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VSX2-eGFP reporter in hiPSCs dynamically monitors human retinal development in retinal organoids and reveals cell fate transition and gene networks

ABSTRACT: The lack of understanding of the molecular and cellular characteristics of human retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) has hindered their application in cell therapy for retinal degenerative diseases. This study aims to employ retinal organoids (ROs) derived from a VSX2-eGFP fluorescence reporter human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) line for positive selection of human RPCs, investigate their features, and facilitate their applications. hiPSCs were differentiated into three-dimensional ROs following established protocols. The fidelity of the VSX2-eGFP reporter was confirmed through immunostaining. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting was employed to select VSX2-eGFP-positive (+) cells at distinct developmental stages, followed by bulk RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis to assess their transcriptome profile. Immunostaining and flow cytometry were utilized to validate the identity of VSX2-eGFP+ cells and potential cluster of differentiation (CD) biomarkers for identifying human RPCs. hiPSCs were successfully differentiated into ROs containing abundant RPCs. The spatiotemporal activity of the VSX2-eGFP reporter recapitulates the dynamic expression of endogenous VSX2 protein. Compared to VSX2-eGFP- cells, VSX2-eGFP+ cells mainly exhibited characteristics of RPCs at early stages of retinal development and of bipolar cells at late stages. RNA-seq analysis revealed transcriptional heterogeneity within VSX2-eGFP+ cells across four distinct developmental stages. Moreover, the dynamic expression of 394 known CD biomarkers at distinct developmental stages was analyzed herein for the first time. One CD biomarker, TNFRSF1B, which has never been reported to be expressed in RPCs, was found to be highly expressed in RPCs at the early stages and might serve as a candidate CD biomarker for sorting RPCs. This study provides valuable insights into the molecular and cellular characteristics of human RPCs, especially their expression profiles of CD biomarkers, laying a foundation for research on retinal development and the clinical translation of hiPSC-derived RPCs.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE185475 | GEO | 2025/09/15

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Background: The vertebrate retina consists of six major classes of neuronal cells. During development, these cells are generated from a pool of multipotent retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) that express the gene Vsx2. Fate-restricted RPCs have recently been identified, with limited mitotic potential and cell fate possibilities compared to multipotent RPCs. One population of fate-restricted RPCs, marked by activity of the regulatory element ThrbCRM1, gives rise to both cone photoreceptors and horizontal cells. These cells do not express Vsx2, but co-express the transcription factors (TFs) Onecut1 and Otx2, which bind to ThrbCRM1. The components of the gene regulatory networks that control the transition from multipotent to fate-restricted gene expression are not known. This work aims to identify and evaluate cis-regulatory elements proximal to Onecut1 to identify the gene regulatory networks involved in RPC fate-restriction. Method: We identified regulatory elements through ATAC-seq and conservation, followed by reporter assays to screen for activity based on temporal and spatial criteria. The regulatory elements of interest were subject to deletion and mutation analysis to identify functional sequences and evaluated by quantitative flow cytometry assays. Finally, we combined the enhancer::reporter assays with candidate TF overexpression to evaluate the relationship between the TFs, the enhancers, and early vertebrate retinal development. Statistical tests included ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis, or unpaired t-tests.Results: Two regulatory elements, ECR9 and ECR65, were identified to be active in ThrbCRM1(+) restricted RPCs. Candidate bHLH binding sites were identified as critical sequences in both elements. Overexpression of candidate bHLH TFs revealed specific enhancer-bHLH interactions. Nhlh1 overexpression expanded ECR65 activity into the Vsx2(+) RPC population, and overexpression of NeuroD1/NeuroG2/NeuroD4 had a similar effect on ECR9. Furthermore, bHLHs that were able to activate ectopic ECR9 reporter were able to induce endogenous Otx2 expression. Conclusions: This work reports a large-scale screen to identify spatiotemporally specific regulatory elements near the Onecut1 locus. These elements were used to identify distinct populations in the developing retina. In addition, fate-restricted regulatory elements responded differentially to bHLH factors, and suggest a role for retinal bHLHs upstream of the Otx2 and Onecut1 genes during the formation of restricted RPCs from multipotent RPCs.

Project description:The coupling between cell-cycle exit and onset of differentiation is a common feature throughout the developing nervous system, but the mechanisms that link these processes are mostly unknown. Although the transcription factor Pax6 was implicated in both proliferation and differentiation of multiple regions within the CNS, its contribution to the transition between these successive states remains elusive. To gain insight into the role of Pax6 during the transition from proliferating progenitors to differentiating precursors, we investigated cell-cycle and transcriptomic changes occurring in Pax6- retinal progenitor cells (RPCs). Our analyses revealed a unique cell-cycle phenotype of the Pax6-deficient RPCs, which included a reduced number of cells in the S phase, an increased number of cells exiting the cell cycle, and delayed differentiation kinetics of Pax6- precursors. These alterations were accompanied by co-expression of factors that promote (Ccnd1, Ccnd2, Ccnd3) and inhibit (P27kip1 and P27kip2) the cell cycle. Further characterization of the changes in transcription profile of the Pax6-deficient RPCs revealed abrogated expression of multiple factors which are known to be involved in regulating proliferation of RPCs, including the transcription factors Vsx2, Nr2e1, Plagl1 and Hedgehog signaling. These findings provide novel insight into the molecular mechanism mediating the pleiotropic activity of Pax6 in RPCs. The results further suggest that rather than conveying a linear effect on RPCs, such as promoting their proliferation and inhibiting their differentiation, Pax6 regulates multiple transcriptional networks which function simultaneously, thereby conferring the capacity to proliferate, assume multiple cell fates and execute the differentiation program into retinal lineages. The data contains 3 control and 3 Pax6 negative samples representing biological repeats. Each sample was prepared from ~1.8 million cells taken from the distal retina of either E12 alpha-Cre or Pax6 floxed alpha-Cre animals. Distally located retinal progenitors expressing Cre and eGFP were separated using FACS.

Project description:Photoreceptor disorders are collectively known as retinal degeneration (RD), and include retinitis pigmentosa (RP), cone-rod dystrophy and age related macular degeneration (AMD). These disorders are largely genetic in origin; individual mutations in any one of >200 genes cause RD, making mutation specific therapies prohibitively expensive. A better treatment plan, particularly for late stage disease, may involve stem cell transplants into the photoreceptor or ganglion cell layers of the retina. Stem cells from young mouse retinas can be transplanted, and can form photoreceptors in adult retinas. These cells can be grown in tissue culture, but can no longer form photoreceptors. We have used microarrays to investigate differences in gene expression between cultured retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) that have lost photoreceptor potential, postnatal day 1 (pn1) retinas and the postnatal day 5 (pn5) retinas that contain transplantable photoreceptors. We have also compared FACS sorted Rho-eGFP expressing rod photoreceptors from pn5 retinas with Rho-eGFP negative cells from the same retinas. We have identified over 300 genes upregulated in rod photoreceptor development in multiple comparisons, 37 of which have been previously identified as causative of retinal disease when mutated. It is anticipated that this research should bring us closer to growing photoreceptors in culture and therefore better treatments for RD. This dataset is also a resource for those seeking to identify novel retinopathy genes in RD patients. We extracted whole retinas from postnatal day 1 (Pn1) and postnatal day 5 (Pn5) mice, and compared them with cultured RPCs derived from pn5 retinas, using Affymetrix mouse 430A_2 arrays. We also extracted cells from Rho-eGFP Pn5 retinas and FACS sorted them. GFP+ve cells represent immature rod photoreceptors, as they express the Rho-eGFP fusion protein, which is only expressed in rods. GFP-ve cells represent all other retinal neurons. These samples were amplified and compared using Affymetrix mouse 430A_2arrays, by Source Biosciences GMBH, Berlin, Germany. Results from immature rods were then compared with those from other retinal neurons, while results from whole Pn5 retinas were compared with Pn1 retinas (which don't yet express rod specific genes), and RPCs, which are glial precursors. RPCs were also compared with Pn1 retinas. Genes which showed changed expression profiles in at least 3/4 of comparisons were prioritised for further investigation.

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VSX2-eGFP reporter in hiPSCs dynamically monitors human retinal development in retinal organoids and reveals cell fate transition and gene networks

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