技术资料

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 tumorigenicity of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) is widely acknowledged as a major obstacle that withholds their application in regenerative medicine. This protocol describes two efficient and robust ways to chemically eliminate the tumor-initiating hPSCs from monolayer culture. The protocol details how to maintain and differentiate hPSCs,how to apply chemical inhibitors to cultures of hPSCs and their differentiated progeny,and how to assess the purity of the resultant cell cultures using in vitro and in vivo assays. It also describes how to rescue the cytotoxic effect. The elimination and the rescue assay can be completed within 3-5 d,the in vitro assessment requires another day,and the in vivo assessment requires up to 12 additional weeks. View Publication

Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are somatic cells that have been reprogrammed to a pluripotent state via the introduction of defined transcription factors. Although iPS is a potentially valuable resource for regenerative medicine and drug development,several issues regarding their pluripotency,differentiation propensity and potential for tumorigenesis remain to be elucidated. Analysis of cell surface glycans has arisen as an interesting tool for the characterization of iPS. An appropriate characterization of glycan surface molecules of human embryonic stem (hES) cells and iPS cells might generate crucial data to highlight their role in the acquisition and maintenance of pluripotency. In this study,we characterized the surface glycans of iPS generated from menstrual blood-derived mesenchymal cells (iPS-MBMC). We demonstrated that,upon spontaneous differentiation,iPS-MBMC present high amounts of terminal $\$-galactopyranoside residues,pointing to an important role of terminal-linked sialic acids in pluripotency maintenance. The removal of sialic acids by neuraminidase induces iPS-MBMC and hES cells differentiation,prompting an ectoderm commitment. Exposed $\$-galactopyranose residues might be recognized by carbohydrate-binding molecules found on the cell surface,which could modulate intercellular or intracellular interactions. Together,our results point for the first time to the involvement of the presence of terminal sialic acid in the maintenance of embryonic stem cell pluripotency and,therefore,the modulation of sialic acid biosynthesis emerges as a mechanism that may govern stem cell differentiation. View Publication

TDP-43 is found in cytoplasmic inclusions in 95% of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and 60% of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). Approximately 4% of familial ALS is caused by mutations in TDP-43. The majority of these mutations are found in the glycine-rich domain,including the variant M337V,which is one of the most common mutations in TDP-43. In order to investigate the use of allele-specific RNA interference (RNAi) as a potential therapeutic tool,we designed and screened a set of siRNAs that specifically target TDP-43(M337V) mutation. Two siRNA specifically silenced the M337V mutation in HEK293T cells transfected with GFP-TDP-43(wt) or GFP-TDP-43(M337V) or TDP-43 C-terminal fragments counterparts. C-terminal TDP-43 transfected cells show an increase of cytosolic inclusions,which are decreased after allele-specific siRNA in M337V cells. We then investigated the effects of one of these allele-specific siRNAs in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from an ALS patient carrying the M337V mutation. These lines showed a two-fold increase in cytosolic TDP-43 compared to the control. Following transfection with the allele-specific siRNA,cytosolic TDP-43 was reduced by 30% compared to cells transfected with a scrambled siRNA. We conclude that RNA interference can be used to selectively target the TDP-43(M337V) allele in mammalian and patient cells,thus demonstrating the potential for using RNA interference as a therapeutic tool for ALS. View Publication

Targeted genome editing with engineered nucleases has transformed the ability to introduce precise sequence modifications at almost any site within the genome. A major obstacle to probing the efficiency and consequences of genome editing is that no existing method enables the frequency of different editing events to be simultaneously measured across a cell population at any endogenous genomic locus.We have developed a method for quantifying individual genome-editing outcomes at any site of interest with single-molecule real-time (SMRT) DNA sequencing. We show that this approach can be applied at various loci using multiple engineered nuclease platforms,including transcription-activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs),RNA-guided endonucleases (CRISPR/Cas9),and zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs),and in different cell lines to identify conditions and strategies in which the desired engineering outcome has occurred. This approach offers a technique for studying double-strand break repair,facilitates the evaluation of gene-editing technologies,and permits sensitive quantification of editing outcomes in almost every experimental system used. ?? 2014 The Authors. View Publication

The development of human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) facilitates in vitro studies of human disease mechanisms,speeds up the process of drug screening,and raises the feasibility of using cell replacement therapy in clinics. However,the study of genotype-phenotype relationships in ESCs or iPSCs is hampered by the low efficiency of site-specific gene editing. Transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) spurred interest due to the ease of assembly,high efficiency and faithful gene targeting. In this study,we optimized the TALEN design to maximize its genomic cutting efficiency. We showed that using optimized TALENs in conjunction with single-strand oligodeoxynucleotide (ssODN) allowed efficient gene editing in human cells. Gene mutations and gene deletions for up to 7.8 kb can be accomplished at high efficiencies. We established human tumor cell lines and H9 ESC lines with homozygous deletion of the microRNA-21 (miR-21) gene and miR-9-2 gene. These cell lines provide a robust platform to dissect the roles these genes play during cell differentiation and tumorigenesis. We also observed that the endogenous homologous chromosome can serve as a donor template for gene editing. Overall,our studies demonstrate the versatility of using ssODN and TALEN to establish genetically modified cells for research and therapeutic application. View Publication

As a critical tumor suppressor,p53 is inactivated in human cancer cells by somatic gene mutation or disruption of pathways required for its activation. Therefore,it is critical to elucidate the mechanism underlying p53 activation after genotoxic and cellular stresses. Accumulating evidence has indicated the importance of posttranslational modifications such as acetylation in regulating p53 stability and activity. However,the physiological roles of the eight identified acetylation events in regulating p53 responses remain to be fully understood. By employing homologous recombination,we introduced various combinations of missense mutations (lysine to arginine) into eight acetylation sites of the endogenous p53 gene in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). By determining the p53 responses to DNA damage in the p53 knock-in mutant hESCs and their derivatives,we demonstrate physiological importance of the acetylation events within the core domain (K120 and K164) and at the C-terminus (K370/372/373/381/382/386) in regulating human p53 responses to DNA damage. View Publication

Integrating viruses represent robust tools for cellular reprogramming; however,the presence of viral transgenes in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is deleterious because it holds the risk of insertional mutagenesis leading to malignant transformation. Here,we combine the robustness of lentiviral reprogramming with the efficacy of Cre recombinase protein transduction to derive iPSCs devoid of transgenes. By genome-wide analysis and targeted differentiation towards the cardiomyocyte lineage,we show that transgene-free iPSCs are superior to iPSCs before Cre transduction. Our study provides a simple,rapid and robust protocol for the generation of clinical-grade iPSCs suitable for disease modeling,tissue engineering and cell replacement therapies. View Publication

BACKGROUND Although studies have shown that Oct4,Sox2,Klf4,and c-Myc (OKSM)-mediated induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology sensitizes cancer cells to drugs,the potential risk of inserting c-Myc and random insertions of exogenous sequences into the genome persists. Several authors,including us,have presented microRNA (miRNA)-mediated reprogramming as an alternative approach. Herein,we evaluated the efficacy of miRNA-mediated reprogramming on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. METHODS Among three miRNAs (miR-200c,miR-302s,and miR-369s) that were previously presented for miRNA-mediated reprogramming,miR-302 was expressed at low levels in HCC cells. After transfecting three times with miR-302,the cells were incubated in ES medium for 3 weeks and then characterized. RESULTS iPSC-like spheres were obtained after the 3-week incubation. Spheres presented high NANOG and OCT4 expression,low proliferation,high apoptosis,low epithelial-mesenchymal transition marker expression (N-cadherin,TGFBR2),and sensitization to drugs. Several miRNAs were changed (e.g.,low oncomiR miR-21,high miR-29b). cMyc was decreased,and methylation was elevated on histone 3 at lysine 4 (H3K4). Differentiated cells expressed markers of each germ layer (GFAP,FABP4,and ALB). AOF2 (also known as LSD1 or KDM1),one of the targets for miR-302,was repressed in iPSC-like-spheres. Silencing of AOF2 resulted in similar features of iPSC-like-spheres,including cMyc down-regulation and H3K4 methylation. In drug-resistant cells,sensitization was achieved through miR-302-mediated reprogramming. CONCLUSIONS miR-302-mediated iPSC technology reprogrammed HCC cells and improved drug sensitivity through AOF2 down-regulation,which caused H3K4 methylation and c-Myc repression. View Publication

During mammalian embryonic development,the primitive streak initiates the differentiation of pluripotent epiblast cells into germ layers. Pluripotency can be reacquired in committed somatic cells using a combination of a handful of transcription factors,such as OCT3/4,SOX2,KLF4 and c-MYC (hereafter referred to as OSKM),albeit with low efficiency. Here we show that during OSKM-induced reprogramming towards pluripotency in human cells,intermediate cells transiently show gene expression profiles resembling mesendoderm,which is a major component of the primitive streak. Based on these findings,we discover that forkhead box H1 (FOXH1),a transcription factor required for anterior primitive streak specification during early development,significantly enhances the reprogramming efficiency of human fibroblasts by promoting their maturation,including mesenchymal to epithelial transition and the activation of late pluripotency markers. These results demonstrate that during the reprogramming process,human somatic cells go through a transient state that resembles mesendoderm. View Publication

Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) has widely been appreciated as a promising tool to model human ocular disease emanating from primary RPE pathology. Here,we describe the successful reprogramming of adult human dermal fibroblasts to iPSCs and their differentiation to pure expandable RPE cells with structural and functional features characteristic for native RPE. Fibroblast cultures were established from skin biopsy material and subsequently reprogrammed following polycistronic lentiviral transduction with OCT4,SOX2,KLF4 and L-Myc. Fibroblast-derived iPSCs showed typical morphology,chromosomal integrity and a distinctive stem cell marker profile. Subsequent differentiation resulted in expandable pigmented hexagonal RPE cells. The cells revealed stable RNA expression of mature RPE markers RPE65,RLBP and BEST1. Immunolabelling verified localisation of BEST1 at the basolateral plasma membrane,and scanning electron microscopy showed typical microvilli at the apical side of iPSC-derived RPE cells. Transepithelial resistance was maintained at high levels during cell culture indicating functional formation of tight junctions. Secretion capacity was demonstrated for VEGF-A. Feeding of porcine photoreceptor outer segments revealed the proper ability of these cells for phagocytosis. IPSC-derived RPE cells largely maintained these properties after cryopreservation. Together,our study underlines that adult dermal fibroblasts can serve as a valuable resource for iPSC-derived RPE with characteristics highly reminiscent of true RPE cells. This will allow its broad application to establish cellular models for RPE-related human diseases. View Publication

Nanofibrous gelatin substrates are suited for long-term expansion of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) under feeder- and serum-free culture conditions. A combinatorial library with different sets of processing parameters was established to assess the culture performance of hPSCs on nanofibrous substrates in terms of cell adhesion and growth rate,using Matrigel as control. Then,the optimal conditions were applied to long-term expansion of hPSCs with several cell lines,showing a maintained pluripotency over more than 20 passages without introducing any abnormal chromosome. In addition,this approach allowed us to avoid enzymatic disassociation and mechanic cutting during passages,thereby promoting a better hPSC culture and long-term expansion. ?? 2014 Elsevier Ltd. View Publication