参考文献

Renal cell therapy has shown clinical efficacy in the treatment of acute renal failure (ARF) and promise for treatment of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) by supplementing conventional small solute clearance (hemodialysis or hemofiltration) with endocrine and metabolic function provided by cells maintained in an extracorporeal circuit. A major obstacle in the widespread adoption of this therapeutic approach is the lack of a cryopreservable system to enable distribution,storage,and therapeutic use at point of care facilities. This report details the design,fabrication,and assessment of a Bioartificial Renal Epithelial Cell System (BRECS),the first all-in-one culture vessel,cryostorage device,and cell therapy delivery system. The BRECS was loaded with up to 20 cell-seeded porous disks,which were maintained by perfusion culture. Once cells reached over 5 A- 10(6) cells/disk for a total therapeutic dose of approximately 10(8) cells,the BRECS was cryopreserved for storage at -80°C or -140°C. The BRECS was rapidly thawed,and perfusion culture was resumed. Near precryopreservation values of cell viability,metabolic activity,and differentiated phenotype of functional renal cells were confirmed post-reconstitution. This technology could be extended to administer other cell-based therapies where metabolic,regulatory,or secretion functions can be leveraged in an immunoisolated extracorporeal circuit. View Publication

Self-renewable human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) serve as a potential unlimited ex vivo source of human cardiomyocytes (CMs) for cell-based disease modeling and therapies. Although recent advances in directed differentiation protocols have enabled more efficient derivation of hPSC-derived CMs with an efficiency of ∼50%-80% CMs and a final yield of ∼1-20 CMs per starting undifferentiated hPSC,these protocols are often not readily transferrable across lines without first optimizing multiple parameters. Further,the resultant populations are undefined for chamber specificity or heterogeneous containing mixtures of atrial,ventricular (V),and pacemaker derivatives. Here we report a highly cost-effective and reproducibly efficient system for deriving hPSC-ventricular cardiomyocytes (VCMs) from all five human embryonic stem cell (HES2,H7,and H9) and human induced PSC (hiPSC) (reprogrammed from human adult peripheral blood CD34(+) cells using nonintegrating episomal vectors) lines tested. Cardiogenic embryoid bodies could be formed by the sequential addition of BMP4,Rho kinase inhibitor,activin-A,and IWR-1. Spontaneously contracting clusters appeared as early as day 8. At day 16,up to 95% of cells were cTnT(+). Of which,93%,94%,100%,92%,and 92% of cardiac derivatives from HES2,H7,H9,and two iPSC lines,respectively,were VCMs as gauged by signature ventricular action potential and ionic currents (INa(+)/ICa,L(+)/IKr(+)/IKATP(+)); Ca(2+) transients showed positive chronotropic responses to $\$-adrenergic stimulation. Our simple,cost-effective protocol required the least amounts of reagents and time compared with others. While the purity and percentage of PSC-VCMs were comparable to a recently published protocol,the present yield and efficiency with a final output of up to 70 hPSC-VCMs per hPSC was up to 5-fold higher and without the need of performing line-specific optimization. These differences were discussed. The results may lead to mass production of hPSC-VCMs in bioreactors. View Publication

Leukemic stem cells (LSCs) are considered a major cause of relapse in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Defining pathways that control LSC self-renewal is crucial for a better understanding of underlying mechanisms and for the development of targeted therapies. However,currently available culture conditions do not prevent spontaneous differentiation of LSCs,which greatly limits the feasibility of cell-based assays. To overcome these constraints we conducted a high-throughput chemical screen and identified small molecules that inhibit differentiation and support LSC activity in vitro. Similar to reports with cord blood stem cells,several of these compounds suppressed the aryl-hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) pathway,which we show to be inactive in vivo and rapidly activated ex vivo in AML cells. We also identified a compound,UM729,that collaborates with AhR suppressors in preventing AML cell differentiation. Together,these findings provide newly defined culture conditions for improved ex vivo culture of primary human AML cells. View Publication

Blood-brain barrier (BBB) models are often used to investigate BBB function and screen brain-penetrating therapeutics,but it has been difficult to construct a human model that possesses an optimal BBB phenotype and is readily scalable. To address this challenge,we developed a human in vitro BBB model comprising brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs),pericytes,astrocytes and neurons derived from renewable cell sources. First,retinoic acid (RA) was used to substantially enhance BBB phenotypes in human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived BMECs,particularly through adherens junction,tight junction,and multidrug resistance protein regulation. RA-treated hPSC-derived BMECs were subsequently co-cultured with primary human brain pericytes and human astrocytes and neurons derived from human neural progenitor cells (NPCs) to yield a fully human BBB model that possessed significant tightness as measured by transendothelial electrical resistance (˜5,000 $\$(2)). Overall,this scalable human BBB model may enable a wide range of neuroscience studies. View Publication

Skeletal dysplasias (SDs) are caused by abnormal chondrogenesis during cartilage growth plate differentiation. To study early stages of aberrant cartilage formation in vitro,we generated the first induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from fibroblasts of an SD patient with a lethal form of metatropic dysplasia,caused by a dominant mutation (I604M) in the calcium channel gene TRPV4. When micromasses were grown in chondrogenic differentiation conditions and compared with control iPSCs,mutant TRPV4-iPSCs showed significantly (Ptextless0.05) decreased expression by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction of COL2A1 (IIA and IIB forms),SOX9,Aggrecan,COL10A1,and RUNX2,all of which are cartilage growth plate markers. We found that stimulation with BMP2,but not TGF$\$1,up-regulated COL2A1 (IIA and IIB) and SOX9 gene expression,only in control iPSCs. COL2A1 (Collagen II) expression data were confirmed at the protein level by western blot and immunofluorescence microscopy. TRPV4-iPSCs showed only focal areas of Alcian blue stain for proteoglycans,while in control iPSCs the stain was seen throughout the micromass sample. Similar staining patterns were found in neonatal cartilage from control and patient samples. We also found that COL1A1 (Collagen I),a marker of osteogenic differentiation,was significantly (Ptextless0.05) up-regulated at the mRNA level in TRPV4-iPSCs when compared with the control,and confirmed at the protein level. Collagen I expression in the TRPV4 model also may correlate with abnormal staining patterns seen in patient tissues. This study demonstrates that an iPSC model can recapitulate normal chondrogenesis and that mutant TRPV4-iPSCs reflect molecular evidence of aberrant chondrogenic developmental processes,which could be used to design therapeutic approaches for disorders of cartilage. View Publication

The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated (Cas) systems have evolved as an adaptive surveillance and defense mechanism in bacteria and archaea that uses short RNAs to direct degradation of foreign genetic elements. Here,we present our protocol for utilizing the S. pyogenes type II bacterial CRISPR system to achieve sequence-specific genome alterations in human cells. In principle,any genomic sequence of the form N(19)NGG can be targeted with the generation of custom guide RNA (gRNA) which functions to direct the Cas9 protein to genomic targets and induce DNA cleavage. Here,we describe our methods for designing and generating gRNA expression constructs either singly or in a multiplexed manner,as well as optimized protocols for the delivery of Cas9-gRNA components into human cells. Genomic alterations at the target site are then introduced either through nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) or through homologous recombination (HR) in the presence of an appropriate donor sequence. This RNA-guided editing tool offers greater ease of customization and synthesis in comparison to existing sequence-specific endonucleases and promises to become a highly versatile and multiplexable human genome engineering platform. View Publication

Efficient approaches for the precise genetic engineering of stem cells can enhance both basic and applied stem cell research. Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors have demonstrated high-efficiency gene delivery and gene targeting to numerous cell types,and AAV vectors developed specifically for gene delivery to stem cells have further increased gene targeting frequency compared to plasmid construct techniques. This chapter details the production and purification techniques necessary to generate adeno-associated viral vectors for use in high-efficiency gene targeting of adult or pluripotent stem cell applications. Culture conditions used to achieve high gene targeting frequencies in rat neural stem cells and human pluripotent stem cells are also described. View Publication

The ability of human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells to differentiate into all adult cell types greatly facilitates the study of human development,disease pathogenesis,and the generation of screening systems to identify novel therapeutic agents. Autologous cell therapies based on patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells also hold great promise for the treatment and correction of many inherited and acquired diseases. The full potential of human pluripotent stem cells can be unleashed by genetically modifying a chosen locus with minimal impact on the remaining genome,which can be achieved by targeting genes by homologous recombination. This chapter will describe a protocol for gene modification of pluripotent stem cells by homologous recombination and several methods for the screening and identification of successfully modified clones. View Publication

Basal-like breast cancers (BLBC) are poorly differentiated and display aggressive clinical behavior. These tumors become resistant to cytotoxic agents,and tumor relapse has been attributed to the presence of cancer stem cells (CSC). One of the pathways involved in CSC regulation is the Wnt/$$-catenin signaling pathway. LRP6,a Wnt ligand receptor,is one of the critical elements of this pathway and could potentially be an excellent therapeutic target. Niclosamide has been shown to inhibit the Wnt/$$-catenin signaling pathway by causing degradation of LRP6. TRA-8,a monoclonal antibody specific to TRAIL death receptor 5,is cytotoxic to BLBC cell lines and their CSC-enriched populations. The goal of this study was to examine whether niclosamide is cytotoxic to BLBCs,specifically the CSC population,and if in combination with TRA-8 could produce increased cytotoxicity. Aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) is a known marker of CSCs. By testing BLBC cells for ALDH expression by flow cytometry,we were able to isolate a nonadherent population of cells that have high ALDH expression. Niclosamide showed cytotoxicity against these nonadherent ALDH-expressing cells in addition to adherent cells from four BLBC cell lines: 2LMP,SUM159,HCC1187,and HCC1143. Niclosamide treatment produced reduced levels of LRP6 and $$-catenin,which is a downstream Wnt/$$-catenin signaling protein. The combination of TRA-8 and niclosamide produced additive cytotoxicity and a reduction in Wnt/$$-catenin activity. Niclosamide in combination with TRA-8 suppressed growth of 2LMP orthotopic tumor xenografts. These results suggest that niclosamide or congeners of this agent may be useful for the treatment of BLBC. View Publication

OBJECTIVE The KLF4 gene has been shown to be inactivated in cervical carcinogenesis as a tumor suppressor. However,the mechanism of KLF4 silencing in cervical carcinomas has not yet been identified. DNA methylation plays a key role in stable suppression of gene expression. METHODS The methylation status of the KLF4 promoter CpG islands was analyzed by bisulfite sequencing (BSQ) in tissues of normal cervix and cervical cancer. KLF4 gene expression was detected by RT-PCR,immunohistochemistry and western blot. KLF4 promoter methylation in cervical cancer cell line was determined by BSQ and methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MS-PCR). Cell proliferation ability was detected by cell growth curve and MTT assay. RESULTS The methylated allele was found in 41.90% of 24 cervical cancer tissues but only in 11.11% of 11 normal cervix tissues (Ptextless0.005). KLF4 mRNA levels were significantly reduced in cervical cancer tissues compared with normal cervix tissues (Ptextless0.01) and KLF4 mRNA expression showed a significant negative correlation with the promoter hypermethylation (r = -0.486,P = 0.003). Cervical cancer cell lines also showed a significant negative correlation between KLF4 expression and hypermethylation. After treatment with the demethylating agent 5-Azacytidine (5-Aza),the expression of KLF4 in the cervical cancer cell lines at both mRNA and protein levels was drastically increased,the cell proliferation ability was inhibited and the chemosensitivity for cisplatin was significantly increased. CONCLUSION KLF4 gene is inactivated by methylation-induced silencing mechanisms in a large subset of cervical carcinomas and KLF4 promoter hypermethylation inactivates the gene's function as a tumor suppressor in cervical carcinogenesis. View Publication