Parthenogenetic stem cells for tissue-engineered heart repair
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Uniparental parthenotes are considered an unwanted byproduct of in vitro fertilization. In utero parthenote development is severely compromised by defective organogenesis and in particular by defective cardiogenesis. Although developmentally compromised, apparently pluripotent stem cells can be derived from parthenogenetic blastocysts. Here we hypothesized that nonembryonic parthenogenetic stem cells (PSCs) can be directed toward the cardiac lineage and applied to tissue-engineered heart repair. We first confirmed similar fundamental properties in murine PSCs and embryonic stem cells (ESCs), despite notable differences in genetic (allelic variability) and epigenetic (differential imprinting) characteristics. Haploidentity of major histocompatibility complexes (MHCs) in PSCs is particularly attractive for allogeneic cell-based therapies. Accordingly, we confirmed acceptance of PSCs in MHC-matched allotransplantation. Cardiomyocyte derivation from PSCs and ESCs was equally effective. The use of cardiomyocyte-restricted GFP enabled cell sorting and documentation of advanced structural and functional maturation in vitro and in vivo. This included seamless electrical integration of PSC-derived cardiomyocytes into recipient myocardium. Finally, we enriched cardiomyocytes to facilitate engineering of force-generating myocardium and demonstrated the utility of this technique in enhancing regional myocardial function after myocardial infarction. Collectively, our data demonstrate pluripotency, with unrestricted cardiogenicity in PSCs, and introduce this unique cell type as an attractive source for tissue-engineered heart repair. 8 samples in total. Parthenogenetic stem cells (PSC): - PSC_1 - PSC_2 - PSC_3 Embryoid body (EB) assays of parthenogenetic stem cells: - EB_PSC_1 - EB_PSC_2 Embryonic stem cells (ESC): - ESC_1 - ESC_2 - ESC_3
Project description:Uniparental parthenotes are considered an unwanted byproduct of in vitro fertilization. In utero parthenote development is severely compromised by defective organogenesis and in particular by defective cardiogenesis. Although developmentally compromised, apparently pluripotent stem cells can be derived from parthenogenetic blastocysts. Here we hypothesized that nonembryonic parthenogenetic stem cells (PSCs) can be directed toward the cardiac lineage and applied to tissue-engineered heart repair. We first confirmed similar fundamental properties in murine PSCs and embryonic stem cells (ESCs), despite notable differences in genetic (allelic variability) and epigenetic (differential imprinting) characteristics. Haploidentity of major histocompatibility complexes (MHCs) in PSCs is particularly attractive for allogeneic cell-based therapies. Accordingly, we confirmed acceptance of PSCs in MHC-matched allotransplantation. Cardiomyocyte derivation from PSCs and ESCs was equally effective. The use of cardiomyocyte-restricted GFP enabled cell sorting and documentation of advanced structural and functional maturation in vitro and in vivo. This included seamless electrical integration of PSC-derived cardiomyocytes into recipient myocardium. Finally, we enriched cardiomyocytes to facilitate engineering of force-generating myocardium and demonstrated the utility of this technique in enhancing regional myocardial function after myocardial infarction. Collectively, our data demonstrate pluripotency, with unrestricted cardiogenicity in PSCs, and introduce this unique cell type as an attractive source for tissue-engineered heart repair.
Project description:The poor clinical outcome in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) has been attributed to intrinsic resistance to chemotherapy and a growth-permissive tumor microenvironment. Quiescent pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) are neuroendocrine, nestin-positive, lipid-accumulating cells whose homologues in the liver are the principal repository of Vitamin A esters. Upon activation, lipid droplets are lost and via transdifferentiation they become the key cell type responsible for driving the severe desmoplasia that characterizes PDA. Despite their critical role in PDA progression and chemoresistance, therapeutic strategies targeting PSCs are lacking. Here we identified the vitamin D receptor (VDR) as a master genomic regulator of PSC activation and function. In vitro we demonstrate that VDR activation reduces expression in PSCs of genes implicated in activation, inflammation, and extracellular matrix production, as well as restoring lipid droplet integrity. In vivo, the VDR ligand calcipotriol enhances the anti-tumor effects of gemcitabine by increasing intratumoral concentration 5-fold, reducing tumor volume to near baseline and lowering metastases by more than 65%. These findings implicate VDR as a master regulator of PSC activation and identify a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. RNA-Seq analyses was used to characterize cancer-associated changes between pre-activated (3-day culture) and activated (7-day culture) primary mouse PSCs, as well as control and PDA human PSCs. RNA-Seq was also used to assess the impact of VDR activation (DMSO vs calcipotriol) in a human PSC line (MiaPaCa-2), the mouse primary PSCs
Project description:Activated pancreatic stellate cells produce the fibrotic matrix in chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. In vitro protocols examining PSC biology have usually involved PSCs cultured on plastic, a non-physiological surface. However, PSCs cultured on physiological matrices e.g. MatrigelTM (normal basement membrane) and collagen (fibrotic pancreas), may have distinctly different behaviours compared to cells cultured on plastic. Therefore, we aimed to compare PSC gene expression after culture on plastic, MatrigelTM and collagen I. Total RNA from stellate cells in 10 cm Petri dishes was isolated by Qiagen RNeasy Mini Plus kit as per manufacturer’s instructions. The Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer (Agilent Technologies Inc. Santa Clara, CA) was used for quality control of the isolated total RNA. Gene expression profiles of rat PSCs cultured on MatrigelTM, collagen I and plastic were analysed by whole rat genome microarray purchased from Affymetrix (Rat Gene 1.0 ST Array). This array was able to detect 27,342 rat genes, with approximately 26 probes on average per gene (referred to as a probe set).
Project description:Biparental, androgenetic and parthenogenetic human embryonic stem cell lines were differentiated into granulosa-like cells for transcriptome comparison
Project description:Three parthenogenetic induced pluripotent stem cell (PgHiPSCs) lines were generated from each of the ovarian teratoma cell lines (two distinct individuals). Two normal iPS cell lines were generated from normal fibroblasts. Three biological replicates of normal embryonic stem cells (H9, HESCs) were perfomed. We used microarrays to study the gene expression profiles of the PgHiPSCs, and compared the expression of genes to both embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cell, to identify paternally expressed genes that are down-regulated in the PgHiPSC lines. All parthenogenetic and normal iPS cell lines, were tested for pluripotency assays (inclusing, morphology, immuno stanings and qRT-PCR for known pluripotency markers, differentiation capacity in vivo and in vitro)
Project description:Anterior foregut endoderm (AFE) gives rise to many tissue types of interest for therapeutic research including the esophagus, salivary glands, lung, thymus, parathyroid and thyroid. Despite its importance, only few reports describe the generation of AFE from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) by directed differentiation. Here, we describe a novel protocol to derive a subdomain of AFE, identified by expression of Pax9, from PSCs using small molecules and chemically defined conditions. Generation of a reporter PSC line allows isolation and characterization of Pax9+ AFE cells. When transplanted in vivo, Pax9+ AFE can form several distinct types of complex anterior foregut epithelia including mucosal glands and stratified squamous epithelium. Finally, we show that the directed differentiation protocol can be used to generate AFE from DiGeorge Syndrome patient-specific human induced PSCs, thus creating a platform to produce anterior foregut derivatives for therapy and to enable the study of disorders of the AFE. Total RNA obtained from FACS purified from in vitro dervied mouse definitive endoderm, anterior foregut and ES cells. AFE cells were derived from a 129X1/SvJ background, DE cells from 129X1/SvJ x 129S1/SV-+p+Tyr- cKitlSl-J/+ (R1 ES cells) and non reporter ES cells from a 129P2/OlaHsd background.
Project description:Pluripotent stem cell-derived small extracellular vesicles (PSC-sEVs) have demonstrated great clinical translational potential in multiple aging-related degenerative diseases. Characterizing the PSC-sEVs is crucial for their clinical applications. However, the specific biomarker pattern of PSC-sEVs remains unknown. We displayed proteome analysis and further verification for identification of PSC-sEVs' specific biomarkers. The application of these specific biomarkers for PSC-sEVs identification may advance the clinical translation of PSCs-sEVs.
Project description:Skeletal muscle stem cells are essential to muscle homeostasis and regeneration after injury. An attractive approach to obtain these cells is via differentiation of pluripotent stem cells (PSCs). We have recently reported that teratomas derived from mouse PSCs are a rich source of skeletal muscle stem cells. Here, we showed that the teratoma formation method is also capable of producing skeletal myogenic progenitors from human PSCs. Using single-cell transcriptomics, we discovered multiple lineages in human PSC-derived teratomas. Interestingly, we observed several distinct skeletal myogenic subpopulations. Trajectory analysis revealed that these subpopulations represented progressive stages of skeletal myogenic development. We further discovered that ERBB3 and CD82 are effective surface markers for prospective isolation of the skeletal myogenic lineage in human PSC-derived teratomas. Therefore, teratoma formation provides an accessible model for obtaining human skeletal myogenic progenitors from PSCs.
Project description:In this study, we performed bulk RNA-seq of pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) and induced pre-somitic mesoderm (PSM) cells of six different mammalian species. The species studied are: mouse (Mus musculus), marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), human (Homo sapiens), cattle (Bos taurus) and southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum). We used mouse ESCs, marmoset iPSCs, rabbit ESCs, human iPSCs, bovine ESCs and rhinoceros ESCs to induce PSM-like cells from these species following protocols already described. PSC samples were extracted under maintenance conditions. PSM samples were extracted on the day when the differentiation efficiency was higher based on the percentage of cells expressing the PSM marker TBX6. We used identical culture conditions when extracting the induced PSM cells to minimize the effect of external factors on our results. Two replicates per each cell type and species were collected for a total of 24 samples. We compared the expression levels of more than 10,000 orthologous protein-coding genes across the six species. With this, we determined that the species-specific segmentation clock periods might be derived from species-specific gene expression profiles controlling basic biological processes.