scholarly journals Function of Pumilio Genes in Human Embryonic Stem Cells and Their Effect in Stemness and Cardiomyogenesis

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Leticia Zaboroski Silva ◽  
Anny Waloski Robert ◽  
Guillermo Cabrera Cabo ◽  
Lucia Spangenberg ◽  
Marco Augusto Stimamiglio ◽  
...  

AbstractPosttranscriptional regulation plays a fundamental role in the biology of embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Many studies have demonstrated that multiple mRNAs are coregulated by one or more RNA binding proteins (RBPs) that orchestrate the expression of these molecules. A family of RBPs, known as PUF (Pumilio-FBF), is highly conserved among species and has been associated with the undifferentiated and differentiated states of different cell lines. In humans, two homologs of the PUF family have been found: Pumilio 1 (PUM1) and Pumilio 2 (PUM2). To understand the role of these proteins in human ESCs (hESCs), we first demonstrated the influence of the silencing of PUM1 and PUM2 on pluripotency genes. OCT4 and NANOG mRNA levels decreased significantly with the knockdown of Pumilio, suggesting that PUMILIO proteins play a role in the maintenance of pluripotency in hESCs. Furthermore, we observed that the hESCs silenced for PUM1 and 2 exhibited an improvement in efficiency of in vitro cardiomyogenic differentiation. Using in silico analysis, we identified mRNA targets of PUM1 and PUM2 expressed during cardiomyogenesis. With the reduction of PUM1 and 2, these target mRNAs would be active and could be involved in the progression of cardiomyogenesis.

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Juan Luo ◽  
Hailin Zou ◽  
Liang Deng ◽  
Xiang Sun ◽  
Ping Yuan ◽  
...  

The RNA-binding protein Lin28 regulates neurogliogenesis in mammals, independently of the let-7 microRNA. However, the detailed regulatory mechanism remains obscured. Here, we established Lin28a or Lin28b overexpression mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and found that these cells expressed similar levels of the core pluripotent factors, such as Oct4 and Sox2, and increased Yap1 but decreased lineage-specific markers compared to the control ESCs. Further differentiation of these ESCs to neuronal and glial lineage cells revealed that Lin28a/b overexpression did not affect the expression of neuronal marker βIII-tubulin, but dramatically inhibited the glial lineage markers, such as Gfap and Mbp. Interestingly, overexpression of Yap1 in mouse ESCs phenocopied Lin28a/b overexpression ESCs by showing defect in glial cell differentiation. Inhibition of Yap1/Tead-mediated transcription with verteporfin partially rescued the differentiation defect of Lin28a/b overexpression ESCs. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that Lin28 can directly bind to Yap1 mRNA, and the induction of Yap1 by Lin28a in mESCs is independent of Let7. Taken together, our results unravel a novel Lin28-Yap1 regulatory axis during mESC to glial lineage cell differentiation, which may shed light on glial cell generation in vitro.


Author(s):  
Rolando Lara-Rodarte ◽  
Daniel Cortés ◽  
Karla Soriano ◽  
Francia Carmona ◽  
Luisa Rocha ◽  
...  

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by the progressive loss of midbrain dopaminergic neurons (DaNs) of the substantia nigra pars compacta and the decrease of dopamine in the brain. Grafting DaN differentiated from embryonic stem cells (ESCs) has been proposed as an alternative therapy for current pharmacological treatments. Intrastriatal grafting of such DaNs differentiated from mouse or human ESCs improves motor performance, restores DA release, and suppresses dopamine receptor super-sensitivity. However, a low percentage of grafted neurons survive in the brain. Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is a strong survival factor for DaNs. GDNF has proved to be neurotrophic for DaNs in vitro and in vivo, and induces axonal sprouting and maturation. Here, we engineered mouse ESCs to constitutively produce human GDNF, to analyze DaN differentiation and the possible neuroprotection by transgenic GDNF after toxic challenges in vitro, or after grafting differentiated DaNs into the striatum of Parkinsonian rats. GDNF overexpression throughout in vitro differentiation of mouse ESCs increases the proportion of midbrain DaNs. These transgenic cells were less sensitive than control cells to 6-hydroxydopamine in vitro. After grafting control or GDNF transgenic DaNs in hemi-Parkinsonian rats, we observed significant recoveries in both pharmacological and non-pharmacological behavioral tests, as well as increased striatal DA release, indicating that DaNs are functional in the brain. The graft volume, the number of surviving neurons, the number of DaNs present in the striatum, and the proportion of DaNs in the grafts were significantly higher in rats transplanted with GDNF-expressing cells, when compared to control cells. Interestingly, no morphological alterations in the brain of rats were found after grafting of GDNF-expressing cells. This approach is novel, because previous works have use co-grafting of DaNs with other cell types that express GDNF, or viral transduction in the host tissue before or after grafting of DaNs. In conclusion, GDNF production by mouse ESCs contributes to enhanced midbrain differentiation and permits a higher number of surviving DaNs after a 6-hydroxydopamine challenge in vitro, as well as post-grafting in the lesioned striatum. These GDNF-expressing ESCs can be useful to improve neuronal survival after transplantation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 381 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samudyata ◽  
Paulo P. Amaral ◽  
Pär G. Engström ◽  
Samuel C. Robson ◽  
Michael L. Nielsen ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (8) ◽  
pp. 847-860 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuanliang Guo ◽  
Yan Xue ◽  
Guanheng Yang ◽  
Shang Yin ◽  
Wansheng Shi ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kersti Jääger ◽  
Daniel Simpson ◽  
Maria Kalantzaki ◽  
Angela Salzano ◽  
Ian Chambers ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTEmbryonic stem cells (ESCs) express heterogeneous levels of pluripotency and developmental transcription factors (TFs) and their cell cycle is unsynchronised when grown in the presence of serum. Here, we asked whether the cell cycle and developmental heterogeneities of ESCs are coordinated by determining the state identities of G1- and G2M-enriched mouse ESCs (mESCs) at single cell resolution. We found that G2M cells were not all the same and demonstrate their split into the naïve and formative (intermediate) pluripotency states marked by high or low Esrrb expression, respectively. The naïve G2M sub-state resembles ‘ground’ state pluripotency of the LIF/2i cultured mESCs. The naïve and formative G2M sub-states exist in the pre- and post-implantation stages of the mouse embryo, respectively, verifying developmental distinction. Moreover, the G2M sub-states partially match between the mouse and human ESCs, suggesting higher similarity of transcriptional control between these species in G2M. Our findings propose a model whereby G2M separates mESCs into naïve and formative pluripotency states. This concept of G2M-diverted pluripotency states provides new framework for understanding the mechanisms of pluripotency maintenance and lineage specification in vitro and in vivo, and the development of more efficient and clinically relevant reprogramming strategies.


Author(s):  
Eun-Young Shin ◽  
Seah Park ◽  
Won Yun Choi ◽  
Dong Ryul Lee

Abstract Background: Leydig cells (LCs) are testicular somatic cells that are the major producers of testosterone in males. Testosterone is essential for male physiology and reproduction. Reduced testosterone levels lead to hypogonadism and are associated with diverse pathologies, such as neuronal dysfunction, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic syndrome. LC transplantation is a promising therapy for hypogonadism; however, the number of LCs in the testis is very rare and they do not proliferate in vitro. Therefore, there is a need for an alternative source of LCs. Methods: To develop a safer, simple, and rapid strategy to generate human LC-like cells (LLCs) from stem cells, we first performed preliminary tests under different conditions for the induction of LLCs from human CD34/CD73 double positive-testis-derived stem cells (HTSCs). Based on the embryological sequence of events, we suggested a 3-step strategy for the differentiation of human ESCs into LLCs. We generated the mesendoderm in the first stage and intermediate mesoderm (IM) in the second stage and optimized the conditions for differentiation of IM into LLCs by comparing the secreted testosterone levels of each group. Results: HTSCs and human embryonic stem cells can be directly differentiated into LLCs by defined molecular compounds within a short period. Human ESC-derived LLCs can secrete testosterone and express steroidogenic markers. Conclusion: We developed a rapid and efficient protocol for the production of LLCs from stem cells using defined molecular compounds. These findings provide a new therapeutic cell source for male hypogonadism.


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