Scientific Resources

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder associated with mutations in either MECP2,CDKL5 or FOXG1. The precise molecular mechanisms that lead to the pathogenesis of RTT have yet to be elucidated. We recently reported that expression of GluD1 (orphan glutamate receptor $\$-1 subunit) is increased in iPSC-derived neurons obtained from patients with mutations in either MECP2 or CDKL5. GluD1 controls synaptic differentiation and shifts the balance between excitatory and inhibitory synapses toward the latter. Thus,an increase in GluD1 might be a critical factor in the etiology of RTT by affecting the excitatory/inhibitory balance in the developing brain. To test this hypothesis,we generated iPSC-derived neurons from FOXG1(+/-) patients. We analyzed mRNA and protein levels of GluD1 together with key markers of excitatory and inhibitory synapses in these iPSC-derived neurons and in Foxg1(+/-) mouse fetal (E11.5) and adult (P70) brains. We found strong correlation between iPSC-derived neurons and fetal mouse brains,where GluD1 and inhibitory synaptic markers (GAD67 and GABA AR-$\$1) were increased,whereas the levels of a number of excitatory synaptic markers (VGLUT1,GluA1,GluN1 and PSD-95) were decreased. In adult mice,GluD1 was decreased along with all GABAergic and glutamatergic markers. Our findings further the understanding of the etiology of RTT by introducing a new pathological event occurring in the brain of FOXG1(+/-) patients during embryonic development and its time-dependent shift toward a general decrease in brain synapses. View Publication

How BMP signaling integrates into and destabilizes the pluripotency circuitry of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) to initiate differentiation into individual germ layers is a long-standing puzzle. Here we report muscle segment homeobox 2 (MSX2),a homeobox transcription factor of msh family,as a direct target gene of BMP signaling and a master mediator of hPSCs' differentiation to mesendoderm. Enforced expression of MSX2 suffices to abolish pluripotency and induce directed mesendoderm differentiation of hPSCs,while MSX2 depletion impairs mesendoderm induction. MSX2 is a direct target gene of the BMP pathway in hPSCs,and can be synergistically activated by Wnt signals via LEF1 during mesendoderm induction. Furthermore,MSX2 destabilizes the pluripotency circuitry through direct binding to the SOX2 promoter and repression of SOX2 transcription,while MSX2 controls mesendoderm lineage commitment by simultaneous suppression of SOX2 and induction of NODAL expression through direct binding and activation of the Nodal promoter. Interestingly,SOX2 can promote the degradation of MSX2 protein,suggesting a mutual antagonism between the two lineage-specifying factors in the control of stem cell fate. Together,our findings reveal crucial new mechanisms of destabilizing pluripotency and directing lineage commitment in hPSCs. View Publication

Activation of ErbB4 receptor signaling is instrumental in heart development,lack of which results in embryonic lethality. However,mechanism governing its intracellular signaling remains elusive. Using human pluripotent stem cells,we show that ErbB4 is critical for cardiogenesis whereby its genetic knockdown results in loss of cardiomyocytes. Phospho-proteome profiling and Western blot studies attribute this loss to inactivation of p38$\$ isoform which physically interacts with NKx2.5 and GATA4 transcription factors. Post-cardiomyocyte formation p38$\$/NKx2.5 downregulation is followed by p38$\$/MEF2c upregulation suggesting stage-specific developmental roles of p38 MAPK isoforms. Knockdown of p38$\$ similarly disrupts cardiomyocyte formation in spite of the presence of NKx2.5. Cell fractionation and NKx2.5 phosphorylation studies suggest inhibition of ErbB4-p38$\$ hinders NKx2.5 nuclear translocation during early cardiogenesis. This study reveals a novel pathway that directly links ErbB4 and p38$\$ the transcriptional machinery of NKx2.5-GATA4 complex which is critical for cardiomyocyte formation during mammalian heart development. View Publication

DPF2,also named ubi-d4/requiem (REQU),interacts with a protein complex containing OCT4. This paper provides data in support of the research article entitled DPF2 regulates OCT4 protein level and nuclear distribution". The highlights include: (1) Denature-immunoprecipitation assay revealed ubiquitination of OCT4 in pluripotent H9 cells� View Publication

Adult hepatocytes are polarised with their apical and basolateral membranes separated from neighbouring cells by tight junction proteins. Although efficient differentiation of pluripotent stem cells to hepatocytes has been achieved,the formation of proper polarisation in these cells has not been thoroughly investigated. In the present study,human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) were differentiated to hepatocyte-like cells and the derived hepatocytes were characterised for mature hepatocyte markers. The secretion of hepatic proteins,expression of hepatic genes and the functional hepatic polarisation of stem cell-derived hepatocytes,foetal hepatocytes and the HepG2 hepatic cell line were evaluated and the different lines were compared. The results indicate that hESC-derived hepatocytes are phenotypically more robust and functionally more efficient compared with the hMSC-derived hepatocytes,suggesting their suitability for toxicity studies. View Publication

The fluorescence ubiquitination cell cycle indicator (FUCCI) system provides a powerful method to evaluate cell cycle mechanisms associated with stem cell self-renewal and cell fate specification. By integrating the FUCCI system into human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) it is possible to isolate homogeneous fractions of viable cells representative of all cell cycle phases. This method avoids problems associated with traditional tools used for cell cycle analysis such as synchronizing drugs,elutriation and temperature sensitive mutants. Importantly,FUCCI reporters allow cell cycle events in dynamic systems,such as differentiation,to be evaluated. Initial reports on the FUCCI system focused on its strengths in reporting spatio-temporal aspects of cell cycle events in living cells and developmental models. In this report,we describe approaches that broaden the application of FUCCI reporters in PSCs through incorporation of FACS. This approach allows molecular analysis of the cell cycle in stem cell systems that were not previously possible. View Publication

Medulloblastoma (MB) is the most common malignant primary pediatric brain tumor and is currently divided into four subtypes based on different genomic alterations,gene expression profiles and response to treatment: WNT,Sonic Hedgehog (SHH),Group 3 and Group 4. This extensive heterogeneity has made it difficult to assess the functional relevance of genes to malignant progression. For example,expression of the transcription factor Orthodenticle homeobox2 (OTX2) is frequently dysregulated in multiple MB variants; however,its role may be subtype specific. We recently demonstrated that neural precursors derived from transformed human embryonic stem cells (trans-hENs),but not their normal counterparts (hENs),resemble Groups 3 and 4 MB in vitro and in vivo. Here,we tested the utility of this model system as a means of dissecting the role of OTX2 in MB using gain- and loss-of-function studies in hENs and trans-hENs,respectively. Parallel experiments with MB cells revealed that OTX2 exerts inhibitory effects on hEN and SHH MB cells by regulating growth,self-renewal and migration in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. This was accompanied by decreased expression of pluripotent genes,such as SOX2,and was supported by overexpression of SOX2 in OTX2+ SHH MB and hENs that resulted in significant rescue of self-renewal and cell migration. By contrast,OTX2 is oncogenic and promotes self-renewal of trans-hENs and Groups 3 and 4 MB independent of pluripotent gene expression. Our results demonstrate a novel role for OTX2 in self-renewal and migration of hENs and MB cells and reveal a cell-context-dependent link between OTX2 and pluripotent genes. Our study underscores the value of human embryonic stem cell derivatives as alternatives to cell lines and heterogeneous patient samples for investigating the contribution of key developmental regulators to MB progression. View Publication

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) can self-renew or differentiate to diverse cell types,thus providing a platform for basic and clinical applications. However,pluripotent stem cell populations are heterogeneous and functional properties at the single cell level are poorly documented leading to inefficiencies in differentiation and concerns regarding reproducibility and safety. Here,we use non-invasive time-lapse imaging to continuously examine hPSC maintenance and differentiation and to predict cell viability and fate. We document dynamic behaviors and social interactions that prospectively distinguish hPSC survival,self-renewal,and differentiation. Results highlight the molecular role of E-cadherin not only for cell-cell contact but also for clonal propagation of hPSCs. Results indicate that use of continuous time-lapse imaging can distinguish cellular heterogeneity with respect to pluripotency as well as a subset of karyotypic abnormalities whose dynamic properties were monitored. View Publication

The advent of the human-induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) technology has transformed biomedical research,providing new tools for human disease modeling,drug development,and regenerative medicine. To fulfill its unique potential in the cardiovascular field,efficient methods should be developed for high-resolution,large-scale,long-term,and serial functional cellular phenotyping of hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs). To achieve this goal,we combined the hiPSC technology with genetically encoded voltage (ArcLight) and calcium (GCaMP5G) fluorescent indicators. Expression of ArcLight and GCaMP5G in hiPSC-CMs permitted to reliably follow changes in transmembrane potential and intracellular calcium levels,respectively. This allowed monitoring short- and long-term changes in action-potential and calcium-handling properties and the development of arrhythmias in response to several pharmaceutical agents and in hiPSC-CMs derived from patients with different inherited arrhythmogenic syndromes. Combining genetically encoded fluorescent reporters with hiPSC-CMs may bring a unique value to the study of inherited disorders,developmental biology,and drug development and testing. View Publication

Retinal pigment epithelium-specific 65 kDa (RPE65)-associated Leber congenital amaurosis is an autosomal recessive disease that results in reduced visual acuity and night blindness beginning at birth. It is one of the few retinal degenerative disorders for which promising clinical gene transfer trials are currently underway. However,the ability to enroll patients in a gene augmentation trial is dependent on the identification of 2 bona fide disease-causing mutations,and there are some patients with the phenotype of RPE65-associated disease who might benefit from gene transfer but are ineligible because 2 disease-causing genetic variations have not yet been identified. Some such patients have novel mutations in RPE65 for which pathogenicity is difficult to confirm. The goal of this study was to determine if an intronic mutation identified in a 2-year-old patient with presumed RPE65-associated disease was truly pathogenic and grounds for inclusion in a clinical gene augmentation trial. Sequencing of the RPE65 gene revealed 2 mutations: (1) a previously identified disease-causing exonic leucine-to-proline mutation (L408P) and (2) a novel single point mutation in intron 3 (IVS3-11) resulting in an AtextgreaterG change. RT-PCR analysis using RNA extracted from control human donor eye-derived primary RPE,control iPSC-RPE cells,and proband iPSC-RPE cells revealed that the identified IVS3-11 variation caused a splicing defect that resulted in a frameshift and insertion of a premature stop codon. In this study,we demonstrate how patient-specific iPSCs can be used to confirm pathogenicity of unknown mutations,which can enable positive clinical outcomes. View Publication

This paper proposes a bio-driven algorithm that detects cell regions automatically in the human embryonic stem cell (hESC) images obtained using a phase contrast microscope. The algorithm uses both statistical intensity distributions of foreground/hESCs and background/substrate as well as cell property for cell region detection. The intensity distributions of foreground/hESCs and background/substrate are modeled as a mixture of two Gaussians. The cell property is translated into local spatial information. The algorithm is optimized by parameters of the modeled distributions and cell regions evolve with the local cell property. The paper validates the method with various videos acquired using different microscope objectives. In comparison with the state-of-the-art methods,the proposed method is able to detect the entire cell region instead of fragmented cell regions. It also yields high marks on measures such as Jacard similarity,Dice coefficient,sensitivity and specificity. Automated detection by the proposed method has the potential to enable fast quantifiable analysis of hESCs using large data sets which are needed to understand dynamic cell behaviors. View Publication

STUDY QUESTION Can human embryonic stem cell-derived trophoblastic spheroids be used to study the early stages of implantation? SUMMARY ANSWER We generated a novel human embryonic stem cell-derived trophoblastic spheroid model mimicking human blastocysts in the early stages of implantation. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Both human embryos and choriocarcinoma cell line derived spheroids can attach onto endometrial cells and are used as models to study the early stages of implantation. However,human embryos are limited and the use of cancer cell lines for spheroid generation remains sub-optimal for research. STUDY DESIGN,SIZE,DURATION Experimental induced differentiation of human embryonic stem cells into trophoblast and characterization of the trophoblast. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS,SETTING,METHODS Trophoblastic spheroids (BAP-EB) were generated by inducing differentiation of a human embryonic stem cell line,VAL3 cells with bone morphogenic factor-4,A83-01 (a TGF-$\$),and PD173074 (a FGF receptor-3 inhibitor) after embryoid body formation. The expressions of trophoblastic markers and hCG levels were studied by real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry. BAP-EB attachment and invasion assays were performed on different cell lines and primary endometrial cells. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE After 48 h of induced differentiation,the BAP-EB resembled early implanting human embryos in terms of size and morphology. The spheroids derived from embryonic stem cells (VAL3),but not from several other cell lines studied,possessed a blastocoel-like cavity. BAP-EB expressed several markers of trophectoderm of human blastocysts on Day 2 of induced differentiation. In the subsequent days of differentiation,the cells of the spheroids differentiated into trophoblast-like cells expressing trophoblastic markers,though at levels lower than that in the primary trophoblasts or in a choriocarcinoma cell line. On Day 3 of induced differentiation,BAP-EB selectively attached onto endometrial epithelial cells,but not other non-endometrial cell lines or an endometrial cell line that had lost its epithelial character. The attachment rates of BAP-EB was significantly higher on primary endometrial epithelial cells (EEC) taken from 7 days after hCG induction of ovulation (hCG+7 day) when compared with that from hCG+2 day. The spheroids also invaded through Ishikawa cells and the primary endometrial stromal cells in the co-culture. LIMITATIONS,REASONS FOR CAUTION The attachment rates of BAP-EB were compared between EEC obtained from Day 2 and Day 7 of the gonadotrophin stimulated cycle,but not the natural cycles. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS BAP-EB have the potential to be used as a test for predicting endometrial receptivity in IVF cycles and provide a novel approach to study early human implantation,trophoblastic cell differentiation and trophoblastic invasion into human endometrial cells. View Publication