development of effective cancer immunotherapy. Previous studies have shown that TLR ligands (TLRLs) could modulate the function of these T cell targets; however,those studies relied on cell-free or accessory cell-based assay systems that do not accurately reflect in vivo responses. In contrast,we used a human PBMC-based proliferation assay system to simultaneously monitor the effect of TLRLs on T cells (CD4(+),CD8(+),Tregs),B cells,and NK cells,which gave different and even conflicting results. We found that the TLR7/8L:CL097 could simultaneously activate CD8(+) T cells,B cells,and NK cells plus block Treg suppression of T cells and B cells. The TLRLs TLR1/2L:Pam3CSK4,TLR5L:flagellin,TLR4L:LPS,and TLR8/7L:CL075 also blocked Treg suppression of CD4(+) or CD8(+) T cell proliferation,but not B cell proliferation. Besides CL097,TLR2L:PGN,CL075,and TLR9L:CpG-A,CpG-B,and CpG-C) were strong activators of NK cells. Importantly,we found that Pam3CSK4 could: 1) activate CD4(+) T cell proliferation,2) inhibit the expansion of IL-10(+) naturally occurring FOXP3(+) Tregs and induction of IL-10(+) CD4(+) Tregs (IL-10-producing type 1 Treg),and 3) block naturally occurring FOXP3(+) Tregs suppressive function. Our results suggest these agents could serve as adjuvants to enhance the efficacy of current immunotherapeutic strategies in cancer patients. View Publication

Hemophilia A,one of the most common genetic bleeding disorders,is caused by various mutations in the blood coagulation factor VIII (F8) gene. Among the genotypes that result in hemophilia A,two different types of chromosomal inversions that involve a portion of the F8 gene are most frequent,accounting for almost half of all severe hemophilia A cases. In this study,we used a transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN) pair to invert a 140-kbp chromosomal segment that spans the portion of the F8 gene in human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to create a hemophilia A model cell line. In addition,we reverted the inverted segment back to its normal orientation in the hemophilia model iPSCs using the same TALEN pair. Importantly,we detected the F8 mRNA in cells derived from the reverted iPSCs lines,but not in those derived from the clones with the inverted segment. Thus,we showed that TALENs can be used both for creating disease models associated with chromosomal rearrangements in iPSCs and for correcting genetic defects caused by chromosomal inversions. This strategy provides an iPSC-based novel therapeutic option for the treatment of hemophilia A and other genetic diseases caused by chromosomal inversions. View Publication

Gaucher disease is caused by an inherited deficiency of glucocerebrosidase that manifests with storage of glycolipids in lysosomes,particularly in macrophages. Available cell lines modeling Gaucher disease do not demonstrate lysosomal storage of glycolipids; therefore,we set out to develop two macrophage models of Gaucher disease that exhibit appropriate substrate accumulation. We used these cellular models both to investigate altered macrophage biology in Gaucher disease and to evaluate candidate drugs for its treatment. We generated and characterized monocyte-derived macrophages from 20 patients carrying different Gaucher disease mutations. In addition,we created induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived macrophages from five fibroblast lines taken from patients with type 1 or type 2 Gaucher disease. Macrophages derived from patient monocytes or iPSCs showed reduced glucocerebrosidase activity and increased storage of glucocerebroside and glucosylsphingosine in lysosomes. These macrophages showed efficient phagocytosis of bacteria but reduced production of intracellular reactive oxygen species and impaired chemotaxis. The disease phenotype was reversed with a noninhibitory small-molecule chaperone drug that enhanced glucocerebrosidase activity in the macrophages,reduced glycolipid storage,and normalized chemotaxis and production of reactive oxygen species. Macrophages differentiated from patient monocytes or patient-derived iPSCs provide cellular models that can be used to investigate disease pathogenesis and facilitate drug development. View Publication