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Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are derived from the inner cell mass (ICM) of the blastocyst. Because of their ability to differentiate into a variety of cell types,human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) provide an unlimited source of cells for clinical medicine and have begun to be used in clinical trials. Presently,although several hundred hESC lines are available in the word,only few have been widely used in basic and applied research. More and more hESC lines with differing genetic backgrounds are required for establishing a bank of hESCs. Here,we report the first Canadian hESC lines to be generated from cryopreserved embryos and we discuss how we navigated through the Canadian regulatory process. The cryopreserved human zygotes used in this study were cultured to the blastocyst stage,and used to isolate ICM via microsurgery. Unlike previous microsurgery methods,which use specialized glass or steel needles,our method conveniently uses syringe needles for the isolation of ICM and subsequent hESC lines. ICM were cultured on MEF feeders in medium containing FBS or serum replacer (SR). Resulting outgrowths were isolated,cut into several cell clumps,and transferred onto fresh feeders. After more than 30 passages,the two hESC lines established using this method exhibited normal morphology,karyotype,and growth rate. Moreover,they stained positively for a variety of pluripotency markers and could be differentiated both in vitro and in vivo. Both cell lines could be maintained under a variety of culture conditions,including xeno-free conditions we have previously described. We suggest that this microsurgical approach may be conducive to deriving xeno-free hESC lines when outgrown on xeno-free human foreskin fibroblast feeders. View Publication

The 8p11 myeloproliferative syndrome (EMS),also referred to as stem cell leukemia/lymphoma,is a chronic myeloproliferative disorder that rapidly progresses into acute leukemia. Molecularly,EMS is characterized by fusion of various partner genes to the FGFR1 gene,resulting in constitutive activation of the tyrosine kinases in FGFR1. To date,no previous study has addressed the functional consequences of ectopic FGFR1 expression in the potentially most relevant cellular context,that of normal primary human hematopoietic cells. Herein,we report that expression of ZMYM2/FGFR1 (previously known as ZNF198/FGFR1) or BCR/FGFR1 in normal human CD34(+) cells from umbilical-cord blood leads to increased cellular proliferation and differentiation toward the erythroid lineage in vitro. In immunodeficient mice,expression of ZMYM2/FGFR1 or BCR/FGFR1 in human cells induces several features of human EMS,including expansion of several myeloid cell lineages and accumulation of blasts in bone marrow. Moreover,bone marrow fibrosis together with increased extramedullary hematopoiesis is observed. This study suggests that FGFR1 fusion oncogenes,by themselves,are capable of initiating an EMS-like disorder,and provides the first humanized model of a myeloproliferative disorder transforming into acute leukemia in mice. The established in vivo EMS model should provide a valuable tool for future studies of this disorder. View Publication

BACKGROUND: CBL missense mutations have recently been associated with juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia (JMML),an aggressive myeloproliferative and myelodysplastic neoplasm of early childhood characterised by excessive macrophage/monocyte proliferation. CBL,an E3 ubiquitin ligase and a multi-adaptor protein,controls proliferative signalling networks by downregulating the growth factor receptor signalling cascades in various cell types. METHODS AND RESULTS: CBL mutations were screened in 65 patients with JMML. A homozygous mutation of CBL was found in leukaemic cells of 4/65 (6%) patients. In all cases,copy neutral loss of heterozygosity of the 11q23 chromosomal region,encompassing the CBL locus,was demonstrated. Three of these four patients displayed additional features suggestive of an underlying developmental condition. A heterozygous germline CBL p.Y371H substitution was found in each of them and was inherited from the father in one patient. The germline mutation represents the first hit,with somatic loss of heterozygosity being the second hit positively selected in JMML cells. The three patients display a variable combination of dysmorphic features,hyperpigmented skin lesions and microcephaly that enable a 'CBL syndrome' to be tentatively delineated. Learning difficulties and postnatal growth retardation may be part of the phenotype. CONCLUSION: A report of germline mutations of CBL in three patients with JMML is presented here,confirming the existence of an unreported inheritable condition associated with a predisposition to JMML. View Publication

Understanding the complex mechanisms that govern the fate decisions of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) is fundamental to their use in cell replacement therapies. The progress of dissecting these mechanisms will be facilitated by the availability of robust high-throughput screening assays on hESCs. In this study,we report an image-based high-content assay for detecting compounds that affect hESC survival or pluripotency. Our assay was designed to detect changes in the phenotype of hESC colonies by quantifying multiple parameters,including the number of cells in a colony,colony area and shape,intensity of nuclear staining,and the percentage of cells in the colony that express a marker of pluripotency (TRA-1-60),as well as the number of colonies per well. We used this assay to screen 1040 compounds from two commercial compound libraries,and identified 17 that promoted differentiation,as well as 5 that promoted survival of hESCs. Among the novel small compounds we identified with activity on hESC are several steroids that promote hESC differentiation and the antihypertensive drug,pinacidil,which affects hESC survival. The analysis of overlapping targets of pinacidil and the other survival compounds revealed that activity of PRK2,ROCK,MNK1,RSK1,and MSK1 kinases may contribute to the survival of hESCs. View Publication

Adult neural stem and progenitor cells (NSPCs) are usually defined retrospectively by their ability to proliferate in vivo (bromodeoxyuridine uptake) or to form neurospheres and to differentiate into neurons,astrocytes and oligodendrocytes in vitro. Additional strategies to identify and to isolate NSPCs are of great importance for the investigation of cell differentiation and fate specification. Using the cell surface molecules Prominin-1 and Lewis X and a metabolic marker,the aldehyde dehydrogenase activity,we isolated and characterized five main populations of NSPCs in the neurogenic subventricular zone (SVZ) and the non-neurogenic spinal cord (SC). We used clonal analysis to assess neurosphere formation and multipotency,BrdU retention to investigate in vivo proliferation activity and quantified the expression of NSPC associated genes. Surprisingly,we found many similarities in NSPC subpopulations derived from the SVZ and SC suggesting that subtypes with similar intrinsic potential exist in both regions. The marker defined classification of NSPCs will help to distinguish subpopulations of NSPCs and allows their prospective isolation using fluorescence activated cell sorting. View Publication

Recent evidence suggests that pancreatic cancer and other solid tumors contain a subset of tumorigenic cells capable of extensive self-renewal that contribute to metastasis and treatment resistance. Sorafenib (SO) is a promising new multikinase inhibitor for treatment of advanced kidney and liver cancers. We report here targeting of pancreatic cancer stem cells (CSC) by SO and the development of a strategy to enhance this effect. Although SO administration diminished clonogenicity,spheroid formation,aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) activity,growth on immunodeficient mice,proliferation,and angiogenesis and induced apoptosis,we observed SO-induced activation of NF-kappaB associated with survival and regrowth of spheroids. For enhanced elimination of CSC characteristics by SO,we cotreated cells with sulforaphane (SF). This broccoli isothiocyanate was recently described to eliminate pancreatic CSCs by downregulation of NF-kappaB activity without inducing toxic side effects. On combination treatment,SF completely eradicated SO-induced NF-kappaB binding,which was associated with abrogated clonogenicity,spheroid formation,ALDH1 activity,migratory capacity,and induction of apoptosis. In vivo,combination therapy reduced the tumor size in a synergistic manner. This was due to induction of apoptosis,inhibition of proliferation and angiogenesis,and downregulation of SO-induced expression of proteins involved in epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Our data suggest that SF may be suited to increase targeting of CSCs by SO. View Publication

Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) present a novel platform for in vitro investigation of the early embryonic cellular response to ionizing radiation. Thus far,no study has analyzed the genome-wide transcriptional response to ionizing radiation in hESCs,nor has any study assessed their ability to form teratomas,the definitive test of pluripotency. In this study,we use microarrays to analyze the global gene expression changes in hESCs after low-dose (0.4 Gy),medium-dose (2 Gy),and high-dose (4 Gy) irradiation. We identify genes and pathways at each radiation dose that are involved in cell death,p53 signaling,cell cycling,cancer,embryonic and organ development,and others. Using Gene Set Enrichment Analysis,we also show that the expression of a comprehensive set of core embryonic transcription factors is not altered by radiation at any dose. Transplantation of irradiated hESCs to immune-deficient mice results in teratoma formation from hESCs irradiated at all doses,definitive proof of pluripotency. Further,using a bioluminescence imaging technique,we have found that irradiation causes hESCs to initially die after transplantation,but the surviving cells quickly recover by 2 weeks to levels similar to control. To conclude,we show that similar to somatic cells,irradiated hESCs suffer significant death and apoptosis after irradiation. However,they continue to remain pluripotent and are able to form all three embryonic germ layers. Studies such as this will help define the limits for radiation exposure for pregnant women and also radiotracer reporter probes for tracking cellular regenerative therapies. View Publication

The molecular basis for the unique proliferative and self-renewal properties that hierarchically distinguish human stem cells from progenitors and terminally differentiated cells remains largely unknown. We report a role for the Bcl-2 family member myeloid cell leukemia-1 (Mcl-1) as an indispensable regulator of self-renewal in human stem cells and show that a functional dependence on Mcl-1 defines the human stem cell hierarchy. In vivo pharmacologic targeting of the Bcl-2 family members in human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and human leukemic stem cells reduced stem cell regenerative and self-renewal function. Subsequent protein expression studies showed that,among the Bcl-2 family members,only Mcl-1 was up-regulated exclusively in the human HSC fraction on in vivo regeneration of hematopoiesis. Short hairpin RNA-knockdown of Mcl-1 in human cord blood cells did not affect survival in the HSC or hematopoietic progenitor cell fractions in vitro but specifically reduced the in vivo self-renewal function of human HSCs. Moreover,knockdown of Mcl-1 in ontogenetically primitive human pluripotent stem cells resulted in almost complete ablation of stem cell self-renewal function. Our findings show that Mcl-1 is an essential regulator of stem cell self-renewal in humans and therefore represents an axis for therapeutic interventions. View Publication

Serum response factor (Srf) is a MADS-box transcription factor that is critical for muscle differentiation. Its function in hematopoiesis has not yet been revealed. Mkl1,a cofactor of Srf,is part of the t(1;22) translocation in acute megakaryoblastic leukemia,and plays a critical role in megakaryopoiesis. To test the role of Srf in megakaryocyte development,we crossed Pf4-Cre mice,which express Cre recombinase in cells committed to the megakaryocytic lineage,to Srf(F/F) mice in which functional Srf is no longer expressed after Cre-mediated excision. Pf4-Cre/Srf(F/F) knockout (KO) mice are born with normal Mendelian frequency,but have significant macrothrombocytopenia with approximately 50% reduction in platelet count. In contrast,the BM has increased number and percentage of CD41(+) megakaryocytes (WT: 0.41% ± 0.06%; KO: 1.92% ± 0.12%) with significantly reduced ploidy. KO mice show significantly increased megakaryocyte progenitors in the BM by FACS analysis and CFU-Mk. Megakaryocytes lacking Srf have abnormal stress fiber and demarcation membrane formation,and platelets lacking Srf have abnormal actin distribution. In vitro and in vivo assays reveal platelet function defects in KO mice. Critical actin cytoskeletal genes are down-regulated in KO megakaryocytes. Thus,Srf is required for normal megakaryocyte maturation and platelet production partly because of regulation of cytoskeletal genes. View Publication

BACKGROUND: To maintain pluripotency of human embryonic stem (huES) cells in feeder-free culture it has been necessary to provide a Matrigel substratum,which is a complex of poorly defined extracellular matrices and growth factors derived from mouse Engelbreth-Holm-Swarm sarcoma cells. Culture of stem cells under ill-defined conditions can inhibit the effectiveness of maintaining cells in a pluripotent state and reduce reproducibility of differentiation protocols. Moreover recent batches of Matrigel have been found to be contaminated with the single stranded RNA virus,Lactate Dehydrogenase Elevating Virus (LDEV),raising concerns regarding the safety of using stem cells that have been cultured on Matrigel in a therapeutic setting. To circumvent such concerns,we attempted to identify a recombinant matrix that could be used as an alternative to Matrigel for the culture of human pluripotent stem cells. huES and human induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cells were grown on plates coated with a fusion protein consisting of E-cadherin and the IgG Fc domain using mTeSR1 medium.backslashnbackslashnRESULTS: Cells grown under these conditions maintained similar morphology and growth rate to those grown on Matrigel and retained all pluripotent stem cell features,including an ability to differentiate into multiple cell lineages in teratoma assays. We,therefore,present a culture system that maintains the pluripotency of huES and hiPS cells under completely defined conditions.backslashnbackslashnCONCLUSIONS: We propose that this system should facilitate growth of stem cells using good manufacturing practices (GMP),which will be necessary for the clinical use of pluripotent stem cells and their derivatives. View Publication