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NFIA is a gliogenic switch enabling rapid derivation of functional human astrocytes from pluripotent stem cells

ABSTRACT: The development of the central nervous system (CNS) depends on the orchestrated generation of neurons and glia from neural stem cells (NSCs). Although NSCs generate both cell types, they are produced sequentially as neurons are born first and glia later. In humans, this timing is extremely protracted and the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Deriving glial cells such as astrocytes from human pluripotent stem cells requires 3-6 months of differentiation, greatly impeding their use in human disease modeling and regenerative medicine. Here, we report that expression of the transcription factor nuclear factor IA (NFIA) is sufficient to trigger glial competency in highly neurogenic NSCs and enables the derivation of human astrocytes within 10-12 days. NFIA-induced astrocytes are functional and shown to promote synaptogenesis, protect neurons and generate calcium transients. The mechanism of NFIA-induced glial competency involves rapid but reversible chromatin remodeling, demethylation of the GFAP promoter and a striking effect on the cell cycle. NFIA titration and pharmacological studies indicate that acquisition of a glial-compatible G1 length is critical for achieving glial competency. Our results offer mechanistic insights into human glial competency and enable the routine use of astrocytes for studying human development and disease.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE104232 | GEO | 2019/02/25

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:It remains controversial whether the routes from differentiated cells to iPSCs are related to the reverse order of normal developmental processes or independent of them. Here, we generated iPSCs from mouse astrocytes by three (Oct3/4, Klf4 and Sox2 (OKS)), two (OK), or four (OKS plus c-Myc) factors. Sox1, a neural stem cell (NSC)-specific transcription factor, is transiently upregulated during reprogramming and Sox1-positive cells become iPSCs. The upregulation of Sox1 is essential for OK-induced reprogramming. Genome-wide analysis revealed that the gene expression profile of Sox1-expressing intermediate-state cells resembles that of NSCs. Furthermore, the intermediate-state cells are able to generate neurospheres, which can differentiate into both neurons and glial cells. Remarkably, during MEF reprogramming, neither Sox1 upregulation nor an increase in neurogenic potential occurs. Thus, astrocytes are reprogrammed through an NSC-like state, suggesting that reprogramming partially follows the retrograde pathway of normal developmental processes. To investigate the gene expression profile of intermediate-state cells during astrocyte reprogramming, we performed genome-wide gene expression analysis in five samples; starting astrocytes, intermediate-state cells expressing Sox1-GFP, NSCs, iPSCs established from astrocytes, and iPSCs established from MEFs (iPS-MEF-Ng-20D-17) that had previously been reported (Okita, K. et al. Nature 448: 313-317 (2007)). Two (NSCs, iPSCs from astrocytes and MEFs) or three (astrocytes, intermediate-state cells) biological replicates were prepared for microarray samples. Total RNA was extracted with an RNeasy kit (Qiagen). cDNA synthesis and transcriptional amplification were performed using 50-100 ng of total RNA with the GeneChip WT PLUS Reagent Kit (Affymetrix). Fragmented and biotin-labeled cDNA targets were hybridized to GeneChip Mouse Gene 1.0 ST arrays (Affymetrix) according to the manufacturerâ??s protocol. Hybridized arrays were scanned using an Affymetrix GeneChip Scanner.

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NFIA is a gliogenic switch enabling rapid derivation of functional human astrocytes from pluripotent stem cells

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