Project description:The use of pluripotent stem cells in regenerative medicine and disease modeling is complicated by the variation in differentiation properties between lines. In this study, we characterized 13 human embryonic stem cell. (hESC) and 26 human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) lines to identify markers that predict neural differentiation behavior. At a general level, markers previously known to distinguish mouse ESCs from epiblast stem cells (EpiSCs) correlated with neural differentiation behavior. More specifically, quantitative analysis of miR-371-3 expression prospectively identified hESC and hiPSC lines with differential neurogenic differentiation propensity and in vivo dopamine neuron engraftment potential. Transient KLF4 transduction increased miR-371-3 expression and altered neurogenic behavior and pluripotency marker expression. Conversely, suppression of miR- 371-3 expression in KLF4-transduced cells rescued neural differentiation propensity. miR-371-3 expression level therefore appears to have both a predictive and a functional role in determining human pluripotent stem cell neurogenic differentiation behavior.
Project description:The use of pluripotent stem cells in regenerative medicine and disease modeling is complicated by the variation in differentiation properties between lines. In this study, we characterized 13 human embryonic stem cell. (hESC) and 26 human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) lines to identify markers that predict neural differentiation behavior. At a general level, markers previously known to distinguish mouse ESCs from epiblast stem cells (EpiSCs) correlated with neural differentiation behavior. More specifically, quantitative analysis of miR-371-3 expression prospectively identified hESC and hiPSC lines with differential neurogenic differentiation propensity and in vivo dopamine neuron engraftment potential. Transient KLF4 transduction increased miR-371-3 expression and altered neurogenic behavior and pluripotency marker expression. Conversely, suppression of miR- 371-3 expression in KLF4-transduced cells rescued neural differentiation propensity. miR-371-3 expression level therefore appears to have both a predictive and a functional role in determining human pluripotent stem cell neurogenic differentiation behavior. [mRNA profiling (Illumina)]: Four human ESC lines (H9, I4, I6, HUES6) at undifferentiation stages were purified with stem cell surface marker SSEA4 and subjected to RNA extraction and hybridization on Illumina microarrays. Each sample has 3 biological repeats, one of which has two technical repeats. [miRNA profiling (Agilent)]: Four human ESC lines (H9, I4, I6, HUES6) at undifferentiation stages were purified with stem cell surface marker SSEA4 and subjected to RNA extraction and hybridization on Agilent microarrays. Each sample has 3 biological repeats, one of which has two technical repeats.
Project description:Naïve human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC) represent an earlier time-point in embryogenesis than conventional, ‘primed’ hPSCs. We present a comprehensive miRNA profiling of naïve-to-primed transition in hPSC, a process resembling aspects of early in vivo embryogenesis. We identify miR-143-3p and miR-22-3p as markers of the naïve state and miR-363-5p, several members of the miR-17 family, miR-302 family as primed markers. We uncover that miR-371-373 are highly upregulated in naïve hPSC. MiR-371-373 are the human homologs of the mouse miR-290 family, which are the most highly expressed miRNAs in mPSC. This aligns with the consensus that naïve hPSC resemble mPSC, showing that the absence of miR-371-373 in conventional hPSC is due to cell state rather than a species difference.
Project description:Malignant testicular germ cells tumors (TGCTs) are the most common solid cancers in young men. Current TGCT diagnostics include conventional serum protein markers, but these lack the sensitivity and specificity to serve as accurate markers across all TGCT subtypes. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding regulatory RNAs and informative biomarkers for several diseases. In humans, miRNAs of the miR-371-373 cluster are detectable in the serum of patients with malignant TGCTs and outperform existing serum protein markers for both initial diagnosis and subsequent disease monitoring. We previously developed a genetically engineered mouse model featuring malignant mixed TGCTs consisting of pluripotent embryonal carcinoma (EC) and differentiated teratoma that, like the corresponding human malignancies, originate in utero and are highly chemosensitive. Here, we report that miRNAs in the mouse miR-290-295 cluster, homologs of the human miR-371-373 cluster, were detectable in serum from mice with malignant TGCTs but not from tumor-free control mice or mice with benign teratomas. miR-291-293 were expressed and secreted specifically by pluripotent EC cells, and expression was lost following differentiation induced by the drug thioridazine. Notably, miR-291-293 levels were significantly higher in the serum of pregnant dams carrying tumor-bearing fetuses compared to that of control dams. These findings reveal that expression of the miR-290-295 and miR-371-373 clusters in mice and humans, respectively, is a conserved feature of malignant TGCTs, further validating the mouse model as representative of the human disease. These data also highlight the potential of serum miR-371-373 assays to improve patient outcomes through early TGCT detection, possibly even prenatally.
Project description:In this study, we used RNA sequencing to provide a comprehensive overview of the expression profiles of small non-coding transcripts carried by the extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from human adipose tissue stromal/stem cells (AT-MSCs) and human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), both human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC). Small non-coding RNA sequencing from EVs showed that the profile of miRNA expression in PSC follow the profile reported for cell derived miRNA; further, most abundant miRNAs were found to originate from specific miRNA families which are regulating pluripotency, reprograming and differentiation (miR-17–92, mir-200, miR-302/367, miR-371/373, CM19 microRNA cluster). For the AT-MSCs, the highly expressed miRNAs were found to be regulating osteogenesis (mir-let-7/98, miR-10/100, miR-125, miR-196, miR-199, miR-615-3p, mir-22-3p, mir-24-3p, mir-27a-3p, mir-193b-5p, mir-195-3p). Additionally, abundant small nuclear and nucleolar RNA were detected in PSCs, whereas Y- and tRNA were found in AT-MSCs. Identification of EV-miRNA and non-coding RNA signatures released by these stem cells will provide clues towards understanding their role in intracellular communications, and well as their roles in maintaining the stem cell niche.
Project description:RNA-seq samples from 3 species across a differentiation from induced pluripotent stem cells to neural progenitor cells were generated to study gene expression evolution. Briefly, previously generated urinary stem cell derived iPSCs of 3 human (Homo sapiens) individuals (3 clones), 1 gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) individual and fibroblast derived cynomolgus macaque (Macaca fascicularis) iPSCs of 2 individuals (4 clones) (Geuder et al. 2021) were differentiated to neural progenitor cells via dual-SMAD inhibition as three-dimensional aggregation culture (Chambers et al. 2009; Ohnuki et al. 2014). Bulk RNA-seq libraries of iPSCs and NPCs were generated using prime-seq protocol (Janjic et al. 2022).
Project description:MicroRNAs are important cellular regulators and their dysfunctions are associated with various disease. miR-371/372/373 was found co-regulated in HBV-producing HepG2.2.15 cells when compared to its non-HBV producing maternal HepG2 cells. To obtain a glimpse of the potential influence of the enforced miR-371-372-373 cluster in HepG2 gene expression, a two-color Capitalbio 70-mer oligo microarray platform, which contained 21,329 well-characterized human gene probes, was used to identify the differentially expressed genes between miR-371-372-373-HepG2 and mock-HepG2 in two independent biological replicate. miR-371-372-373-HepG2 vs. mock-HepG2