参考文献

Previous studies have shown that maintenance of undifferentiated human embryonic stem (hES) cells requires culture on mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) feeders. Here we demonstrate a successful feeder-free hES culture system in which undifferentiated cells can be maintained for at least 130 population doublings. In this system,hES cells are cultured on Matrigel or laminin in medium conditioned by MEF. The hES cells maintained on feeders or off feeders express integrin alpha6 and beta1,which may form a laminin-specific receptor. The hES cell populations in feeder-free conditions maintained a normal karyotype,stable proliferation rate,and high telomerase activity. Similar to cells cultured on feeders,hES cells maintained under feeder-free conditions expressed OCT-4,hTERT,alkaline phosphatase,and surface markers including SSEA-4,Tra 1-60,and Tra 1-81. In addition,hES cells maintained without direct feeder contact formed teratomas in SCID/beige mice and differentiated in vitro into cells from all three germ layers. Thus,the cells retain fundamental characteristics of hES cells in this culture system and are suitable for scaleup production. View Publication

We have recently demonstrated the formation of interconnecting canalicular cell processes in bone cells upon contact with basement membrane components. Here we have determined whether growth factors in the reconstituted basement membrane (Matrigel) were active in influencing the cellular network formation. Various growth factors including transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta),epidermal growth factor (EGF),insulin-like growth factor 1,bovine fibroblast growth factor (bFGF),and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) were identified in Matrigel. Exogenous TGF-beta blocked the cellular network formation. Conversely,addition of TGF-beta 1 neutralizing antibodies to Matrigel stimulated the cellular network formation. bFGF,EGF,and PDGF all promoted cellular migration and organization on Matrigel. Addition of bFGF to MC3T3-E1 cells grown on Matrigel overcame the inhibitory effect of TGF-beta. Some TGF-beta remained bound to type IV collagen purified from the Engelbreth-Holm-Swarm tumor matrix. These data demonstrate that reconstituted basement membrane contains growth factors which influence cellular behavior,suggesting caution in the interpretation of experiments on cellular activity related to Matrigel,collagen type IV,and possibly other extracellular matrix components. View Publication

Accurate characterization of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) products is needed to better anticipate the hematopoietic reconstitution and the outcome in patients. Although CD34+ viable cells enumeration is a key predictor of time to correction of aplasia,it does not fully inform about functionality of cells contained in the graft. CFU assay is the gold standard in vitro potency assay to assess clonogenicity of HSC and consists on the count and identification of colonies several days after culture in a semi solid media. Manual count of colonies with optic microscope is the most commonly used method but its important variability and subjectivity hinders the universal implementation of this potency assay. The aim of this study is to validate a standardized method using the STEMvision™ system,the first semi-automated instrument for imaging and scoring hematopoietic colonies,according to French and European recommendations. Results obtained highlight better performance criteria with STEMvision™ system than the manual method. This semi-automatic device tends to reduce the coefficients of variation of repeatability,inter-operator variability and intermediate precision. This newly available platform could represent an interesting option,significantly improving performances of CFU assays used for the characterization of hematopoietic progenitors. View Publication

BACKGROUND It is clinically important to maintain high viability and potency of umbilical cord blood units (CBUs) for transplantation during thawing. In the absence of a standard thawing protocol,this study was designed to develop one based on the consensus practice of transplant centers and address the shortage of dextran 40 thawing solution. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS Frozen CBU aliquots were thawed using dextran 40 thawing solution while manipulating temperature and volume of diluent and mode of dilution. The effects of these on CD45+ and CD34+ cell viability were measured through annexin V and SYTOX green staining. The developed protocol was then used to compare dextran 40 and PLASMA-LYTE A thawing solutions and finally tested on whole CBUs. RESULTS Step-by-step investigations resulted in the development of a protocol that thaws and dilutes CBUs with room temperature diluent to five times the original volume using two sequential dilutions separated by equilibration times. PLASMA-LYTE A diluent provided superior viability of CD45+ and CD34+ cells than dextran 40 and recovered more colony-forming units. However,both diluents were equally effective in maintaining stability of the thawed CBU for 4 hours. Moreover,the stem cell-enriched CD34+CD38- subpopulations appeared more resistant to cryoinjuries than their CD34+CD38+ counterpart. CONCLUSION The developed thawing protocol recovers viable CD45+ and CD34+ cells above the standard thresholds and maintains CBU potency. PLASMA-LYTE A for thawing solution proved to be an efficient alternative to dextran 40. Finally,greater dilution should be avoided to maintain the viability of CD45+ cells and maximize graft cell dose. View Publication

T helper 17 (Th17) cells are pathogenic in many inflammatory diseases,but also support the integrity of the intestinal barrier in a non-inflammatory manner. It is unclear what distinguishes inflammatory Th17 cells elicited by pathogens and tissue-resident homeostatic Th17 cells elicited by commensals. Here,we compared the characteristics of Th17 cells differentiating in response to commensal bacteria (SFB) to those differentiating in response to a pathogen (Citrobacter rodentium). Homeostatic Th17 cells exhibited little plasticity towards expression of inflammatory cytokines,were characterized by a metabolism typical of quiescent or memory T cells,and did not participate in inflammatory processes. In contrast,infection-induced Th17 cells showed extensive plasticity towards pro-inflammatory cytokines,disseminated widely into the periphery,and engaged aerobic glycolysis in addition to oxidative phosphorylation typical for inflammatory effector cells. These findings will help ensure that future therapies directed against inflammatory Th17 cells do not inadvertently damage the resident gut population. View Publication

Laminin and fibronectin are glycoproteins that influence cell behavior and mediate cell/substratum adhesion. We have examined the interaction of these macromolecules with the serine protease plasminogen activator (PA) in two types of extracellular matrices; one produced by the murine Engelbreth-Holm-Swarm (EHS) tumor (Matrigel),and another by normal kidney epithelial cells in culture. Matrigel was found to contain significant quantities of tissue-type PA (tPA). Two of the major components of Matrigel,laminin and type IV collagen,were also examined. Tissue-type PA was associated with purified preparations of laminin; however,it was not found associated with type IV collagen. Normal kidney epithelial cells in culture secrete large amounts of urokinase (UK) and deposit a subepithelial matrix containing both laminin and fibronectin. These matrix macromolecules were isolated from the deposited matrix by immunoprecipitation,examined by zymography,and found to contain UK. The potential role of this interaction in the mechanisms of cell migration and matrix remodeling is discussed. View Publication

Both targeted therapy and immunotherapy have been used successfully to treat melanoma,but the development of resistance and poor response rates to the individual therapies has limited their success. Designing rational combinations of targeted therapy and immunotherapy may overcome these obstacles,but requires assessment in preclinical models with the capacity to respond to both therapeutic classes. Herein,we describe the development and characterization of a novel,immunogenic variant of the BrafV600ECdkn2a-/-Pten-/- YUMM1.1 tumor model that expresses the immunogen,ovalbumin (YOVAL1.1). We demonstrate that,unlike parental tumors,YOVAL1.1 tumors are immunogenic in vivo and can be controlled by immunotherapy. Importantly,YOVAL1.1 tumors are sensitive to targeted inhibitors of BRAFV600E and MEK,responding in a manner consistent with human BRAFV600E melanoma. The YOVAL1.1 melanoma model is transplantable,immunogenic and sensitive to clinical therapies,making it a valuable platform to guide strategic development of combined targeted therapy and immunotherapy approaches in BRAFV600E melanoma. View Publication

Helminthic infections modulate host immunity and may protect their hosts from developing immunological diseases like inflammatory bowel disease. Induction of regulatory T cells (Tregs) may be an important part of this protective process. Heligmosomoides polygyrus bakeri infection also promotes the production of the regulatory cytokines TGF-beta and IL-10 in the gut. In the intestines,TGF-beta helps induce regulatory T cells. This study used Foxp3/IL-10 double reporter mice to investigate the effect of TGF-beta on the differentiation of colon and mesenteric lymph node-derived murine Foxp3- IL-10- CD4+ T cells into their regulatory phenotypes. Foxp3- IL-10- CD4+ T cells from H. polygyrus bakeri-infected mice,as opposed to T cells from uninfected animals,cultured in vitro with TGF-beta and anti-CD3/CD28 mAb differentiated into Foxp3+ and/or IL-10+ T cells. The IL-10-producing T cells nearly all displayed CD25. Smad7 is a natural inhibitor of TGF-beta signaling. In contrast to gut T cells from uninfected mice,Foxp3- IL10- CD4+ T cells from H. polygyrus bakeri-infected mice displayed reduced Smad7 expression and responded to TGF-beta with Smad2/3 phosphorylation. The TGF-beta-induced Tregs that express IL-10 blocked colitis when transferred into the Rag/CD25- CD4+ T cell transfer model of inflammatory bowel disease. TGF-beta had a greatly diminished capacity to induce Tregs in H. polygyrus bakeri-infected transgenic mice with constitutively high T cell-specific Smad7 expression. Thus,infection with H. polygyrus bakeri causes down-modulation in Smad7 expression in intestinal CD4+ T cells,which allows the TGF-beta produced in response to the infection to induce the Tregs that prevent colitis. View Publication

The HIV-1 trans-activator protein Tat binds the trans-activation response element (TAR) to facilitate recruitment of the super elongation complex (SEC) to enhance transcription of the integrated pro-viral genome. The Tat-TAR interaction is critical for viral replication and the emergence of the virus from the latent state,therefore,inhibiting this interaction has long been pursued to discover new anti-viral or latency reversal agents. However,discovering active compounds that directly target RNA with high affinity and selectivity remains a significant challenge; limiting pre-clinical development. Here,we report the rational design of a macrocyclic peptide mimic of the arginine rich motif of Tat,which binds to TAR with low pM affinity and 100-fold selectivity against closely homologous RNAs. Despite these unprecedented binding properties,the new ligand (JB181) only moderately inhibits Tat-dependent reactivation in cells and recruitment of positive transcription elongation factor (P-TEFb) to TAR. The NMR structure of the JB181-TAR complex revealed that the ligand induces a structure in the TAR loop that closely mimics the P-TEFb/Tat1:57/AFF4/TAR complex. These results strongly suggest that high-affinity ligands which bind the UCU bulge are not likely to inhibit recruitment of the SEC and suggest that targeting of the TAR loop will be an essential feature of effective Tat inhibitors. View Publication

Interleukin (IL)-23 is thought to be critical in the pathogenesis of psoriasis,and anti-IL-23 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have been approved for the treatment of psoriasis. We speculated that an anti-IL-23 receptor mAb might have greater efficacy than an anti-IL-23 mAb in the treatment of local inflamed lesions with high IL-23 levels. We previously generated an anti-human IL-23 receptor mAb,AS2762900-00,which potently blocked IL-23-induced cell proliferation,regardless of the concentration of IL-23. Here,we evaluated the therapeutic potential of AS2762900-00 in the treatment of psoriasis. Compared with untreated control,AS2762900-00 significantly reduced the epidermal thickness of lesions in a clinically relevant psoriatic human skin xenograft model. The expression of inflammatory genes including genes downstream of IL-23 signaling in the lesion tended to be lower in the AS2762900-00 group than the untreated group,suggesting that the inhibitory effects of AS2762900-00 in the psoriatic human skin xenograft model might occur via blockade of IL-23 signaling pathways. Further,AS2762900-00 showed an inhibitory effect on signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) phosphorylation as a downstream signal of IL-23 receptor activation in whole blood from patients with psoriasis. We also confirmed that AS2762900-00 inhibited IL-23-induced STAT3 phosphorylation in a concentration-dependent manner using whole blood from healthy donors. These data suggest that AS2762900-00 is a promising drug candidate for the treatment of psoriasis. In addition,STAT3 phosphorylation in whole blood may be a useful biomarker for the evaluation of the pharmacodynamic effects of AS2762900-00 in healthy volunteers in clinical development. View Publication