Project description:The first lineage decisions during mouse development lead to establishment of embryonic and extraembryonic tissues. The transcription factor Cdx2 plays a central role by repressing pluripotency genes, such as Oct4 and promoting trophoblast fate at the blastocyst stage. Here we show that the transcription factor Gata3 is coexpressed with Cdx2 in the blastocyst and that overexpression of Gata3 in embryonic stem cells is sufficient to induce expression of trophoblast genes. Gata3 expression in the blastocyst does not depend on Cdx2, nor do Gata3 overexpressing cell lines require Cdx2 for expression of a subset of trophoblast genes. In the embryo, expression of Gata3, like Cdx2, depends on Tead4, and expression of both factors becomes restricted to nascent trophoblast by an Oct4-independent mechanism. These observations place Tead4 at the top of a trophoblast hierarchy, with Gata3 and Cdx2 acting downstream to induce expression of common and independent targets in this lineage. This SuperSeries is composed of the following subset Series: GSE12985: Differentiation time course of trophoblast stem cells GSE12986: Expression of Cdx2 or Gata3 in R1 mouse embryonic stem cells
Project description:We did bulk and single cell RNA sequencing of blastocysts, blastoids, trophoblast stem cells (TSC) and embryonic stem cells (ESC). The goal of these experiment is to describe the transformations of the transcriptome occurring within cells (TSC, ESC) upon formation of a blastoid. E3.25 and E3.5 blastocysts are used as controls. To this end, we first did RNA sequencing of intact structures (E3.25 and E3.5 blastocysts, blastoids, and parental cell lines). In a different series of experiments, we micro-dissected blastocyst, blastoid or trophosphere structures into single cells, and sequenced their mRNAs, to infer cell identity and transcriptome variations.
Project description:Trophoblast stem cells represent the stem cell population of the extra-embryonic lineage and arise as a result of the first cell fate decision. From blastocyst stage onwards, a distinct epigenetic lineage barrier strictly separates mouse embryonic and extra-embryonic lineages. Recently, it has been shown that this epigenetic barrier cannot be fully overcome as the expression of TS-determining factors in embryonic stem cells lead to incomplete transdifferentiation. Here, we demonstrate that transient expression of Tfap2c, Gata3, Eomes and Ets2 in fibroblasts suffices to generate cells which are almost identical to trophoblast stem cells based on morphology, expression and methylation pattern. Further, these induced trophoblast stem cells display transgene independent self-renewal, differentiate along the extra-embryonic lineage and chimerize the placenta upon blastocyst injection. Our findings provide insights into the transcription factor networks governing trophoblast stem cell identity and offer a new tool for studying the hierarchy of those factors.
Project description:Human naïve pluripotent cells can differentiate to extraembryonic trophoblast and hypoblast cells. Here we report formation of human blastocyst models by self-organization solely of naïve pluripotent stem cells. The embryo models comprise the three founding lineages, epiblast, trophoblast and hypoblast, arranged to mimic the natural blastocyst. Single-cell RNA sequencing validated the identity of each cell type.
Project description:Bivalent histone domains have been proposed to contribute to pluripotency in embryonic stem cells, suggesting an epigenetic mechanism may regulate stem cell behavior in general. Here we compare histone modifications in two other stem cells derived from the blastocyst. We show that extraembryonic stem cells have little repressive lysine 27 trimethylation and few bivalent domains. Thus, bivalent domains are not a common mechanism for maintaining the undifferentiated state in blastocyst-derived stem cells and alternative mechanisms must mediate transcriptional repression in extraembryonic cells. We show that lysine 9 trimethylation, but not DNA methylation, is likely to fulfill this role. Intriguingly, although we do detect bivalent domains in pluripotent cells in the early mouse embryo, the epigenetic status of extraembryonic cells does not entirely reflect their in vitro stem cell counterparts. Therefore, differences in epigenetic regulation between lineage progenitors in vivo and in vitro may arise during selection for self-renewal in vitro. Expression profiles [GSM388878-GSM388881] of three different stem cells (R1 embryonic stem cells, trophoblast stem cells, extraembryonic endoderm stem cells) were generated for comparison to CHIP-seq data [GSM392044-GSM392055] of the same three stem cell lines to observe correlations with Histone 3 K4 and K27 trimethylation patterns. CHIP-seq details: R1 embryonic stem cells, trophoblast stem cells or extraembryonic endoderm stem cells were grown, lysed and chromatin purified. The chromatin was immunoprecipitated for either histone 3 K4 trimethylation or histone 3 K27 trimethylation and the immunoprecipitate was subjected to purification and high-throughput Illumina-based sequencing.
Project description:The histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) methyltransferase Eset is an epigenetic regulator critical for the development of the inner cell mass (ICM). Although ICM-derived embryonic stem (ES) cells are normally unable to contribute to the trophectoderm (TE) in blastocysts, we find that depletion of Eset by shRNAs leads to differentiation with the formation of trophoblast-like cells and induction of trophoblast-associated gene expression. Using ChIP-seq analyses, we identified Eset target genes with Eset-dependent H3K9 trimethylation. We confirmed that genes that are preferentially expressed in the TE (Tcfap2a and Cdx2) are bound and repressed by Eset. Single cell PCR analysis shows that the expression of Cdx2 and Tcfap2a is also induced in Eset-depleted morula cells. Importantly, Eset-depleted cells can incorporate into the TE of a blastocyst and subsequently placental tissues. Co-immunoprecipitation and ChIP assays further demonstrates that Eset interacts with Oct4, which in turn recruits Eset to silence these trophoblast-associated genes. Our result suggests that Eset restricts the extraembryonic trophoblast lineage potential of pluripotent cells and links an epigenetic regulator to key cell fate decision through a pluripotency factor. Keywords: Epigenetics Examine Eset-binding sites and compare the H3K9me3 state between Eset knockdown mouse ES cells and control knockdown mouse ES cells.
Project description:Chimeric embryos were generated to investigate the effect of T knockout in mouse embryos by single-cell RNA-sequencing. T is an essential transcription factor for axial embryonic patterning. Chimeric embryos contain tissue that is T+/+, which prevents global developmental failures. Embryos were generated by blastocyst injection of tdTomato-labelled, Tal1-/- mouse embryonic stem cells into wild type embryos. After blastocyst harvest, cells were flow-sorted before 10X Genomics library preparation and single-cell RNA-sequencing.
Project description:The first lineage decisions during mouse development lead to establishment of embryonic and extraembryonic tissues. The transcription factor Cdx2 plays a central role by repressing pluripotency genes, such as Oct4 and promoting trophoblast fate at the blastocyst stage. Here we show that the transcription factor Gata3 is coexpressed with Cdx2 in the blastocyst and that overexpression of Gata3 in embryonic stem cells is sufficient to induce expression of trophoblast genes. Gata3 expression in the blastocyst does not depend on Cdx2, nor do Gata3 overexpressing cell lines require Cdx2 for expression of a subset of trophoblast genes. In the embryo, expression of Gata3, like Cdx2, depends on Tead4, and expression of both factors becomes restricted to nascent trophoblast by an Oct4-independent mechanism. These observations place Tead4 at the top of a trophoblast hierarchy, with Gata3 and Cdx2 acting downstream to induce expression of common and independent targets in this lineage. This SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
Project description:Chimeric embryos were generated to investigate the effect of Tal1 knockout in mouse embryos by single-cell RNA-sequencing. Tal1 is an essential transcription factor for the formation of the embryonic blood. Embryo chimerism permits the analysis of the effects of Tal1 knockout without the confounding effects of the absence of embryonic blood, which results in global developmental failures. Embryos were generated by blastocyst injection of tdTomato-labelled, Tal1-/- mouse embryonic stem cells into wild type embryos. After blastocyst harvest, cells were flow-sorted before 10X Genomics library preparation and single-cell RNA-sequencing.