In vitro differentiation of retinal cells from human pluripotent stem cells by small-molecule induction

AbstractDuring embryogenesis the hematopoietic system develops through distinct waves that generate progenitors with increasing lineage potential, ultimately producing haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). In vitro differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) follows the early steps of haematopoietic development but the production of HSCs has proven more challenging. To study the dynamics and heterogeneity of hematopoietic progenitor cells generated in vitro from hPSCs, we performed RNA sequencing of over 10000 CD235a-CD43+single cells. We identified the transcriptome of naïve progenitors and those primed toward erythroid, megakaryocyte and leukocyte lineages, and revealed their markers by clustering, trajectory analyses and functional assays. CD44 marks naïve clonogenic progenitors that express the transcription factor, LMO4 and can be expanded upon BMP4 stimulation. Naïve progenitors give rise to primed CD326+erythroid, ICAM2+CD9+megakaryocyte, and monocyte, neutrophil and eosinophil progenitors. We have generated an online dataset of human hematopoietic progenitors and their transcriptional remodelling upon lineage priming.

Download Full-text

Small molecule–driven direct conversion of human pluripotent stem cells into functional osteoblasts

Science Advances ◽

10.1126/sciadv.1600691 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2 (8) ◽

pp. e1600691 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

Heemin Kang ◽

Yu-Ru V. Shih ◽

Manando Nakasaki ◽

Harsha Kabra ◽

Shyni Varghese

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Small Molecule ◽

Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽

Bone Matrix ◽

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell ◽

Direct Conversion ◽

Human Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽

Tissue Specific

The abilities of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) to proliferate without phenotypic alteration and to differentiate into tissue-specific progeny make them a promising cell source for regenerative medicine and development of physiologically relevant in vitro platforms. Despite this potential, efficient conversion of hPSCs into tissue-specific cells still remains a challenge. Herein, we report direct conversion of hPSCs into functional osteoblasts through the use of adenosine, a naturally occurring nucleoside in the human body. The hPSCs treated with adenosine not only expressed the molecular signatures of osteoblasts but also produced calcified bone matrix. Our findings show that the adenosine-mediated osteogenesis of hPSCs involved the adenosine A2bR. When implanted in vivo, using macroporous synthetic matrices, the human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)–derived donor cells participated in the repair of critical-sized bone defects through the formation of neobone tissue without teratoma formation. The newly formed bone tissues exhibited various attributes of the native tissue, including vascularization and bone resorption. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of adenosine-induced differentiation of hPSCs into functional osteoblasts and their subsequent use to regenerate bone tissues in vivo. This approach that uses a physiologically relevant single small molecule to generate hPSC-derived progenitor cells is highly appealing because of its simplicity, cost-effectiveness, scalability, and impact in cell manufacturing, all of which are decisive factors for successful translational applications of hPSCs.

Download Full-text

Valproic acid promotes the in vitro differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into spermatogonial stem cell-like cells

Stem Cell Research & Therapy ◽

10.1186/s13287-021-02621-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Xiaotong Wang ◽

Mengyuan Qu ◽

Zili Li ◽

Yuting Long ◽

Kai Hong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Wnt Signaling ◽

Signaling Pathway ◽

Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽

Wnt Signaling Pathway ◽

Human Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽

Rna Seq ◽

In Vitro Differentiation ◽

Upregulated Genes

Abstract Background Studying human germ cell development and male infertility is heavily relied on mouse models. In vitro differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into spermatogonial stem cell-like cells (SSCLCs) can be used as a model to study human germ cells and infertility. The current study aimed to develop the SSCLC induction protocol and assess the effects of the developed protocol on SSCLC induction. Methods We examined the effects of valproic acid (VPA), vitamin C (VC) and the combination of VPA and VC on the SSCLC induction efficiency and determined the expression of spermatogonial genes of differentiated cells. Haploid cells and cells expressed meiotic genes were also detected. RNA-seq analysis was performed to compare the transcriptome between cells at 0 and 12 days of differentiation and differently expressed genes were confirmed by RT-qPCR. We further evaluated the alteration in histone marks (H3K9ac and H3K27me3) at 12 days of differentiation. Moreover, the SSCLC induction efficiency of two hiPSC lines of non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) patients was assessed using different induction protocols. Results The combination of low concentrations of VPA and VC in the induction medium was most effective to induce SSCLCs expressing several spermatogonial genes from human pluripotent stem cells at 12 days of differentiation. The high concentration of VPA was more effective to induce cells expressing meiotic genes and haploid cells. RNA-seq analysis revealed that the induction of SSCLC involved the upregulated genes in Wnt signaling pathway, and cells at 12 days of differentiation showed increased H3K9ac and decreased H3K27me3. Additionally, two hiPSC lines of NOA patients showed low SSCLC induction efficiency and decreased expression of genes in Wnt signaling pathway. Conclusions VPA robustly promoted the differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into SSCLCs, which involved the upregulated genes in Wnt signaling pathway and epigenetic changes. hiPSCs from NOA patients showed decreased SSCLC induction efficiency and Wnt signaling pathway gene expression, suggesting that SSC depletion in azoospermia testes might be associated with inactivation of Wnt signaling pathway. Our developed SSCLC induction protocol provides a reliable tool and model to study human germ cell development and male infertility.

Download Full-text

In vitro differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into the B lineage using OP9-MS5 co-culture

STAR Protocols ◽

10.1016/j.xpro.2021.100420 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 100420

Author(s):

Simon E. Richardson ◽

Roshanak Ghazanfari ◽

Jyoti Chhetri ◽

Tariq Enver ◽

Charlotta Böiers

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽

Human Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽

In Vitro Differentiation ◽

B Lineage

Download Full-text

Mini Review; Differentiation of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells into Oocytes

Current Stem Cell Research & Therapy ◽

10.2174/1574888x15666200116100121 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (4) ◽

pp. 301-307 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Gaifang Wang ◽

Maryam Farzaneh

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽

Embryonic Stem ◽

Human Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽

Human Oocyte ◽

Differentiation Potential ◽

Cell Lineages ◽

Cell Based Therapy ◽

Induced Pluripotent

Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (POI) is one of the main diseases causing female infertility that occurs in about 1% of women between 30-40 years of age. There are few effective methods for the treatment of women with POI. In the past few years, stem cell-based therapy as one of the most highly investigated new therapies has emerged as a promising strategy for the treatment of POI. Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) can self-renew indefinitely and differentiate into any type of cell. Human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESCs) as a type of pluripotent stem cells are the most powerful candidate for the treatment of POI. Human-induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (hiPSCs) are derived from adult somatic cells by the treatment with exogenous defined factors to create an embryonic-like pluripotent state. Both hiPSCs and hESCs can proliferate and give rise to ectodermal, mesodermal, endodermal, and germ cell lineages. After ovarian stimulation, the number of available oocytes is limited and the yield of total oocytes with high quality is low. Therefore, a robust and reproducible in-vitro culture system that supports the differentiation of human oocytes from PSCs is necessary. Very few studies have focused on the derivation of oocyte-like cells from hiPSCs and the details of hPSCs differentiation into oocytes have not been fully investigated. Therefore, in this review, we focus on the differentiation potential of hPSCs into human oocyte-like cells.

Download Full-text

Small-Molecule-Driven Hepatocyte Differentiation of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Stem Cell Reports ◽

10.1016/j.stemcr.2015.04.001 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 4 (5) ◽

pp. 939-952 ◽

Cited By ~ 98

Author(s):

Richard Siller ◽

Sebastian Greenhough ◽

Elena Naumovska ◽

Gareth J. Sullivan

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Small Molecule ◽

Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽

Human Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽

Hepatocyte Differentiation

Download Full-text

Establishing a deeper understanding of the osteogenic differentiation of monolayer cultured human pluripotent stem cells using novel and detailed analyses

Stem Cell Research & Therapy ◽

10.1186/s13287-020-02085-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ping Zhou ◽

Jia-Min Shi ◽

Jing-E Song ◽

Yu Han ◽

Hong-Jiao Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Osteogenic Differentiation ◽

Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽

Embryonic Stem ◽

Telomerase Activity ◽

Human Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽

Cell Counting ◽

Cell Type ◽

Alizarin Red

Abstract Background Derivation of osteoblast-like cells from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) is a popular topic in bone tissue engineering. Although many improvements have been achieved, the low induction efficiency because of spontaneous differentiation hampers their applications. To solve this problem, a detailed understanding of the osteogenic differentiation process of hPSCs is urgently needed. Methods Monolayer cultured human embryonic stem cells and human-induced pluripotent stem cells were differentiated in commonly applied serum-containing osteogenic medium for 35 days. In addition to traditional assays such as cell viability detection, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, immunofluorescence, and alizarin red staining, we also applied studies of cell counting, cell telomerase activity, and flow cytometry as essential indicators to analyse the cell type changes in each week. Results The population of differentiated cells was quite heterogeneous throughout the 35 days of induction. Then, cell telomerase activity and cell cycle analyses have value in evaluating the cell type and tumourigenicity of the obtained cells. Finally, a dynamic map was made to integrate the analysis of these results during osteogenic differentiation of hPSCs, and the cell types at defined stages were concluded. Conclusions Our results lay the foundation to improve the in vitro osteogenic differentiation efficiency of hPSCs by supplementing with functional compounds at the desired stage, and then establishing a stepwise induction system in the future.

Download Full-text