Project description:A Tetracycline (Tet)-inducible TBXT shRNA human embryonic stem cell (hESC) line was treated with WNT and FGF agonists in the presence and absence of Tet for three days to generate NMP-like axial progenitors
Project description:Sox2 is a key determinant of neural cell identity, expressed in neural progenitors from anterior to posterior levels. We asked if the occupancy of this factor changes in neural progenitors with different axial identities. To this end, we performed the directed differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells to generate neural progenitors in vitro with either hindbrain or spinal cord identity. We then performed Sox2 ChIP-seq (antibody SC-17320X), to assess the difference in Sox2 occupancy at these two different axial levels. This revealed that the genome-wide occupancy of Sox2 in neural progenitors changes depending on axial identity.
Project description:The in vitro generation of neural crest (NC) cells from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) is a valuable approach to study human NC biology and isolate NC derivatives for disease modelling/regenerative medicine applications. However, conventional differentiation protocols induce only a modest yield of NC cells corresponding to the trunk level. Here we show that trunk NC cells and, their downstream derivatives, sympathoadrenal progenitors, can be produced at a high efficiency from hPSC-derived axial progenitors, the in vitro counterparts of the posteriorly-located drivers of embryonic axis elongation. Moreover, using transcriptome analysis, we define the molecular signatures associated with the emergence of human NC cells of distinct axial identities. Collectively, our findings indicate that a post-cranial NC state is achieved through two different routes: the birth of cardiac and vagal NC is facilitated by retinoic acid-induced posteriorisation of an anterior precursor whereas a trunk fate relies on a posterior axial progenitor intermediate.
Project description:Despite the progress in safety and efficacy of cell therapy with pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), the presence of residual undifferentiated stem cells or proliferating neural progenitor cells (NPCs) with rostral identity has remained a major challenge. Here we reported the generation of an LMX1A knock-in GFP reporter human embryonic stem cell (hESC) line that marks the early dopaminergic progenitors during neural differentiation. Purified GFP positive cells in vitro exhibited expression of mRNA and proteins that characterized and matched the midbrain dopaminergic identity. Further proteomic analysis of enriched LMX1A+ cells identified several membrane associated proteins including CNTN2, enabling prospective isolation of LMX1A+ progenitor cells. Transplantation of hPSC-derived purified CNTN2+ progenitors enhanced dopamine release from transplanted cells in the host brain and alleviated Parkinson’s disease symptoms in animal models. Our study establishes an efficient approach for purification of large numbers of hPSC-derived dopaminergic progenitors for therapeutic applications.
Project description:This study presents transcription profiles for mouse axial progenitors, presomitic mesoderm and tailbud mesoderm. During vertebrate embryonic development, the formation of axial structures is driven by a population of stem-like cells (axial progenitors) that reside in a region of the tailbud called the chordoneural hinge (CNH) where. We have compared the CNH transcriptome with those of surrounding tissues and shown that the CNH and tailbud mesoderm are transcriptionally similar, and distinct from the presomitic mesoderm. Amongst CNH-enriched genes are several that are required for axial elongation, including Wnt3a, Cdx2, Brachyury/T and Fgf8, and androgen/estrogen receptor nuclear signalling components such as Greb1.
Project description:Here we describe a protocol for converting pluripotent stem cells to stable bi/multipotent stem cell populations with axial progenitor characteristics. To analyse the global transcriptome of the derived lines, we performed RNA-sequencing of 3 different axial stem cell lines
Project description:Rostro-caudal patterning of vertebrates depends on the temporally progressive activation of HOX genes within axial stem cells that fuel axial embryo elongation. Whether HOX genes sequential activation, the “HOX clock”, is paced by intrinsic chromatin-based timing mechanisms or by temporal changes in extrinsic cues remains unclear. Here, we studied HOX clock pacing in human pluripotent stem cells differentiating into spinal cord motor neuron subtypes which are progenies of axial progenitors. We show that the progressive activation of caudal HOX genes is controlled by a dynamic increase in FGF signaling. Blocking FGF pathway stalled induction of HOX genes, while precocious increase in FGF alone, or with GDF11 ligand, accelerated the HOX clock. Cells differentiated under accelerated HOX induction generated appropriate posterior motor neuron subtypes found along the human embryonic spinal cord. The HOX clock is thus dynamically paced by exposure parameters to secreted cues. Its manipulation by extrinsic factors alleviates temporal requirements to provide unprecedented synchronized access to human cells of multiple, defined, rostro-caudal identities for basic and translational applications.