scholarly journals A Gene Expression–Based Screening System for Compounds Influencing Differentiation of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells

2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuya Kunisada ◽  
Masanobu Shoji ◽  
Masaki Hosoya

Low molecular weight compounds have been shown to be useful for controlling stem cells, and various high-throughput screening systems have been developed for identifying compounds that regulate the differentiation of stem cells. However, the effects of such compounds on stem cell differentiation are usually evaluated by assessing a single parameter, which is insufficient for proper monitoring of the cellular status. In this study, to classify a number of compounds, the authors established a gene expression–based screening system using mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells that monitored multiple parameters. ES cells were differentiated into three germ layers by embryoid body formation and then treated with the test compounds. Next, cellular changes were assessed by analyzing the expression of multiple genes with the multiplex quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. By screening a library of pharmacologically active compounds with this system, the authors were able to classify 52 compounds that influenced the gene expression profile of ES cells. They also found that some compounds identified by screening could enhance osteogenic or adipogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells. These results indicate that the screening system is effective for identifying compounds involved in regulating the differentiation of both ES cells and adult stem cells.

Circulation ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 118 (suppl_18) ◽  
Author(s):  
Masamichi Koyanagi ◽  
Chang-Hwan Yoon ◽  
Masayoshi Iwasaki ◽  
Jes-Niels Boeckel ◽  
Janina Trauth ◽  
...  

Induced pluripotent cells (iPS) were generated by overexpression of four factors (Oct3/4, Klf4, c-myc and Sox2) in fibroblasts and showed similar characteristic as embryonic stem (ES) cells. In contrast to iPS and ES cells, adult stem cells have a reduced plasticity. Therefore, we investigated whether reconstitution of the four pluripotency genes in adult progenitor cells improves their therapeutic capacity. Circulating mesoangioblasts (cMAB) have been recently identified in peripheral blood and showed distinct marker expression to bone marrow-derived stem cells and endothelial progenitor cells. cMAB are clonally expandable and exhibit high telomerase activity. cMAB expressed the pluripotency genes Oct3/4, KLF4, and c-Myc, whereas Sox2 and another important stemness gene, Nanog was not expressed. Since only Sox2 was absent out of the four pluripotency genes, we hypothesized that Sox2 transduction may be sufficient to induce pluripotency. Sox2 was overexpressed by lentiviral vector. Interestingly, Sox2-tranduced cMAB not only express Sox2 but also re-express the stem cell gene Nanog. Controls confirmed that the constitutively expressed genes, Oct3/4, KLF4, and c-myc, remained present after Sox2 transduction. Sox2-transduced cMAB formed embryoid body-like structures in culture. In order to test whether Sox2-transduced cells may exhibit improved therapeutic potential, we injected Sox2-transduced cMABs into nude mice after acute myocardial infarction. Four weeks after cell therapy with Sox-overexpressing cells, cardiac function was improved compared to mice treated with control cells (LVEDV/weight; 1.34 ± 0.14 vs 1.88 ± 0.02 μl/g, LVEDP; 13.2 ± 1.0 vs 18.7 ± 2.6 mmHg, dp/dt max; 7989 ± 1030 vs 6331 ± 149 mmHg/s, dp/dt min; 6583 ± 683 vs 4792 ± 514 mmHg/s, and Tau; 9.2 ± 0.8 vs 11.6 ± 1.8 ms, respectively). In summary, the complementation of Sox2 in Oct3/4-, Klf4-, and c-myc-expressing cMABs induced Nanog expression and improved the cardiac regeneration capacity of these circulating adult stem cells.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chad M. Teven ◽  
Xing Liu ◽  
Ning Hu ◽  
Ni Tang ◽  
Stephanie H. Kim ◽  
...  

Stem cells are characterized by their capability to self-renew and terminally differentiate into multiple cell types. Somatic or adult stem cells have a finite self-renewal capacity and are lineage-restricted. The use of adult stem cells for therapeutic purposes has been a topic of recent interest given the ethical considerations associated with embryonic stem (ES) cells. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are adult stem cells that can differentiate into osteogenic, adipogenic, chondrogenic, or myogenic lineages. Owing to their ease of isolation and unique characteristics, MSCs have been widely regarded as potential candidates for tissue engineering and repair. While various signaling molecules important to MSC differentiation have been identified, our complete understanding of this process is lacking. Recent investigations focused on the role of epigenetic regulation in lineage-specific differentiation of MSCs have shown that unique patterns of DNA methylation and histone modifications play an important role in the induction of MSC differentiation toward specific lineages. Nevertheless, MSC epigenetic profiles reflect a more restricted differentiation potential as compared to ES cells. Here we review the effect of epigenetic modifications on MSC multipotency and differentiation, with a focus on osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation. We also highlight clinical applications of MSC epigenetics and nuclear reprogramming.


Endocrinology ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 149 (9) ◽  
pp. 4303-4306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gail P. Risbridger ◽  
Renea A. Taylor

The isolation and characterization of prostatic stem cells has received significant attention in the last few years based on the belief that aberrant regulation of adult stem cells leads to prostate disease including cancer. The nature of the perturbations in stem cell regulation remains largely unknown. Although adult stem cells are can be governed by autonomous regulatory mechanisms, the stromal niche environment also provides essential cues to direct directing differentiation decisions and can lead to aberrant proliferation and/or differentiation. Elegant tissue recombination experiments, pioneered by Gerald Cunha and colleagues, provided evidence that quiescent epithelial tissues containing adult stem cells were capable of altered differentiation in response to inductive and instructive mesenchyme. In more recent times, it has been demonstrated that embryonic mesenchyme is sufficiently powerful to direct the differentiation of embryonic stem cells into mature prostate or bladder. In addition, prostatic tumor stroma provides another unique niche or microenvironment for stem cell differentiation that is distinct to normal stroma. This review highlights the importance of the appropriate selection of the stromal cell niche for tissue regeneration and implies plasticity of adult stem cells that is dictated by the tissue microenvironment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (23) ◽  
pp. 9052
Author(s):  
Indrek Teino ◽  
Antti Matvere ◽  
Martin Pook ◽  
Inge Varik ◽  
Laura Pajusaar ◽  
...  

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor, which mediates the effects of a variety of environmental stimuli in multiple tissues. Recent advances in AHR biology have underlined its importance in cells with high developmental potency, including pluripotent stem cells. Nonetheless, there is little data on AHR expression and its role during the initial stages of stem cell differentiation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the temporal pattern of AHR expression during directed differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESC) into neural progenitor, early mesoderm and definitive endoderm cells. Additionally, we investigated the effect of the AHR agonist 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) on the gene expression profile in hESCs and differentiated cells by RNA-seq, accompanied by identification of AHR binding sites by ChIP-seq and epigenetic landscape analysis by ATAC-seq. We showed that AHR is differentially regulated in distinct lineages. We provided evidence that TCDD alters gene expression patterns in hESCs and during early differentiation. Additionally, we identified novel potential AHR target genes, which expand our understanding on the role of this protein in different cell types.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Conrad ◽  
Hossein Azizi ◽  
Maryam Hatami ◽  
Mikael Kubista ◽  
Michael Bonin ◽  
...  

The aim of this study was to elucidate the molecular status of single human adult germ stem cells (haGSCs) and haGSC colonies, which spontaneously developed from the CD49f MACS and matrix- (collagen−/laminin+ binding-) selected fraction of enriched spermatogonia. Single-cell transcriptional profiling by Fluidigm BioMark system of a long-term cultured haGSCs cluster in comparison to human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human fibroblasts (hFibs) revealed that haGSCs showed a characteristic germ- and pluripotency-associated gene expression profile with some similarities to hESCs and with a significant distinction from somatic hFibs. Genome-wide comparisons with microarray analysis confirmed that different haGSC colonies exhibited gene expression heterogeneity with more or less pluripotency. The results of this study confirm that haGSCs are adult stem cells with a specific molecular gene expression profilein vitro, related but not identical to true pluripotent stem cells. Under ES-cell conditions haGSC colonies could be selected and maintained in a partial pluripotent state at the molecular level, which may be related to their cell plasticity and potential to differentiate into cells of all germ layers.


Blood ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 112 (11) ◽  
pp. 889-889
Author(s):  
ZacK Z. Wang ◽  
Hao Bai ◽  
Melanie Arzigian ◽  
Yong-Xing Gao ◽  
Wen-Shu Wu

Abstract Pluripotent stem cells derived from patients, including embryonic stem (ES) cells and “induced pluripotent stem” (iPS) cells, are a promising area of regenerative medical research. A major roadblock toward human clinical therapies using ES cells or iPS cells is to define the factors that direct ES cell differentiation into lineage specific cells. We previously established a simple and efficient human embryonic stem cell (hESC) differentiation system to generate CD34+/CD31+ progenitor cells that gave rise to hematopoietic and endothelial cells (Nat Biotech.25:317, 2007). To advance potential clinical application and to define the effects of growth factors on hematopoietic and vascular differentiation, we assessed hESC differentiation on human feeder cells in serum-free condition without intermediate embryoid body (EB) formation. We investigated the roles of BMPs, TGFbeta, VEGF, and FGF2 in directing hESC differentiation. Growth factors were added into culture at different time points to test their stage specific roles. Our study demonstrated that BMP proteins, including BMP2, BMP4, and BMP7, but not BMP9, had synergic effects to VEGF and FGF-2 on hESC differentiation to CD34+/CD31+ progenitor cells. BMP4 was essential to initial CD34+/CD31+ cell development, whereas VEGF and FGF2 promoted the differentiation in later stage, suggesting the sequential roles of BMP4, VEGF and FGF2 in directing hESC differentiation to CD34+/CD31+ progenitor cells. TGFbeta or activin promoted hESC differentiation into CD34+/CD31− cells that were unable to give rise to hematopoietic, endothelial, and smooth muscle cells. Furthermore, TGFbeta or activin activated Smad2/3 signaling, and suppressed BMP4-induced CD34+/CD31+ cells. Microarray analysis revealed that BMP4-induced CD34+ cells expressed hematopoietic, endothelial and smooth muscle genes, including GATA2, gamma globins, VE-Cad, KDR, CD31, Tie2, and aortic smooth muscle actin, whereas TGFbeta-induced CD34+ cells expressed pluripotent markers and endoderm markers, including Oct3/4, Sox2, and Nanog, HHEX, GATA6, and FoxA2. Both canonical BMP signaling (Smad1/5/8-dependent) and non-canonical BMP signaling (p38 MAPK and p42 ERK pathway) were activated by BMP4 in hESCs. Dorsomorphin specifically inhibited BMP4-mediated phosphorylation of Smad1/5/8, and blocked hESC differentiation into CD34+/CD31+ cells. In summary, BMPs and TGFbeta regulate distinct populations of CD34+ cells in hESCs. BMP-Smad1/5/8 pathway is critical for hematopoietic and vascular progenitor development.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume Pourcher ◽  
Christelle Mazurier ◽  
Yé Yong King ◽  
Marie-Catherine Giarratana ◽  
Ladan Kobari ◽  
...  

We previously described the large-scale production of RBCs from hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) of diverse sources. Our present efforts are focused to produce RBCs thanks to an unlimited source of stem cells. Human embryonic stem (ES) cells or induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS) are the natural candidates. Even if the proof of RBCs production from these sources has been done, their amplification ability is to date not sufficient for a transfusion application. In this work, our protocol of RBC production was applied to HSC isolated from fetal liver (FL) as an intermediate source between embryonic and adult stem cells. We studied the erythroid potential of FL-derived CD34+cells. In thisin vitromodel, maturation that is enucleation reaches a lower level compared to adult sources as observed for embryonic or iP, but, interestingly, they (i) displayed a dramaticin vitroexpansion (100-fold more when compared to CB CD34+) and (ii) 100% cloning efficiency in hematopoietic progenitor assays after 3 days of erythroid induction, as compared to 10–15% cloning efficiency for adult CD34+cells. This work supports the idea that FL remains a model of study and is not a candidate forex vivoRBCS production for blood transfusion as a direct source of stem cells but could be helpful to understand and enhance proliferation abilities for primitive cells such as ES cells or iPS.


2002 ◽  
Vol 357 (1420) ◽  
pp. 405-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter W. Andrews

The recent derivation of human embryonic stem (ES) cell lines, together with results suggesting an unexpected degree of plasticity in later, seemingly more restricted, stem cells (so–called adult stem cells), have combined to focus attention on new opportunities for regenerative medicine, as well as for understanding basic aspects of embryonic development and diseases such as cancer. Many of the ideas that are now discussed have a long history and much has been underpinned by the earlier studies of teratocarcinomas, and their embryonal carcinoma (EC) stem cells, which present a malignant surrogate for the normal stem cells of the early embryo. Nevertheless, although the potential of EC and ES cells to differentiate into a wide range of tissues is now well attested, little is understood of the key regulatory mechanisms that control their differentiation. Apart from the intrinsic biological interest in elucidating these mechanisms, a clear understanding of the molecular process involved will be essential if the clinical potential of these cells is to be realized. The recent observations of stem–cell plasticity suggest that perhaps our current concepts about the operation of cell regulatory pathways are inadequate, and that new approaches for analysing complex regulatory networks will be essential.


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