技术资料

BACKGROUND AIMS Heart failure therapy with human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived cardiomyocytes (hCM) has been limited by the low rate of spontaneous hCM differentiation. As others have shown that p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) directs neurogenesis from mouse embryonic stem cells,we investigated whether the p38MAPK inhibitor,SB203580,might influence hCM differentiation. METHODS We treated differentiating hESC with SB203580 at specific time-points,and used flow cytometry,immunocytochemistry,quantitative real-time (RT)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR),teratoma formation and transmission electron microscopy to evaluate cardiomyocyte formation. RESULTS We observed that the addition of inhibitor resulted in 2.1-fold enrichment of spontaneously beating human embryoid bodies (hEB) at 21 days of differentiation,and that 25% of treated cells expressed cardiac-specific α-myosin heavy chain. This effect was dependent on the stage of differentiation at which the inhibitor was introduced. Immunostaining and teratoma formation assays demonstrated that the inhibitor did not affect hESC pluripotency; however,treated hESC gave rise to hCM exhibiting increased expression of sarcomeric proteins,including cardiac troponin T,myosin light chain and α-myosin heavy chain. This was consistent with significantly increased numbers of myofibrillar bundles and the appearance of nascent Z-bodies at earlier time-points in treated hCM. Treated hEB also demonstrated a normal karyotype by array comparative genomic hybridization and viability in vivo following injection into mouse myocardium. CONCLUSIONS These studies demonstrate that p38MAPK inhibition accelerates directed hCM differentiation from hESC,and that this effect is developmental stage-specific. The use of this inhibitor should improve our ability to generate hESC-derived hCM for cell-based therapy. View Publication

Selumetinib (AZD6244; ARRY-142886) is a tight-binding,uncompetitive inhibitor of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinases (MEK) 1 and 2 currently in clinical development. We evaluated the effects of selumetinib in 31 human breast cancer cell lines and 43 human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines to identify characteristics correlating with in vitro sensitivity to MEK inhibition. IC(50) textless1 micromol/L (considered sensitive) was seen in 5 of 31 breast cancer cell lines and 15 of 43 NSCLC cell lines,with a correlation between sensitivity and raf mutations in breast cancer cell lines (P = 0.022) and ras mutations in NSCLC cell lines (P = 0.045). Evaluation of 27 of the NSCLC cell lines with Western blots showed no clear association between MEK and phosphoinositide 3-kinase pathway activation and sensitivity to MEK inhibition. Baseline gene expression profiles were generated for each cell line using Agilent gene expression arrays to identify additional predictive markers. Genes associated with differential sensitivity to selumetinib were seen in both histologies,including a small number of genes in which differential expression was common to both histologies. In total,these results suggest that clinical trials of selumetinib in breast cancer and NSCLC might select patients whose tumors harbor raf and ras mutations,respectively. View Publication

Sonic hedgehog signaling pathway is important in developmental processes like dorsoventral neural tube patterning,neural stem cell proliferation and neuronal and glial cell survival. Shh is also implicated in the regulation of the adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Recently,nonpeptidyl Smoothened activators of the Shh pathway have been identified. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of chlorobenzothiophene-containing molecule,Smo agonist (SAG),which has been shown to activate Shh signaling pathway,in neurogenesis and neuronal survival in in vitro and in vivo models. Our in vitro experiments showed that SAG induces increased expression of Gli1 mRNA,transcriptional target and mediator of Shh signal. In vitro experiments also demonstrated that SAG in low-nanomolar concentrations induces proliferation of neuronal and glial precursors without affecting the differentiation pattern of newly produced cells. In contrast to Shh,SAG did not induce neurotoxicity in neuronal cultures. The SAG and Shh treatment also promoted the survival of newly generated neural cells in the dentate gyrus after their intracerebroventricular administration to adult rats. We propose that SAG and similar compounds represent attractive molecules to be developed for treatment of disorders where stimulation of the generation and survival of new neural cells would be beneficial. View Publication

Femtosecond coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) spectroscopy offers several advantages over spontaneous Raman spectroscopy due to the inherently high sensitivity and low average power deposition in the sample. Femtosecond CARS can be implemented in a collinear pump/probe beam configuration for microspectroscopy applications and has emerged as a powerful technique for chemical imaging of biological specimens. However,one serious limitation of this approach is the presence of a high nonresonant background component that often obscures the resonant signals of interest. We report here an innovative pulse-shaping method based on Lorentzian amplitude and phase spectral modulation of a broadband femtosecond probe pulse that yields spectra with both high spectral resolution and no nonresonant background. No further mathematical analysis is needed to extract Raman spectra. The utility of the proposed method for CARS microscopy is demonstrated using a mixture of polystyrene and latex beads,as well as dry-fixed embryonic stem cells. View Publication

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive primary brain tumor and is resistant to all therapeutic regimens. Relapse occurs regularly and might be caused by a poorly characterized tumor stem cell (TSC) subpopulation escaping therapy. We suggest aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) as a novel stem cell marker in human GBM. Using the neurosphere formation assay as a functional method to identify brain TSCs,we show that high protein levels of ALDH1 facilitate neurosphere formation in established GBM cell lines. Even single ALDH1 positive cells give rise to colonies and neurospheres. Consequently,the inhibition of ALDH1 in vitro decreases both the number of neurospheres and their size. Cell lines without expression of ALDH1 do not form tumor spheroids under the same culturing conditions. High levels of ALDH1 seem to keep tumor cells in an undifferentiated,stem cell-like state indicated by the low expression of beta-III-tubulin. In contrast,ALDH1 inhibition induces premature cellular differentiation and reduces clonogenic capacity. Primary cell cultures obtained from fresh tumor samples approve the established GBM cell line results. View Publication

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this narrative review was to evaluate the role of cancer stem cells (CSCs) and sex steroids in the pathophysiology of human breast cancer. METHODS: A key-word search was performed using the Scopus database. Preference was given to studies using human cells and tissues. RESULTS: Long-term estrogen-progestin hormone therapy is known to increase breast cancer risk,although the mechanisms are poorly understood. In the last few years,it has become clear that many human breast cancers contain CSCs,which may be responsible for much of the tumor's malignant behavior. Very recently,the impact of estrogen,progesterone,and progestins on breast CSCs and their progeny has been studied and clarified. Most breast CSCs are estrogen receptor negative and progesterone receptor negative,although some intermediary progenitor forms have hormone receptors,especially progesterone receptor. Most mature human breast cancer cellsare estrogen receptor positive and can thus be stimulated by estrogen. Breast CSCs usually elaborate CD44+,CD24j/low and/or ALDEFLUOR+ cell markers and are lineage markers negative. One of the main roles of progesterone and progestin seems to be on certain breast cancer stem intermediate forms,inducing them to revert back to a more primitive breast CSC form. CONCLUSIONS: As the pathophysiology of human breast CSC is clarified,it is probable that this will lead to novel,effective breast cancer treatments and,perhaps,new breast cancer preventive agents. This research may also lead to safer hormone therapy regimens. View Publication

Self-renewal and differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are balanced by the concerted activities of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF),Wnt,and Notch pathways,which are tuned by enzyme-mediated remodeling of heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs). Sulfatase modifying factor 1 (SUMF1) activates the Sulf1 and Sulf2 sulfatases that remodel the HSPGs,and is mutated in patients with multiple sulfatase deficiency. Here,we show that the FGF signaling pathway is constitutively activated in Sumf1(-/-) HSCs and hematopoietic stem progenitor cells (HSPCs). These cells show increased p-extracellular signal-regulated kinase levels,which in turn promote beta-catenin accumulation. Constitutive activation of FGF signaling results in a block in erythroid differentiation at the chromatophilic erythroblast stage,and of B lymphocyte differentiation at the pro-B cell stage. A reduction in mature myeloid cells and an aberrant development of T lymphocytes are also seen. These defects are rescued in vivo by blocking the FGF pathway in Sumf1(-/-) mice. Transplantation of Sumf1(-/-) HSPCs into wild-type mice reconstituted the phenotype of the donors,suggesting a cell autonomous defect. These data indicate that Sumf1 controls HSPC differentiation and hematopoietic lineage development through FGF and Wnt signaling. View Publication

Tumors with mutant BRAF and some with mutant RAS are dependent upon ERK signaling for proliferation,and their growth is suppressed by MAPK/ERK kinase (MEK) inhibitors. In contrast,tumor cells with human EGF receptor (HER) kinase activation proliferate in a MEK-independent manner. These findings have led to the development of RAF and MEK inhibitors as anticancer agents. Like MEK inhibitors,the RAF inhibitor PLX4032 inhibits the proliferation of BRAF(V600E) tumor cells but not that of HER kinase-dependent tumors. However,tumors with RAS mutation that are sensitive to MEK inhibition are insensitive to PLX4032. MEK inhibitors inhibit ERK phosphorylation in all normal and tumor cells,whereas PLX4032 inhibits ERK signaling only in tumor cells expressing BRAF(V600E). In contrast,the drug activates MEK and ERK phosphorylation in cells with wild-type BRAF. In BRAF(V600E) tumor cells,MEK and RAF inhibitors affect the expression of a common set of genes. PLX4032 inhibits ERK signaling output in mutant BRAF cells,whereas it transiently activates the expression of these genes in tumor cells with wild-type RAF. Thus,PLX4032 inhibits ERK signaling output in a mutant BRAF-selective manner. These data explain why the drug selectively inhibits the growth of mutant BRAF tumors and suggest that it will not cause toxicity resulting from the inhibition of ERK signaling in normal cells. This selectivity may lead to a broader therapeutic index and help explain the greater antitumor activity observed with this drug than with MEK inhibitors. View Publication

Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) are expected to provide revolutionary therapeutic applications and drug discovery technologies. In order for this to be achieved a reproducible,defined animal component free culture system is required for the scale-up production of undifferentiated hESC. In this work we have investigated the applicability of a recombinantly produced domain of human vitronectin as an extracellular matrix alternative to the common standards Geltrex or Matrigel. In addition we have validated an ascorbate free media capable of supporting CD30(low) populations of hESC through a multi-factorial analysis of bFGF and Activin A. The recombinant vitronectin domain combined with the ascorbate free media were capable of supporting 3 cell lines,MEL1,MEL2 and hES3 for 10 or more passages while maintaining hESC pluripotency markers and differentiation capacity. The culture method outlined here provides a platform for future investigation into growth factor and extracellular matrix effects on hESC maintenance prior to bioreactor scale-up. View Publication

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) provide new possibilities for regenerative therapies. In order for this potential to be achieved,it is critical to efficiently monitor the differentiation of these hiPSCs into specific lineages. Here,we describe a lentiviral reporter vector sensitive to specific microRNAs (miRNA) to show that a single vector bearing multiple miRNA target sequences conjugated to different reporters can be used to monitor hiPSC formation and subsequent differentiation from human fetal fibroblasts (HFFs). The reporter vector encodes EGFP conjugated to the targets of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) specific miRNAs (miR-302a and miR-302d) and mCherry conjugated to the targets of differentiated cells specific miRNAs (miR-142-3p,miR-155,and miR-223). The vector was used to track reprogramming of HFF to iPSC. HFFs co-transduced with this reporter vector and vectors encoding 4 reprogramming factors (OCT4,SOX2,KLF4 and cMYC) were mostly positive for EGFP (67%) at an early stage of hiPSC formation. EGFP expression gradually disappeared and mCherry expression increased indicating less miRNAs specific to differentiated cells and expression of miRNAs specific to hESCs. Upon differentiation of the hiPSC into embryoid bodies,a large fraction of these hiPSCs regained EGFP expression and some of those cells became single positive for EGFP. Further differentiation into neural lineages showed distinct structures demarcated by either EGFP or mCherry expression. These findings demonstrate that a miRNA dependent reporter vector can be a useful tool to monitor living cells during reprogramming of hiPSC and subsequent differentiation to lineage specific cells. View Publication

Human ESCs are the pluripotent precursor of the three embryonic germ layers. Human ESCs exhibit basal-apical polarity,junctional complexes,integrin-dependent matrix adhesion,and E-cadherin-dependent cell-cell adhesion,all characteristics shared by the epiblast epithelium of the intact mammalian embryo. After disruption of epithelial structures,programmed cell death is commonly observed. If individualized human ESCs are prevented from reattaching and forming colonies,their viability is significantly reduced. Here,we show that actin-myosin contraction is a critical effector of the cell death response to human ESC dissociation. Inhibition of myosin heavy chain ATPase,downregulation of myosin heavy chain,and downregulation of myosin light chain all increase survival and cloning efficiency of individualized human ESCs. ROCK inhibition decreases phosphorylation of myosin light chain,suggesting that inhibition of actin-myosin contraction is also the mechanism through which ROCK inhibitors increase cloning efficiency of human ESCs. View Publication

Exogenous application of neural progenitor cells (NPCs) has successful implications in treating brain disorders,and research is beginning to identify ways to mimic this exogenous application by activating endogenous stem cell compartments. The recent discovery of a functional endocannabinoid system in murine NPCs (mNPCs) represents one potential therapeutic means to influence endogenous stem cell compartments. High levels of the endogenous cannabinoids anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) persist during CNS inflammation and infection. The goal of this study was to assess the influence of AEA on mNPCs to identify how the endocannabinoid system influences mNPCs in vitro,a potential model to investigate effects of endocannabinoids on endogenous stem cell compartments. Our results show that AEA affects mNPC cell fate determination. Initial glial differentiation was observed,followed by induction of neuronal differentiation with AEA treatment. Cell survival and apoptosis was not affected by AEA. These effects were coupled by an increased phosphorylation of cAMP-responsive element (CRE) binding protein (CREB). View Publication