技术资料

Monocytic lineage cells (monocytes,macrophages and dendritic cells) play important roles in immune responses and are involved in various pathological conditions. The development of monocytic cells from human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is of particular interest because it provides an unlimited cell source for clinical application and basic research on disease pathology. Although the methods for monocytic cell differentiation from ESCs/iPSCs using embryonic body or feeder co-culture systems have already been established,these methods depend on the use of xenogeneic materials and,therefore,have a relatively poor-reproducibility. Here,we established a robust and highly-efficient method to differentiate functional monocytic cells from ESCs/iPSCs under serum- and feeder cell-free conditions. This method produced 1.3 × 10(6) ± 0.3 × 10(6) floating monocytes from approximately 30 clusters of ESCs/iPSCs 5-6 times per course of differentiation. Such monocytes could be differentiated into functional macrophages and dendritic cells. This method should be useful for regenerative medicine,disease-specific iPSC studies and drug discovery. View Publication

Under stress conditions such as infection or inflammation the body rapidly needs to generate new blood cells that are adapted to the challenge. Haematopoietic cytokines are known to increase output of specific mature cells by affecting survival,expansion and differentiation of lineage-committed progenitors,but it has been debated whether long-term haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are susceptible to direct lineage-specifying effects of cytokines. Although genetic changes in transcription factor balance can sensitize HSCs to cytokine instruction,the initiation of HSC commitment is generally thought to be triggered by stochastic fluctuation in cell-intrinsic regulators such as lineage-specific transcription factors,leaving cytokines to ensure survival and proliferation of the progeny cells. Here we show that macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF,also called CSF1),a myeloid cytokine released during infection and inflammation,can directly induce the myeloid master regulator PU.1 and instruct myeloid cell-fate change in mouse HSCs,independently of selective survival or proliferation. Video imaging and single-cell gene expression analysis revealed that stimulation of highly purified HSCs with M-CSF in culture resulted in activation of the PU.1 promoter and an increased number of PU.1(+) cells with myeloid gene signature and differentiation potential. In vivo,high systemic levels of M-CSF directly stimulated M-CSF-receptor-dependent activation of endogenous PU.1 protein in single HSCs and induced a PU.1-dependent myeloid differentiation preference. Our data demonstrate that lineage-specific cytokines can act directly on HSCs in vitro and in vivo to instruct a change of cell identity. This fundamentally changes the current view of how HSCs respond to environmental challenge and implicates stress-induced cytokines as direct instructors of HSC fate. View Publication

Human tumor vessels express tumor vascular markers (TVM),proteins that are not expressed in normal blood vessels. Antibodies targeting TVMs could act as potent therapeutics. Unfortunately,preclinical in vivo studies testing anti-human TVM therapies have been difficult to do due to a lack of in vivo models with confirmed expression of human TVMs. We therefore evaluated TVM expression in a human embryonic stem cell-derived teratoma (hESCT) tumor model previously shown to have human vessels. We now report that in the presence of tumor cells,hESCT tumor vessels express human TVMs. The addition of mouse embryonic fibroblasts and human tumor endothelial cells significantly increases the number of human tumor vessels. TVM induction is mostly tumor-type-specific with ovarian cancer cells inducing primarily ovarian TVMs,whereas breast cancer cells induce breast cancer specific TVMs. We show the use of this model to test an anti-human specific TVM immunotherapeutics; anti-human Thy1 TVM immunotherapy results in central tumor necrosis and a three-fold reduction in human tumor vascular density. Finally,we tested the ability of the hESCT model,with human tumor vascular niche,to enhance the engraftment rate of primary human ovarian cancer stem-like cells (CSC). ALDH(+) CSC from patients (n = 6) engrafted in hESCT within 4 to 12 weeks whereas none engrafted in the flank. ALDH(-) ovarian cancer cells showed no engraftment in the hESCT or flank (n = 3). Thus,this model represents a useful tool to test anti-human TVM therapy and evaluate in vivo human CSC tumor biology. View Publication

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) hold promise for the treatment of motoneuron diseases because of their distinct features including pluripotency,self-derivation and potential ability to differentiate into motoneurons. However,it is still unknown whether human iPSC-derived motoneurons can functionally innervate target muscles in vivo,which is the definitive sign of successful cell therapy for motoneuron diseases. In the present study,we demonstrated that human iPSCs derived from mesenchymal cells of the umbilical cord possessed a high yield in neural differentiation. Using a chemically-defined in vitro system,human iPSCs efficiently differentiated into motoneurons which displayed typical morphology,expressed specific molecules,and generated repetitive trains of action potentials. When transplanted into the injured musculocutaneous nerve of rats,they survived robustly,extended axons along the nerve,and formed functional connections with the target muscle (biceps brachii),thereby protecting the muscle from atrophy. Our study provides evidence for the first time that human iPSC-derived motoneurons are truly functional not only in vitro but also in vivo,and they have potential for stem cell-based therapies for motoneuron diseases. textcopyright 2013 Elsevier B.V. View Publication

The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is activated in cancer cells by ZEB1,a member of the zinc finger/homeodomain family of transcriptional repressors. The mucin 1 (MUC1) heterodimeric protein is aberrantly overexpressed in human carcinoma cells. The present studies in breast cancer cells demonstrate that the oncogenic MUC1-C subunit induces expression of ZEB1 by a NF-$$B (nuclear factor kappa B) p65-dependent mechanism. MUC1-C occupies the ZEB1 promoter with NF-$$B p65 and thereby promotes ZEB1 transcription. In turn,ZEB1 associates with MUC1-C and the ZEB1/MUC1-C complex contributes to the transcriptional suppression of miR-200c,an inducer of epithelial differentiation. The co-ordinate upregulation of ZEB1 and suppression of miR-200c has been linked to the induction of EMT. In concert with the effects of MUC1-C on ZEB1 and miR-200c,we show that MUC1-C induces EMT and cellular invasion by a ZEB1-mediated mechanism. These findings indicate that (i) MUC1-C activates ZEB1 and suppresses miR-200c with the induction of EMT and (ii) targeting MUC1-C could be an effective approach for the treatment of breast and possibly other types of cancers that develop EMT properties. View Publication

The family of calcium activated potassium channels of low and intermediate conductance,known as SK channels,consists of four members (SK1-4). These channels are widely expressed throughout the organism and involved in various cellular processes,such as the afterhyperpolarization in excitable cells but also in differentiation processes of various tissues. To date,the role of SK channels in developmental processes has been merely a marginal focus of investigation,although it is well accepted that cell differentiation and maturation affect the expression patterns of certain ion channels. Recently,several studies from our laboratory delineated the influence of SK channel expression and their respective activity on cytoskeletal reorganization in neural and pluripotent stem cells and regulation of cell fate determination toward the cardiac lineage in human and mouse pluripotent stem cells. Herein,we have now analyzed SK channel expression patterns and distribution at various stages of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurogenesis particularly focusing on undifferentiated iPS cells,neural progenitors and mature neurons. All family members could be detected starting at the iPS cell level and were differentially expressed during the subsequent maturation process. Intriguingly,we found obvious discrepancies between mRNA and protein expression pointing toward a complex regulatory mechanism. Inhibition of SK channels with either apamin or clotrimazol did not have any significant effects on the speed or amount of neurogenesis in vitro. The abundance and specific regulation of SK channel expression during iPS cell differentiation indicates distinct roles of these ion channels not only for the cardiac but also for neuronal cell differentiation and in vitro neurogenesis. ?? 2013 Elsevier GmbH. View Publication

Patterning of bioactive enzymes with subcellular resolution is achieved by dispensing droplets of dextran (DEX) onto polyethylene glycol (PEG)-covered cells though a glass capillary needle connected to a pneumatic pump. This technique is applied to purify colonies of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) feeder cultures and inefficiently induced iPSC colonies by selectively dissociating the iPSCs with proteases. View Publication

Herpesvirus saimiri (HVS) infects a range of human cell types with high efficiency. Upon infection,the viral genome can persist as high-copy-number,circular,nonintegrated episomes that segregate to progeny cells upon division. This allows HVS-based vectors to stably transduce a dividing cell population and provide sustained transgene expression in vitro and in vivo. Moreover,the HVS episome is able to persist and provide prolonged transgene expression during in vitro differentiation of mouse and human hemopoietic progenitor cells. Together,these properties are advantageous for induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology,whereby stem cell-like cells are generated from adult somatic cells by exogenous expression of specific reprogramming factors. Here we assess the potential of HVS-based vectors for the generation of induced pluripotent cancer stem-like cells (iPCs). We demonstrate that HVS-based exogenous delivery of Oct4,Nanog,and Lin28 can reprogram the Ewing's sarcoma family tumor cell line A673 to produce stem cell-like colonies that can grow under feeder-free stem cell culture conditions. Further analysis of the HVS-derived putative iPCs showed some degree of reprogramming into a stem cell-like state. Specifically,the putative iPCs had a number of embryonic stem cell characteristics,staining positive for alkaline phosphatase and SSEA4,in addition to expressing elevated levels of pluripotent marker genes involved in proliferation and self-renewal. However,differentiation trials suggest that although the HVS-derived putative iPCs are capable of differentiation toward the ectodermal lineage,they do not exhibit pluripotency. Therefore,they are hereby termed induced multipotent cancer cells. View Publication

The identification and targeted therapy of cells involved in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence remain challenging. Here,we generated a monoclonal antibody against recurrent HCC,1B50-1,that bound the isoform 5 of the α2δ1 subunit of voltage-gated calcium channels and identified a subset of tumor-initiating cells (TICs) with stem cell-like properties. A surgical margin with cells detected by 1B50-1 predicted rapid recurrence. Furthermore,1B50-1 had a therapeutic effect on HCC engraftments by eliminating TICs. Finally,α2δ1 knockdown reduced self-renewal and tumor formation capacities and induced apoptosis of TICs,whereas its overexpression led to enhanced sphere formation,which is regulated by calcium influx. Thus,α2δ1 is a functional liver TIC marker,and its inhibitors may serve as potential anti-HCC drugs. View Publication

The receptor tyrosine kinase c-MET is the high-affinity receptor for the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). The HGF/c-MET axis is often dysregulated in tumors. c-MET activation can be caused by MET gene amplification,activating mutations,and auto- or paracrine mechanisms. Thus,c-MET inhibitors are under development as anticancer drugs. Tivantinib (ARQ 197) was reported as a small-molecule c-MET inhibitor and early clinical studies suggest antitumor activity. To assess whether the antitumor activity of tivantinib was due to inhibition of c-MET,we compared the activity of tivantinib with other c-MET inhibitors in both c-MET-addicted and nonaddicted cancer cells. As expected,other c-MET inhibitors,crizotinib and PHA-665752,suppressed the growth of c-MET-addicted cancers,but not the growth of cancers that are not addicted to c-MET. In contrast,tivantinib inhibited cell viability with similar potency in both c-MET-addicted and nonaddicted cells. These results suggest that tivantinib exhibits its antitumor activity in a manner independent of c-MET status. Tivantinib treatment induced a G(2)-M cell-cycle arrest in EBC1 cells similarly to vincristine treatment,whereas PHA-665752 or crizotinib treatment markedly induced G(0)-G(1) cell-cycle arrest. To identify the additional molecular target of tivantinib,we conducted COMPARE analysis,an in silico screening of a database of drug sensitivities across 39 cancer cell lines (JFCR39),and identified microtubule as a target of tivantinib. Tivantinib-treated cells showed typical microtubule disruption similar to vincristine and inhibited microtubule assembly in vitro. These results suggest that tivantinib inhibits microtubule polymerization in addition to inhibiting c-MET. View Publication

Raman spectra often contain undesirable,randomly positioned,intense,narrow-bandwidth,positive,unidirectional spectral features generated when cosmic rays strike charge-coupled device cameras. These must be removed prior to analysis,but doing so manually is not feasible for large data sets. We developed a quick,simple,effective,semi-automated procedure to remove cosmic ray spikes from spectral data sets that contain large numbers of relatively homogenous spectra. Although some inhomogeneous spectral data sets can be accommodated—it requires replacing excessively modified spectra with the originals and removing their spikes with a median filter instead—caution is advised when processing such data sets. In addition,the technique is suitable for interpolating missing spectra or replacing aberrant spectra with good spectral estimates. The method is applied to baseline-flattened spectra and relies on fitting a third-order (or higher) polynomial through all the spectra at every wavenumber. Pixel intensities in excess of a threshold of 3× the noise standard deviation above the fit are reduced to the threshold level. Because only two parameters (with readily specified default values) might require further adjustment,the method is easily implemented for semi-automated processing of large spectral sets. View Publication

Protein delivery allows a clinical effect to be directly realized without genetic modification of the host cells. We have developed a cationic bolaamphiphile as a non-viral vector for protein delivery application. The relatively low toxicity and efficient protein delivery by the cationic bolaamphiphile prompted us to test the system for the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) as an alternative to the conventional vector-based genetic approach. Studies on the kinetics and cytotoxicity of the protein delivery system led us to use an optimized cationic bolaamphiphile-protein complex ratio of 7:1 (wt/wt) and a 3 h period of incubation with human fibroblasts,to ensure complete and non-toxic protein delivery of the reprogramming proteins. The reprogrammed cells were shown to exhibit the characteristics of embryonic stem cells,including expression of pluripotent markers,teratoma formation in SCID mice,and ability to be differentiated into a specific lineage,as exemplified by neuronal differentiation. View Publication