Scientific Resources

Known molecular determinants of developmental plasticity are mainly transcription factors,while the extrinsic regulation of this process has been largely unexplored. Here we identify Cripto as one of the earliest epiblast markers and a key extracellular determinant of the naive and primed pluripotent states. We demonstrate that Cripto sustains mouse embryonic stem cell (ESC) self-renewal by modulating Wnt/β-catenin,whereas it maintains mouse epiblast stem cell (EpiSC) and human ESC pluripotency through Nodal/Smad2. Moreover,we provide unprecedented evidence that Cripto controls the metabolic reprogramming in ESCs to EpiSC transition. Remarkably,Cripto deficiency attenuates ESC lineage restriction in vitro and in vivo,and permits ESC transdifferentiation into trophectoderm lineage,suggesting that Cripto has earlier functions than previously recognized. All together,our studies provide novel insights into the current model of mammalian pluripotency and contribute to the understanding of the extrinsic regulation of the first cell lineage decision in the embryo. View Publication

Familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP) is caused by mutations of the transthyretin (TTR) gene,predominantly expressed in the liver. Two compounds that knockdown TTR,comprising a small interfering RNA (siRNA; ALN-TTR-02) and an antisense oligonucleotide (ASO; IONIS-TTRRx),are currently being evaluated in clinical trials. Since primary hepatocytes from FAP patients are rarely available for molecular analysis and commercial tissue culture cells or animal models lack the patient-specific genetic background,this study uses primary cells derived from urine of FAP patients. Urine-derived cells were reprogrammed to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) with high efficiency. Hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) showing typical hepatic marker expression were obtained from iPSCs of the FAP patients. TTR mRNA expression of FAP HLCs almost reached levels measured in human hepatocytes. To assess TTR knockdown,siTTR1 and TTR-ASO were introduced to HLCs. A significant downregulation (textgreater80%) of TTR mRNA was induced in the HLCs by both oligonucleotides. TTR protein present in the cell culture supernatant of HLCs was similarly downregulated. Gene expression of other hepatic markers was not affected by the therapeutic oligonucleotides. Our data indicate that urine cells (UCs) after reprogramming and hepatic differentiation represent excellent primary human target cells to assess the efficacy and specificity of novel compounds. View Publication

Progress toward finding a cure for muscle diseases has been slow because of the absence of relevant cellular models and the lack of a reliable source of muscle progenitors for biomedical investigation. Here we report an optimized serum-free differentiation protocol to efficiently produce striated,millimeter-long muscle fibers together with satellite-like cells from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) in vitro. By mimicking key signaling events leading to muscle formation in the embryo,in particular the dual modulation of Wnt and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) pathway signaling,this directed differentiation protocol avoids the requirement for genetic modifications or cell sorting. Robust myogenesis can be achieved in vitro within 1 month by personnel experienced in hPSC culture. The differentiating culture can be subcultured to produce large amounts of myogenic progenitors amenable to numerous downstream applications. Beyond the study of myogenesis,this differentiation method offers an attractive platform for the development of relevant in vitro models of muscle dystrophies and drug screening strategies,as well as providing a source of cells for tissue engineering and cell therapy approaches. View Publication

BACKGROUND Aside from its importance in reproduction,estrogen (E2) is known to regulate the proliferation and differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells in rodents. However,the regulatory role of E2 in human hematopoietic system has not been investigated. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of E2 on hematopoietic differentiation using human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). RESULTS E2 improved hematopoietic differentiation of hPSCs via estrogen receptor alpha (ER-$$)-dependent pathway. During hematopoietic differentiation of hPSCs,ER-$$ is persistently maintained and hematopoietic phenotypes (CD34 and CD45) were exclusively detected in ER-$$ positive cells. Interestingly,continuous E2 signaling is required to promote hematopoietic output from hPSCs. Supplementation of E2 or an ER-$$ selective agonist significantly increased the number of hemangioblasts and hematopoietic progenitors,and subsequent erythropoiesis,whereas ER-$$ selective agonist did not. Furthermore,ICI 182,780 (ER antagonist) completely abrogated the E2-induced hematopoietic augmentation. Not only from hPSCs but also from human umbilical cord bloods,does E2 signaling potentiate hematopoietic development,suggesting universal function of E2 on hematopoiesis. CONCLUSIONS Our study identifies E2 as positive regulator of human hematopoiesis and suggests that endocrine factors such as E2 influence the behavior of hematopoietic stem cells in various physiological conditions. View Publication

Cell type-specific surface markers offer a powerful tool for purifying defined cell types for restorative therapies and drug screenings. Midbrain dopaminergic neurons (mesDA) are the nerve cells preferentially lost in the brains of Parkinson's disease patients. Clinical trials of transplantation of fetal neural precursors suggest that cell therapy may offer a cure for this devastating neurological disease. Many lines of preclinical studies demonstrate that neural progenitors committed to dopaminergic fate survive and integrate better than postmitotic DA neurons. We show that the folate-receptor 1 (FolR1),a GPI-anchored cell surface molecule,specifically marks mesDA neural progenitors and immature mesDA neurons. FolR1 expression superimposes with Lmx1a,a bona-fide mesDA lineage marker,during the active phase of mesDA neurogenesis from E9.5 to E14.5 during mouse development,as well as in ESC-derived mesDA lineage. FolR1(+) neural progenitors can be isolated by FACS or magnetic sorting (MAC) which give rise to dopamine neurons expressing TH and Pitx3,whilst FolR1 negative cells generate non-dopaminergic neurons and glia cells. This study identifies FolR1 as a new cell surface marker selectively expressed in mesDA progenitors in vivo and in vitro and that can be used to enrich in vitro differentiated TH neurons. View Publication

View Publication

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS Endothelial cells (ECs) play an essential role in pancreatic organogenesis. We hypothesise that effective in vitro interactions between human microvascular endothelial cells (HMECs) and human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) results in the generation of functional pancreatic beta cells. METHODS Embryoid bodies (EBs) derived from hPSCs were cultured alone (controls) or with ECs in collagen gels. Subsequently,cells were analysed for pancreatic beta cell markers,and then isolated and expanded. Insulin secretion in response to glucose was evaluated in vitro by static and dynamic (perifusion) assays,and in vivo by EB transplantation into immunodeficient mice. RESULTS Co-cultured EBs had a higher expression of mature beta cells markers and enhanced insulin secretion in vitro,compared with controls. In mice,transplanted EBs had higher levels of human C-peptide secretion with a significant reduction in hyperglycaemia after the selective destruction of native pancreatic beta cells. In addition,there was significant in vitro upregulation of bone morphogenetic proteins 2 and 4 (BMP-2,4) in co-cultured cells,compared with controls. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION ECs provide essential signalling in vitro,such as activation of the BMP pathway,for derivation of functional insulin-producing beta cells from hPSCs. View Publication

High purity chromosome sorting can be performed on instruments such as MoFlo MLS and BD influx,which are stream-in-air sorters equipped with water-cooled high power lasers. The FACSAria is a true fixed alignment,low laser powered instrument with a quartz flow cell gel-coupled to the collection optics. However,whether high purity mouse and human chromosomes can be obtained by sorting on the BD FACSAria(TM) Special Order Research Product (FACSAria SORP) remains to be determined. Here,we report that the high resolution flow karyotype of mouse lymphocytes and normal male human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (hPBMCs) can be obtained on the FACSAria SORP using laser power settings of 50 mW for 355 nm and 20 mW for 444 nm excitation. Furthermore,the use of Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) confirmed that chromosome paints prepared from the sorted chromosomes demonstrated high purity and signal specificity. Notably,human chromosome 12 was separated from the chromosome 9-12 cluster in the flow karyotype,and its identity was confirmed using FISH in trisomy 12 human ES cell lines B2-C7 and B2-B8. In addition,multicolor FISH (mFISH) with human chromosome painting probes to 13,18,21,and sex chromosomes X and Y showed high signal specificity in hPBMCs. Taken together,our findings demonstrated that high resolution flow karyotype can be obtained using FACSAria SORP. Moreover,a FISH analysis confirmed high purity of the sorted chromosomes. Additionally,in contrast to centromeric satellite probes,chromosome painting probes with high specificity are more suitable for detection of chromosome aberrations,such as deletions and translocations,in prenatal diagnosis. textcopyright 2016 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry. View Publication

We performed gene expression microarray analysis coupled with spherical self-organizing map (sSOM) for artificially developed cancer stem cells (CSCs). The CSCs were developed from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) with the conditioned media of cancer cell lines,whereas the CSCs were induced from primary cell culture of human cancer tissues with defined factors (OCT3/4,SOX2,and KLF4). These cells commonly expressed human embryonic stem cell (hESC)/hiPSC-specific genes (POU5F1,SOX2,NANOG,LIN28,and SALL4) at a level equivalent to those of control hiPSC 201B7. The sSOM with unsupervised method demonstrated that the CSCs could be divided into three groups based on their culture conditions and original cancer tissues. Furthermore,with supervised method,sSOM nominated TMED9,RNASE1,NGFR,ST3GAL1,TNS4,BTG2,SLC16A3,CD177,CES1,GDF15,STMN2,FAM20A,NPPB,CD99,MYL7,PRSS23,AHNAK,and LOC152573 genes commonly upregulating among the CSCs compared to hiPSC,suggesting the gene signature of the CSCs. View Publication

Helminthic infections modulate host immunity and may protect people in less-developed countries from developing immunological diseases. In a murine colitis model,the helminth Heligmosomoides polygyrus bakeri prevents colitis via induction of regulatory dendritic cells (DCs). The mechanism driving the development of these regulatory DCs is unexplored. There is decreased expression of the intracellular signaling pathway spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) in intestinal DCs from H. polygyrus bakeri-infected mice. To explore the importance of this observation,it was shown that intestinal DCs from DC-specific Syk(-/-) mice were powerful inhibitors of murine colitis,suggesting that loss of Syk was sufficient to convert these cells into their regulatory phenotype. DCs sense gut flora and damaged epithelium via expression of C-type lectin receptors,many of which signal through the Syk signaling pathway. It was observed that gut DCs express mRNA encoding for C-type lectin (CLEC) 7A,CLEC9A,CLEC12A,and CLEC4N. H. polygyrus bakeri infection downmodulated CLEC mRNA expression in these cells. Focusing on CLEC7A,which encodes for the dectin-1 receptor,flow analysis showed that H. polygyrus bakeri decreases dectin-1 expression on the intestinal DC subsets that drive Th1/Th17 development. DCs become unresponsive to the dectin-1 agonist curdlan and fail to phosphorylate Syk after agonist stimulation. Soluble worm products can block CLEC7A and Syk mRNA expression in gut DCs from uninfected mice after a brief in vitro exposure. Thus,downmodulation of Syk expression and phosphorylation in intestinal DCs could be important mechanisms through which helminths induce regulatory DCs that limit colitis. View Publication

Normalization of human RNA-seq experiments employing chimpanzee RNA as a spike-in standard is reported. Human and chimpanzee RNAs exhibit single nucleotide variations (SNVs) in average 210-bp intervals. Spike-in chimpanzee RNA would behave the same as the human counterparts during the whole NGS procedures owing to the high sequence similarity. After discrimination of species origins of the NGS reads based on SNVs,the chimpanzee reads were used to read-by-read normalize biases and variations of human reads. By this approach,as many as 10,119 transcripts were simultaneously normalized for the entire NGS procedures leading to accurate and reproducible quantification of differential gene expression. In addition,incomparable data sets from different in-process degradations or from different library preparation methods were made well comparable by the normalization. Based on these results,we expect that the normalization approaches using near neighbor genomes as internal standards could be employed as a standard protocol,which will improve both accuracy and comparability of NGS results across different sample batches,laboratories and NGS platforms. View Publication

Surface ectoderm (SE) cells give rise to structures including the epidermis and ectodermal associated appendages such as hair,eye,and the mammary gland. In this study,we validate a protocol that utilizes BMP4 and the $$-secretase inhibitor DAPT to induce SE differentiation from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). hiPSC-differentiated SE cells expressed markers suggesting their commitment to the SE lineage. Computational analyses using integrated quantitative transcriptomic and proteomic profiling reveal that TGF$$ superfamily signaling pathways are preferentially activated in SE cells compared with hiPSCs. SE differentiation can be enhanced by selectively blocking TGF$$-RI signaling. We also show that SE cells and neural ectoderm cells possess distinct gene expression patterns and signaling networks as indicated by functional Ingenuity Pathway Analysis. Our findings advance current understanding of early human SE cell development and pave the way for modeling of SE-derived tissue development,studying disease pathogenesis,and development of regenerative medicine approaches. View Publication