技术资料

BACKGROUND CHD8 (chromodomain helicase DNA-binding protein 8),which codes for a member of the CHD family of ATP-dependent chromatin-remodeling factors,is one of the most commonly mutated genes in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) identified in exome-sequencing studies. Loss of function mutations in the gene have also been found in schizophrenia (SZ) and intellectual disabilities and influence cancer cell proliferation. We previously reported an RNA-seq analysis carried out on neural progenitor cells (NPCs) and monolayer neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells that were heterozygous for CHD8 knockout (KO) alleles generated using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing. A significant number of ASD and SZ candidate genes were among those that were differentially expressed in a comparison of heterozygous KO lines (CHD8(+/-)) vs isogenic controls (CHD8(+/-)),including the SZ and bipolar disorder (BD) candidate gene TCF4,which was markedly upregulated in CHD8(+/-) neuronal cells. METHODS In the current study,RNA-seq was carried out on CHD8(+/-) and isogenic control (CHD8(+/+)) cerebral organoids,which are 3-dimensional structures derived from iPS cells that model the developing human telencephalon. RESULTS TCF4 expression was,again,significantly upregulated. Pathway analysis carried out on differentially expressed genes (DEGs) revealed an enrichment of genes involved in neurogenesis,neuronal differentiation,forebrain development,Wnt/β-catenin signaling,and axonal guidance,similar to our previous study on NPCs and monolayer neurons. There was also significant overlap in our CHD8(+/-) DEGs with those found in a transcriptome analysis carried out by another group using cerebral organoids derived from a family with idiopathic ASD. Remarkably,the top DEG in our respective studies was the non-coding RNA DLX6-AS1,which was markedly upregulated in both studies; DLX6-AS1 regulates the expression of members of the DLX (distal-less homeobox) gene family. DLX1 was also upregulated in both studies. DLX genes code for transcription factors that play a key role in GABAergic interneuron differentiation. Significant overlap was also found in a transcriptome study carried out by another group using iPS cell-derived neurons from patients with BD,a condition characterized by dysregulated WNT/β-catenin signaling in a subgroup of affected individuals. CONCLUSIONS Overall,the findings show that distinct ASD,SZ,and BD candidate genes converge on common molecular targets-an important consideration for developing novel therapeutics in genetically heterogeneous complex traits. View Publication

Cerebral organoids recapitulate human brain development at a considerable level of detail,even in the absence of externally added signaling factors. The patterning events driving this self-organization are currently unknown. Here,we examine the developmental and differentiative capacity of cerebral organoids. Focusing on forebrain regions,we demonstrate the presence of a variety of discrete ventral and dorsal regions. Clearing and subsequent 3D reconstruction of entire organoids reveal that many of these regions are interconnected,suggesting that the entire range of dorso-ventral identities can be generated within continuous neuroepithelia. Consistent with this,we demonstrate the presence of forebrain organizing centers that express secreted growth factors,which may be involved in dorso-ventral patterning within organoids. Furthermore,we demonstrate the timed generation of neurons with mature morphologies,as well as the subsequent generation of astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. Our work provides the methodology and quality criteria for phenotypic analysis of brain organoids and shows that the spatial and temporal patterning events governing human brain development can be recapitulated in vitro. View Publication

BACKGROUND Advancing structural and functional maturation of stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes remains a key challenge for applications in disease modeling,drug screening,and heart repair. Here,we sought to advance cardiomyocyte maturation in engineered human myocardium (EHM) toward an adult phenotype under defined conditions. METHODS We systematically investigated cell composition,matrix,and media conditions to generate EHM from embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts with organotypic functionality under serum-free conditions. We used morphological,functional,and transcriptome analyses to benchmark maturation of EHM. RESULTS EHM demonstrated important structural and functional properties of postnatal myocardium,including: (1) rod-shaped cardiomyocytes with M bands assembled as a functional syncytium; (2) systolic twitch forces at a similar level as observed in bona fide postnatal myocardium; (3) a positive force-frequency response; (4) inotropic responses to β-adrenergic stimulation mediated via canonical β1- and β2-adrenoceptor signaling pathways; and (5) evidence for advanced molecular maturation by transcriptome profiling. EHM responded to chronic catecholamine toxicity with contractile dysfunction,cardiomyocyte hypertrophy,cardiomyocyte death,and N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide release; all are classical hallmarks of heart failure. In addition,we demonstrate the scalability of EHM according to anticipated clinical demands for cardiac repair. CONCLUSIONS We provide proof-of-concept for a universally applicable technology for the engineering of macroscale human myocardium for disease modeling and heart repair from embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes under defined,serum-free conditions. View Publication

An expansion of the cerebral neocortex is thought to be the foundation for the unique intellectual abilities of humans. It has been suggested that an increase in the proliferative potential of neural progenitors (NPs) underlies the expansion of the cortex and its convoluted appearance. Here we show that increasing NP proliferation induces expansion and folding in an in vitro model of human corticogenesis. Deletion of PTEN stimulates proliferation and generates significantly larger and substantially folded cerebral organoids. This genetic modification allows sustained cell cycle re-entry,expansion of the progenitor population,and delayed neuronal differentiation,all key features of the developing human cortex. In contrast,Pten deletion in mouse organoids does not lead to folding. Finally,we utilized the expanded cerebral organoids to show that infection with Zika virus impairs cortical growth and folding. Our study provides new insights into the mechanisms regulating the structure and organization of the human cortex. View Publication

The continued success of pluripotent stem cell research is ultimately dependent on access to reliable and defined reagents for the consistent culture and cryopreservation of undifferentiated,pluripotent cells. The development of defined and feeder-independent culture media has provided a platform for greater reproducibility and standardization in this field. Here we provide detailed protocols for the use of mTeSR™1 and TeSR™2 with various cell culture matrices as well as defined cryopreservation protocols for human embryonic and human induced pluripotent stem cells. View Publication

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection is one of the leading prenatal causes of congenital mental retardation and deformities world-wide. Access to cultured human neuronal lineages,necessary to understand the species specific pathogenic effects of HCMV,has been limited by difficulties in sustaining primary human neuronal cultures. Human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells now provide an opportunity for such research. We derived iPS cells from human adult fibroblasts and induced neural lineages to investigate their susceptibility to infection with HCMV strain Ad169. Analysis of iPS cells,iPS-derived neural stem cells (NSCs),neural progenitor cells (NPCs) and neurons suggests that (i) iPS cells are not permissive to HCMV infection,i.e.,they do not permit a full viral replication cycle; (ii) Neural stem cells have impaired differentiation when infected by HCMV; (iii) NPCs are fully permissive for HCMV infection; altered expression of genes related to neural metabolism or neuronal differentiation is also observed; (iv) most iPS-derived neurons are not permissive to HCMV infection; and (v) infected neurons have impaired calcium influx in response to glutamate. View Publication

The translational potential of mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) is limited by their rarity in somatic organs,heterogeneity,and need for harvest by invasive procedures. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) could be an advantageous source of MSCs,but attempts to derive MSCs from pluripotent cells have required cumbersome or untranslatable techniques,such as coculture,physical manipulation,sorting,or viral transduction. We devised a single-step method to direct mesengenic differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and iPSCs using a small molecule inhibitor. First,epithelial-like monolayer cells were generated by culturing ESCs/iPSCs in serum-free medium containing the transforming growth factor-β pathway inhibitor SB431542. After 10 days,iPSCs showed upregulation of mesodermal genes (MSX2,NCAM,HOXA2) and downregulation of pluripotency genes (OCT4,LEFTY1/2). Differentiation was then completed by transferring cells into conventional MSC medium. The resultant development of MSC-like morphology was associated with increased expression of genes,reflecting epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Both ESC- and iPSC-derived MSCs exhibited a typical MSC immunophenotype,expressed high levels of vimentin and N-cadherin,and lacked expression of pluripotency markers at the protein level. Robust osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation was induced in vitro in ES-MSCs and iPS-MSCs,whereas adipogenic differentiation was limited,as reported for primitive fetal MSCs and ES-MSCs derived by other methods. We conclude that treatment with SB431542 in two-dimensional cultures followed by culture-induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition leads to rapid and uniform MSC conversion of human pluripotent cells without the need for embryoid body formation or feeder cell coculture,providing a robust,clinically applicable,and efficient system for generating MSCs from human iPSCs. View Publication

The study of the regulatory signaling hierarchies of human heart development is limited by a lack of model systems that can reproduce the precise developmental events that occur during human embryogenesis. The advent of human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) technology and robust cardiac differentiation methods affords a unique opportunity to monitor the full course of cardiac induction in vitro. Here,we show that stage-specific activation of insulin signaling strongly inhibited cardiac differentiation during a monolayer-based differentiation protocol that used transforming growth factor β superfamily ligands to generate cardiomyocytes. However,insulin did not repress cardiomyocyte differentiation in a defined protocol that used small molecule regulators of canonical Wnt signaling. By examining the context of insulin inhibition of cardiomyocyte differentiation,we determined that the inhibitory effects by insulin required Wnt/β-catenin signaling and that the cardiomyocyte differentiation defect resulting from insulin exposure was rescued by inhibition of Wnt/β-catenin during the cardiac mesoderm (Nkx2.5+) stage. Thus,insulin and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways,as a network,coordinate to influence hPSC differentiation to cardiomyocytes,with the Wnt/β-catenin pathway dominant to the insulin pathway. Our study contributes to the understanding of the regulatory hierarchies of human cardiomyocyte differentiation and has implications for modeling human heart development. View Publication

Pluripotent cells represent a powerful tool for tissue regeneration,but their clinical utility is limited by their propensity to form teratomas. Little is known about their interaction with the surrounding niche following implantation and how this may be applied to promote survival and functional engraftment. In this study,we evaluated the ability of an osteogenic microniche consisting of a hydroxyapatite-coated,bone morphogenetic protein-2-releasing poly-L-lactic acid scaffold placed within the context of a macroenvironmental skeletal defect to guide in vivo differentiation of both embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells. In this setting,we found de novo bone formation and participation by implanted cells in skeletal regeneration without the formation of a teratoma. This finding suggests that local cues from both the implanted scaffold/cell micro- and surrounding macroniche may act in concert to promote cellular survival and the in vivo acquisition of a terminal cell fate,thereby allowing for functional engraftment of pluripotent cells into regenerating tissue. View Publication

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (HIPSC) have tremendous value as a source of autologous cells for cellular transplantation in the treatment of degenerative diseases. The protocols described here address methods for large-scale genetic modification of HIPSCs. The first is an optimized method for transfecting HIPSCs cultured in feeder-free conditions. The second method allows nucleofection of trypsinized HIPSCs at an optimal cell density. Both methods enable robust generation of stable HIPSC transfectants within two weeks. Our protocols are highly reproducible and do not require optimization for individual HIPSC and human embryonic stem cell (HESC) lines. View Publication

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) have the potential to provide an infinite source of tissues for regenerative medicine. Although defined xeno-free media have been developed,culture conditions for reliable propagation of hESCs still require considerable improvement. Here we show that recombinant E8 fragments of laminin isoforms (LM-E8s),which are the minimum fragments conferring integrin-binding activity,promote greater adhesion of hESCs and hiPSCs than do Matrigel and intact laminin isoforms. Furthermore,LM-E8s sustain long-term self-renewal of hESCs and hiPSCs in defined xeno-free media with dissociated cell passaging. We successfully maintained three hESC and two hiPSC lines on LM-E8s in three defined media for 10 passages. hESCs maintained high level expression of pluripotency markers,had a normal karyotype after 30 passages and could differentiate into all three germ layers. This culture system allows robust proliferation of hESCs and hiPSCs for therapeutic applications. View Publication

To search for genes that promote hematopoietic development from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs),we overexpressed several known hematopoietic regulator genes in hESC/iPSC-derived CD34(+)CD43(-) endothelial cells (ECs) enriched in hemogenic endothelium (HE). Among the genes tested,only Sox17,a gene encoding a transcription factor of the SOX family,promoted cell growth and supported expansion of CD34(+)CD43(+)CD45(-/low) cells expressing the HE marker VE-cadherin. SOX17 was expressed at high levels in CD34(+)CD43(-) ECs compared with low levels in CD34(+)CD43(+)CD45(-) pre-hematopoietic progenitor cells (pre-HPCs) and CD34(+)CD43(+)CD45(+) HPCs. Sox17-overexpressing cells formed semiadherent cell aggregates and generated few hematopoietic progenies. However,they retained hemogenic potential and gave rise to hematopoietic progenies on inactivation of Sox17. Global gene-expression analyses revealed that the CD34(+)CD43(+)CD45(-/low) cells expanded on overexpression of Sox17 are HE-like cells developmentally placed between ECs and pre-HPCs. Sox17 overexpression also reprogrammed both pre-HPCs and HPCs into HE-like cells. Genome-wide mapping of Sox17-binding sites revealed that Sox17 activates the transcription of key regulator genes for vasculogenesis,hematopoiesis,and erythrocyte differentiation directly. Depletion of SOX17 in CD34(+)CD43(-) ECs severely compromised their hemogenic activity. These findings suggest that SOX17 plays a key role in priming hemogenic potential in ECs,thereby regulating hematopoietic development from hESCs/iPSCs. View Publication