scholarly journals Mapping transcription factor occupancy using minimal numbers of cells in vitro and in vivo

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Tosti ◽  
James Ashmore ◽  
Boon Siang Nicholas Tan ◽  
Benedetta Carbone ◽  
Tapan K Mistri ◽  
...  

AbstractThe identification of transcription factor (TF) binding sites in the genome is critical to understanding gene regulatory networks (GRNs). While ChIP-seq is commonly used to identify TF targets, it requires specific ChIP-grade antibodies and high cell numbers, often limiting its applicability. DNA adenine methyltransferase identification (DamID), developed and widely used in Drosophila, is a distinct technology to investigate protein-DNA interactions. Unlike ChIP-seq, it does not require antibodies, precipitation steps or chemical protein-DNA crosslinking, but to date it has been seldom used in mammalian cells due to technical impediments. Here we describe an optimised DamID method coupled with next generation sequencing (DamID-seq) in mouse cells, and demonstrate the identification of the binding sites of two TFs, OCT4 and SOX2, in as few as 1,000 embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and neural stem cells (NSCs), respectively. Furthermore, we have applied this technique in vivo for the first time in mammals. Oct4 DamID-seq in the gastrulating mouse embryo at 7.5 days post coitum (dpc) successfully identified multiple Oct4 binding sites proximal to genes involved in embryo development, neural tube formation, mesoderm-cardiac tissue development, consistent with the pivotal role of this TF in post-implantation embryo. This technology paves the way to unprecedented investigations of TF-DNA interactions and GRNs in specific cell types with limited availability in mammals including in vivo samples.

2007 ◽  
Vol 404 (2) ◽  
pp. 317-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen-Hsiung Chan

The mycotoxin CTN (citrinin), a natural contaminant in foodstuffs and animal feeds, has cytotoxic and genotoxic effects on various mammalian cells. CTN is known to cause cell injury, including apoptosis, but the precise regulatory mechanisms of CTN action, particularly in stem cells and embryos, are currently unclear. In the present paper, I report that CTN has cytotoxic effects on mouse embryonic stem cells and blastocysts, and is associated with defects in their subsequent development, both in vitro and in vivo. Experiments in embryonic stem cells (ESC-B5) showed that CTN induces apoptosis via ROS (reactive oxygen species) generation, increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, loss of MMP (mitochondrial membrane potential), induction of cytochrome c release, and activation of caspase 3. In this model, CTN triggers cell death via inactivation of the HSP90 [a 90 kDa isoform of the HSP (heat-shock protein) family proteins]/multichaperone complex and subsequent degradation of Ras and Raf-1, further inhibiting anti-apoptotic processes, such as the Ras→ERK (extracellular-signal-regulated kinase) signal transduction pathway. In addition, CTN causes early developmental injury in mouse ESCs and blastocysts in vitro. Lastly, using an in vivo mouse model, I show that consumption of drinking water containing 10 μM CTN results in blastocyst apoptosis and early embryonic developmental injury. Collectively, these findings show for the first time that CTN induces ROS and mitochondria-dependent apoptotic processes, inhibits Ras→ERK survival signalling via inactivation of the HSP90/multichaperone complex, and causes developmental injury in vivo.


2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Zhang ◽  
Fei Wang ◽  
Qisheng Zuo ◽  
Changhua Sun ◽  
Jing Jin ◽  
...  

Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) may apply to gene therapy, regenerative medicine in place of embryonic stem cells (ESCs). However, the application of SSCs was severely limited by the low induction efficiency and the lack of thorough analysis of the regulatory mechanisms of SSCs formation. Current evidences have demonstrated multiple marker genes of germ cells, while genes that specifically regulate the formation of SSCs have not been explored. In our study, cadherin-like and PC-esterase domain containing 1 (Cped1) expressed specifically in SSCs based on RNA-seq data analysis. To study the function of Cped1 in the formation of SSCs, we successfully established a CRISPR/Cas9 knockout system. The gene disruption frequency is 37% in DF1 and 25% in ESCs without off-target effects. Knockout of Cped1 could significantly inhibit the formation of SSCs in vivo and in vitro. The fragment of −1050 to −1 bp had the activity as Cped1 gene promoter. Histone acetylation could regulate the expression of Cped1. We added 5-azaeytidi (DNA methylation inhibitors) and TSA (histone deacetylase inhibitors) respectively during the cultivation of SSCs. TSA was validated to promote the transcription of Cped1. Dual-luciferase reporter assay revealed that active control area of the chicken Cped1 gene is −296 to −1 bp. There are Cebpb, Sp1, and Sox2 transcription factor binding sites in this region. Point-mutation experiment results showed that Sox2 negatively regulates the transcription of Cped1. Above results demonstrated that Cped1 is a key gene that regulates the formation of SSCs. Histone acetylation and transcription factor Sox2 participate in the regulation of Cped1.


Blood ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 117 (14) ◽  
pp. 3748-3758 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenji Kitajima ◽  
Ken-ichi Minehata ◽  
Kenji Sakimura ◽  
Toru Nakano ◽  
Takahiko Hara

Abstract Identification of genes involved in in vitro differentiation induction of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) into hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) has been challenged during last decade. To date, a homeobox transcription factor Hoxb4 has been only demonstrated to possess such an effect in mice. Here, we show that HSC-like cells were efficiently induced from mouse ESCs by enforced expression of Lhx2, a LIM-homeobox transcription factor. Transduction of Lhx2 into ESC-derived mesodermal cells resulted in robust differentiation of c-Kit+/Sca-1+/Lineage− (KSL) cells in vitro. The KSL cell induction frequency was superior to the case of Hoxb4. Furthermore, transplantation of Lhx2-transduced hematopoietic cells into lethally irradiated mice resulted in multilineage repopulation of hematopoietic cells over 4 months. Transduction of Lhx2 into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) was also effective in generating KSL cells in vitro, as well as HSC-like activities in vivo. These results demonstrate that ectopic expression of Lhx2 confers an in vivo engrafting capacity to ESC/iPSC-derived hematopoietic cells and in vivo behavior of iPSC-derived hematopoietic cells is almost identical to that of ESC-derived cells.


Author(s):  
Noémie M. L. P. Bérenger-Currias ◽  
Maria Mircea ◽  
Esmée Adegeest ◽  
Patrick R. van den Berg ◽  
Marleen Feliksik ◽  
...  

Recapitulating mammalian embryonic development in vitro is a major challenge in biology. It has been shown that gastruloids1–5 and ETX embryos6 can display hallmarks of gastrulation in vitro. However, these models fail to progress beyond spatially segregated, yet amorphous cellular assemblies. Systems such as organoids7 do show tissue stratification and organogenesis, but require adult stem cells or exogeneous induction of specific cell fates, and hence do not reflect the emergent organization of embryonic development. Notably, gastruloids are derived exclusively from embryonic stem cells (ESCs), whereas, in vivo, crucial patterning cues are provided by extraembryonic cells8. Here, we show that assemblies of mouse ESCs (mESCs) and extraembryonic endoderm (XEN) cells can develop beyond gastrulation and produce a central hallmark of organogenesis: stratified neural epithelia resembling a neural tube, which can be further differentiated to cerebral cortex-like tissue. By single-cell RNA-seq, we show that our model has a larger cell type diversity than existing models, and that mESCs and XEN cells impact each other’s differentiation. XEN cells promote neural tube formation through local inhibition of primitive streak formation. In turn, the presence of mESCs drives XEN cells to resemble visceral endoderm, which envelops the embryo in vivo. This study provides a model system to investigate neurulation and extraembryonic endoderm development, and may serve as a starting point to generate embryo models that advance further toward the formation of the vasculature, nervous system, and digestive tube.


2014 ◽  
Vol 115 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohsin Khan ◽  
Suresh K Verma ◽  
Alexander R Mackie ◽  
Erin Vaughan ◽  
Srikanth Garikipati ◽  
...  

Rationale: Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) hold great promise for cardiac regeneration but are susceptible to ethical concerns, lack of autologous donors and teratoma formation. Recently, it has been observed that beneficial effects of stem cells are mediated by exosomes secreted out under various physiological conditions. ESCs have the ability to produce exosomes however their effect in the context of the heart is unknown. Objective: Determine the effect of ESC derived exosomes for cardiac repair and modulation of CPCs functions in the heart following myocardial infarction. Methods and Results: Exosomes were isolated from murine ESCs (mES Ex) or embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) by ultracentrifugation and verified by Flotillin-1 immunoblot analysis. Induction of pluripotent markers, survival and in vitro tube formation was enhanced in target cells receiving ESC exosomes indicating therapeutic potential of mES Ex. mES Ex administration resulted in enhanced neovascularization, cardiomyocyte survival and reduced fibrosis post infarction consistent with resurgence of cardiac proliferative response. Importantly, mES Ex mediated considerable enhancement of cardiac progenitor cell (CPC) survival, proliferation and cardiac commitment concurrent with increased c-kit+ CPCs in vivo 4 weeks after mES Ex transfer. miRNA Array analysis of ESC and MEF exosomes revealed significantly high expression of miR290-295 cluster in the ESC exosomes compared to MEF exosomes. The underlying beneficial effect of mES Ex was tied to delivery of ESC miR-294 to the heart and in particular CPCs thereby promoting CPC survival and proliferation as analyzed by FACS based cell death analysis and CyQuant assay respectively. Interestingly, enhanced G1/S transition was observed in CPCs treated with miR-294 in conjunction with significant reduction of G1 phase. Conclusion: In conclusion, mES Ex provide a novel cell free system for cardiac regeneration with the ability to modulate both cardiomyocyte and CPC based repair programs in the heart thereby avoiding the risk of teratoma formation associated with ESCs.


2014 ◽  
Vol 369 (1657) ◽  
pp. 20130542 ◽  
Author(s):  
David-Emlyn Parfitt ◽  
Michael M. Shen

To date, many regulatory genes and signalling events coordinating mammalian development from blastocyst to gastrulation stages have been identified by mutational analyses and reverse-genetic approaches, typically on a gene-by-gene basis. More recent studies have applied bioinformatic approaches to generate regulatory network models of gene interactions on a genome-wide scale. Such models have provided insights into the gene networks regulating pluripotency in embryonic and epiblast stem cells, as well as cell-lineage determination in vivo . Here, we review how regulatory networks constructed for different stem cell types relate to corresponding networks in vivo and provide insights into understanding the molecular regulation of the blastocyst–gastrula transition.


2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 720-730 ◽  
Author(s):  
LIPING OU ◽  
LIAOQIONG FANG ◽  
HEJING TANG ◽  
HAI QIAO ◽  
XIAOMEI ZHANG ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Hao Xu ◽  
Liying Wu ◽  
Guojia Yuan ◽  
Xiaolu Liang ◽  
Xiaoguang Liu ◽  
...  

: Hepatic disease negatively impacts liver function and metabolism. Primary human hepatocytes are the gold standard for the prediction and successful treatment of liver disease. However, the sources of hepatocytes for drug toxicity testing and disease modeling are limited. To overcome this issue, pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) have emerged as an alternative strategy for liver disease therapy. Human PSCs, including embryonic stem cells (ESC) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) can self-renew and give rise to all cells of the body. Human PSCs are attractive cell sources for regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, drug discovery, and developmental studies. Several recent studies have shown that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can also differentiate (or trans-differentiate) into hepatocytes. Differentiation of human PSCs and MSCs into functional hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) opens new strategies to study genetic diseases, hepatotoxicity, infection of hepatotropic viruses, and analyze hepatic biology. Numerous in vitro and in vivo differentiation protocols have been established to obtain human PSCs/MSCs-derived HLCs and mimic their characteristics. It was recently discovered that microRNAs (miRNAs) play a critical role in controlling the ectopic expression of transcription factors and governing the hepatocyte differentiation of human PSCs and MSCs. In this review, we focused on the role of miRNAs in the differentiation of human PSCs and MSCs into hepatocytes.


2020 ◽  
pp. 019262332091824
Author(s):  
Richard Haworth ◽  
Michaela Sharpe

In 2011, Goldring and colleagues published a review article describing the potential safety issues of novel stem cell-derived treatments. Immunogenicity and immunotoxicity of the administered cell product were considered risks in the light of clinical experience of transplantation. The relative immunogenicity of mesenchymal stem cells, embryonic stem cells (ESCs), and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) was being addressed through in vitro and in vivo models. But the question arose as to whether the implanted cells needed to be identical to the recipient in every respect, including epigenetically, to evade immune recognition? If so, this set a high bar which may preclude use of many cells derived from iPSCs which have vestiges of a fetal phenotype and epigenetic memory of their cell of origin. However, for autologous iPSCs, the immunogenicity reduces once the surface antigen expression profile becomes close to that of the parent somatic cells. Therefore, a cell product containing incompletely differentiated cells could be more immunogenic. The properties of the administered cells, the immune privilege of the administration site, and the host immune status influence graft success or failure. In addition, the various approaches available to characterize potential immunogenicity of a cell therapy will be discussed.


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