搜索结果: 'methocult media formulations for mouse hematopoietic cells serum containing'

It has been proposed that the ancestral fungus was mating competent and homothallic. However,many mating-competent fungi were initially classified as asexual because their mating capacity was hidden behind layers of regulation. For efficient in vitro mating,the essentially obligate diploid ascomycete pathogen Candida albicans has to change its mating type locus from heterozygous MTL a /α to homozygous MTL a / a or MTL α/α and then undergo an environmentally controlled epigenetic switch to the mating-competent opaque form. These requirements greatly reduce the potential for C. albicans mating. Deletion of the Yci1 domain gene OFR1 bypasses the need for C. albicans cells to change the mating type locus from heterozygous to homozygous prior to switching to the opaque form and mating and allows homothallic mating of MTL heterozygous strains. This bypass is carbon source dependent and does not occur when cells are grown on glucose. Transcriptional profiling of ofr1 mutant cells shows that in addition to regulating cell type and mating circuitry,Ofr1 is needed for proper regulation of histone and chitin biosynthesis gene expression. It appears that OFR1 is a key regulator in C. albicans and functions in part to maintain the cryptic mating phenotype of the pathogen. View Publication

Non-viral gene delivery into human embryonic stem cells (hESCs)is an important tool for controlling cell fate. However,the delivery efficiency remains low due in part to the tight colony structure of the cells which prevents effective exposure towards delivery vectors. We herein report a novel approach to enhance non-viral gene delivery to hESCs by transiently altering the cell and colony structure. (R)-(+)-trans-4-(1-aminoethyl)-N-(4-pyridyl)cyclohexanecarboxamide (Y-27632),a small molecule that inhibits the rho-associated protein kinase pathway,is utilized to induce transient colony spreading which leads to increased transfection efficiency by 1.5 to 2 folds in a spectrum of non-viral transfection reagents including Lipofectamine 2000 and Fugene HD. After removal of Y-27632 post-transfection,cells can revert back to its normal state and do not show alteration of pluripotency. This approach provides a simple,effective tool to enhance non-viral gene delivery into adherent hESCs for genetic manipulation. View Publication

Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are generated from somatic cells by the forced expression of a defined set of pluripotency-associated transcription factors. Human iPS cells can be propagated indefinitely,while maintaining the capacity to differentiate into all cell types in the body except for extra-embryonic tissues. This technology not only represents a new way to use individual-specific stem cells for regenerative medicine but also constitutes a novel method to obtain large amounts of disease-specific cells for biomedical research. Despite their great potential,the long reprogramming process (up to 1. month) remains one of the most significant challenges facing standard virus-mediated methodology. In this study,we report the accelerated generation of human iPS cells from adipose-derived stem (ADS) cells,using a new combination of chemical inhibitors under a setting of physiological hypoxia in conjunction with retroviral transduction of Oct4,Sox2,Klf4,and L-Myc. Under optimized conditions,we observed human embryonic stem (ES)-like cells as early as 6. days after the initial retroviral transduction. This was followed by the emergence of fully reprogrammed cells bearing Tra-1-81-positive and DsRed transgene-silencing properties on day 10. The resulting cell lines resembled human ES cells in many respects including proliferation rate,morphology,pluripotency-associated markers,global gene expression patterns,genome-wide DNA methylation states,and the ability to differentiate into all three of the germ layers,both in vitro and in vivo. Our method,when combined with chemical inhibitors under conditions of physiological hypoxia,offers a powerful tool for rapidly generating bona fide human iPS cells and facilitates the application of iPS cell technology to biomedical research. textcopyright 2011 Elsevier Inc. View Publication

Human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells have great potential in research and thera-pies. The current in vitro culture systems for human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) do not mimic the three-dimensional (3D) in vivo stem cell niche that transiently supports stem cell proliferation and is subject to changes which facilitate subsequent differentiation during development. Here,we demonstrate,for the first time,that a novel plant-derived nanofibrillar cellulose (NFC) hydrogel creates a flexible 3D environment for hPSC culture. The pluripotency of hPSCs cultured in the NFC hydrogel was maintained for 26 days as evidenced by the expression of OCT4,NANOG,and SSEA-4,in vitro embryoid body formation and in vivo teratoma formation. The use of a cellulose enzyme,cellulase,enables easy cell propagation in 3D culture as well as a shift between 3D and two-dimensional cultures. More importantly,the removal of the NFC hydrogel facilitates differentiation while retaining 3D cell organization. Thus,the NFC hydrogel represents a flexible,xeno-free 3D culture system that supports pluripotency and will be useful in hPSC-based drug research and regenerative medicine. View Publication

Regeneration of human cartilage is inherently inefficient; an abundant autologous source,such as human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs),is therefore attractive for engineering cartilage. We report a growth factor-based protocol for differentiating hiPSCs into articular-like chondrocytes (hiChondrocytes) within 2 weeks,with an overall efficiency textgreater90%. The hiChondrocytes are stable and comparable to adult articular chondrocytes in global gene expression,extracellular matrix production,and ability to generate cartilage tissue in vitro and in immune-deficient mice. Molecular characterization identified an early SRY (sex-determining region Y) box (Sox)9(low) cluster of differentiation (CD)44(low)CD140(low) prechondrogenic population during hiPSC differentiation. In addition,2 distinct Sox9-regulated gene networks were identified in the Sox9(low) and Sox9(high) populations providing novel molecular insights into chondrogenic fate commitment and differentiation. Our findings present a favorable method for generating hiPSC-derived articular-like chondrocytes. The hiChondrocytes are an attractive cell source for cartilage engineering because of their abundance,autologous nature,and potential to generate articular-like cartilage rather than fibrocartilage. In addition,hiChondrocytes can be excellent tools for modeling human musculoskeletal diseases in a dish and for rapid drug screening. View Publication

Improvement of methods to produce endoderm-derived cells from pluripotent stem cells is important to realize high-efficient induction of endodermal tissues such as pancreas and hepatocyte. Difficulties hampering such efforts include the low efficiency of definitive endoderm cell induction and establishing appropriate defined culture conditions to ensure a safe cell source for human transplantation. Based on previous studies,we revised the experimental condition of definitive endoderm induction in feeder- and serum-free culture. Our results suggested that CHIR99021 is more effective than Wnt3A ligand in feeder- and serum-free conditions. In addition,keeping cell density low during endoderm induction is important for the efficiency. On the other hand,we showed that overtreatment with CHIR99021 converted the cells into BRACHYURY-expressing posterior mesoderm cells rather than endoderm,indicating strict CHIR99021 treatment requirements for endoderm differentiation. Nevertheless,these results should enable better control in the production of definitive endoderm-derived cells. View Publication

The objective of this report is to describe the protocols for comparing the microRNA (miRNA) profiles of human induced-pluripotent stem (iPS) cells,retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) derived from human iPS cells (iPS-RPE),and fetal RPE. The protocols include collection of RNA for analysis by microarray,and the analysis of microarray data to identify miRNAs that are differentially expressed among three cell types. The methods for culture of iPS cells and fetal RPE are explained. The protocol used for differentiation of RPE from human iPS is also described. The RNA extraction technique we describe was selected to allow maximal recovery of very small RNA for use in a miRNA microarray. Finally,cellular pathway and network analysis of microarray data is explained. These techniques will facilitate the comparison of the miRNA profiles of three different cell types. View Publication

HIV infection leads to a state of chronic immune activation and progressive deterioration in immune function,manifested most recognizably by the progressive depletion of CD4+ T cells. A substantial percentage of natural killer (NK) cells from patients with HIV infection are activated and express the natural cytotoxicity receptor (NCR) NKp44. Here we show that a cellular ligand for NKp44 (NKp44L) is expressed during HIV-1 infection and is correlated with both the progression of CD4+ T cell depletion and the increase of viral load. CD4+ T cells expressing this ligand are highly sensitive to the NK lysis activity mediated by NKp44+ NK cells. The expression of NKp44L is induced by the linear motif NH2-SWSNKS-COOH of the HIV-1 envelope gp41 protein. This highly conserved motif appears critical to the sharp increase in NK lysis of CD4+ T cells from HIV-infected patients. These studies strongly suggest that induction of NKp44L plays a key role in the lysis of CD4+ T cells by activated NK cells in HIV infection and consequently provide a framework for considering how HIV-1 may use NK cell immune surveillance to trigger CD4+ T cells. Understanding this mechanism may help to develop future therapeutic strategies and vaccines against HIV-1 infection. View Publication

Synthetic modified mRNA molecules encoding pluripotency transcription factors have been used successfully in reprogramming human fibroblasts to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). We have applied this method on bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (BM-MSCs) obtained from a patient with $$-thalassemia ($$-thal) with the aim to generate trangene-free $$-thal-iPSCs. Transfection of 10(4) BM-MSCs by lipofection with mRNA encoding the reprogramming factors Oct4,Klf4,Sox2,cMyc,and Lin28 resulted in formation of five iPSC colonies,from which three were picked up and expanded in $$-thal-iPSC lines. After 10 serial passages in vitro,$$-thal-iPSCs maintain genetic stability as shown by array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) and are capable of forming embryoid bodies in vitro and teratomas in vivo. Their gene expression profile compared to human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and BM-MSCs seems to be similar to that of ESCs,whereas it differs from the profile of the parental BM-MSCs. Differentiation cultures toward a hematopoietic lineage showed the generation of CD34(+) progenitors up to 10%,but with a decreased hematopoietic colony-forming capability. In conclusion,we report herein the generation of transgene-free $$-thal-iPSCs that could be widely used for disease modeling and gene therapy applications. Moreover,it was demonstrated that the mRNA-based reprogramming method,used mainly in fibroblasts,is also suitable for reprogramming of human BM-MSCs. View Publication

One of the differences between murine and human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) is the epigenetic state of the X chromosomes in female lines. Murine ESCs (mESCs) present two transcriptionally active Xs that will undergo the dosage compensation process of XCI upon differentiation,whereas most human ESCs (hESCs) spontaneously inactivate one X while keeping their pluripotency. Whether this reflects differences in embryonic development of mice and humans,or distinct culture requirements for the two kinds of pluripotent cells is not known. Recently it has been shown that hESCs established in physiological oxygen levels are in a stable pre-XCI state equivalent to that of mESCs,suggesting that culture in low oxygen concentration is enough to preserve that epigenetic state of the X chromosomes. Here we describe the establishment of two new lines of hESCs under physiological oxygen level and the characterization of the XCI state in the 46,XX line BR-5. We show that a fraction of undifferentiated cells present XIST RNA accumulation and single H3K27me foci,characteristic of the inactive X. Moreover,analysis of allele specific gene expression suggests that pluripotent BR-5 cells present completely skewed XCI. Our data indicate that physiological levels of oxygen are not sufficient for the stabilization of the pre-XCI state in hESCs. View Publication