scholarly journals Investigating Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathy Using Drosophila melanogaster

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (17) ◽  
pp. 6442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akari Takai ◽  
Masamitsu Yamaguchi ◽  
Hideki Yoshida ◽  
Tomohiro Chiyonobu

Developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs) are the spectrum of severe epilepsies characterized by early-onset, refractory seizures occurring in the context of developmental regression or plateauing. Early infantile epileptic encephalopathy (EIEE) is one of the earliest forms of DEE, manifesting as frequent epileptic spasms and characteristic electroencephalogram findings in early infancy. In recent years, next-generation sequencing approaches have identified a number of monogenic determinants underlying DEE. In the case of EIEE, 85 genes have been registered in Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man as causative genes. Model organisms are indispensable tools for understanding the in vivo roles of the newly identified causative genes. In this review, we first present an overview of epilepsy and its genetic etiology, especially focusing on EIEE and then briefly summarize epilepsy research using animal and patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) models. The Drosophila model, which is characterized by easy gene manipulation, a short generation time, low cost and fewer ethical restrictions when designing experiments, is optimal for understanding the genetics of DEE. We therefore highlight studies with Drosophila models for EIEE and discuss the future development of their practical use.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Peinkofer ◽  
Martina Maass ◽  
Kurt Pfannkuche ◽  
Agapios Sachinidis ◽  
Stephan Baldus ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CM) are regarded as promising cell type for cardiac cell replacement therapy, but it is not known whether the developmental stage influences their persistence and functional integration in the host tissue, which are crucial for a long-term therapeutic benefit. To investigate this, we first tested the cell adhesion capability of murine iPSC-CM in vitro at three different time points during the differentiation process and then examined cell persistence and quality of electrical integration in the infarcted myocardium in vivo. Methods To test cell adhesion capabilities in vitro, iPSC-CM were seeded on fibronectin-coated cell culture dishes and decellularized ventricular extracellular matrix (ECM) scaffolds. After fixed periods of time, stably attached cells were quantified. For in vivo experiments, murine iPSC-CM expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein was injected into infarcted hearts of adult mice. After 6–7 days, viable ventricular tissue slices were prepared to enable action potential (AP) recordings in transplanted iPSC-CM and surrounding host cardiomyocytes. Afterwards, slices were lysed, and genomic DNA was prepared, which was then used for quantitative real-time PCR to evaluate grafted iPSC-CM count. Results The in vitro results indicated differences in cell adhesion capabilities between day 14, day 16, and day 18 iPSC-CM with day 14 iPSC-CM showing the largest number of attached cells on ECM scaffolds. After intramyocardial injection, day 14 iPSC-CM showed a significant higher cell count compared to day 16 iPSC-CM. AP measurements revealed no significant difference in the quality of electrical integration and only minor differences in AP properties between d14 and d16 iPSC-CM. Conclusion The results of the present study demonstrate that the developmental stage at the time of transplantation is crucial for the persistence of transplanted iPSC-CM. iPSC-CM at day 14 of differentiation showed the highest persistence after transplantation in vivo, which may be explained by a higher capability to adhere to the extracellular matrix.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasamin A. Jodat ◽  
Ting Zhang ◽  
Ziad Al Tanoury ◽  
Tom Kamperman ◽  
Kun Shi ◽  
...  

Abstract Engineering of biomimetic tissue implants provides an opportunity for repairing volumetric muscle loss (VML), beyond a tissue’s innate repair capacity. Here, we present thick, suturable, and pre-vascularized 3D muscle implants containing human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived myogenic precursor cells (hiPSC-MPCs), which can differentiate into skeletal muscle cells while maintaining a self-renewing pool. The formation of contractile myotubes and millimeter-long fibers from hiPSC-MPCs is achieved in chemically, mechanically, and structurally tailored extracellular matrix-based hydrogels, which can serve as scaffolds to ultimately organize the linear fusion of myoblasts. Embedded multi-material bioprinting is used to deposit complex patterns of perfusable vasculatures and aligned hiPSC-MPC channels within an endomysium-like supporting gel to recapitulate muscle architectural integrity in a facile yet highly rapid manner. Moreover, we demonstrate successful graft-host integration and de novo muscle formation upon in vivo implantation of pre-vascularized constructs within a VML model. This work pioneers the engineering of large pre-vascularized hiPSC-derived muscle tissues toward next generation VML regenerative therapies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (9) ◽  
pp. 1340-1351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Wang ◽  
Yue-Qi Sun ◽  
Wen-Xiang Gao ◽  
Xing-Liang Fan ◽  
Jian-Bo Shi ◽  
...  

Induced pluripotent stem cell-derived mesenchymal stem cells (iPSC-MSCs) represent a promising cell source for patient-specific cell therapy. We previously demonstrated that they display an immunomodulatory effect on allergic airway inflammation. Glucocorticoids are powerful anti-inflammatory compounds and widely used in the therapy of allergic diseases. However, the effect of glucocorticoids on the immunomodulatory function of iPSC-MSCs remains unknown. This study aimed to determine the effect of dexamethasone (Dex) on the immunomodulatory function of iPSC-MSCs in vitro and in vivo. A total of three human iPSC-MSC clones were generated from amniocyte-derived iPSCs. Anti-CD3/CD28-induced peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) proliferation was used to assess the effect of Dex on the immunoinhibitory function of iPSC-MSCs in vitro. Mouse models of contact hypersensitivity (CHS) and allergic airway inflammation were induced, and the levels of inflammation in mice were analyzed with the treatments of iPSC-MSCs and Dex, alone and combined. The results showed that Dex did not interfere with the immunoinhibitory effect of iPSC-MSCs on PBMC proliferation. In CHS mice, simultaneous treatment with Dex did not affect the effect of iPSC-MSCs on the inflammation, both in regional draining lymph nodes and in inflamed ear tissue. In addition, co-administration of iPSC-MSCs with Dex decreased the local expression of interferon (IFN)-γ and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in the ears of CHS mice. In the mouse model of allergic airway inflammation, iPSC-MSC treatment combined with Dex resulted in a similar extent of reduction in pulmonary inflammation as iPSC-MSCs or Dex treatment alone. In conclusion, Dex does not significantly affect the immunomodulatory function of iPSC-MSCs both in vitro and in vivo. These findings may have implications when iPSC-MSCs and glucocorticoids are co-administered.


eLife ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo Antonio Rosselló ◽  
Chun-Chun Chen ◽  
Rui Dai ◽  
Jason T Howard ◽  
Ute Hochgeschwender ◽  
...  

Cells are fundamental units of life, but little is known about evolution of cell states. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are once differentiated cells that have been re-programmed to an embryonic stem cell-like state, providing a powerful platform for biology and medicine. However, they have been limited to a few mammalian species. Here we found that a set of four mammalian transcription factor genes used to generate iPSCs in mouse and humans can induce a partially reprogrammed pluripotent stem cell (PRPSCs) state in vertebrate and invertebrate model organisms, in mammals, birds, fish, and fly, which span 550 million years from a common ancestor. These findings are one of the first to show cross-lineage stem cell-like induction, and to generate pluripotent-like cells for several of these species with in vivo chimeras. We suggest that the stem-cell state may be highly conserved across a wide phylogenetic range.


2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (47) ◽  
pp. E7564-E7571 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen R. Sunico ◽  
Abdullah Sultan ◽  
Tomohiro Nakamura ◽  
Nima Dolatabadi ◽  
James Parker ◽  
...  

Recent studies have pointed to protein S-nitrosylation as a critical regulator of cellular redox homeostasis. For example, S-nitrosylation of peroxiredoxin-2 (Prx2), a peroxidase widely expressed in mammalian neurons, inhibits both enzymatic activity and protective function against oxidative stress. Here, using in vitro and in vivo approaches, we identify a role and reaction mechanism of the reductase sulfiredoxin (Srxn1) as an enzyme that denitrosylates (thus removing -SNO) from Prx2 in an ATP-dependent manner. Accordingly, by decreasing S-nitrosylated Prx2 (SNO-Prx2), overexpression of Srxn1 protects dopaminergic neural cells and human-induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived neurons from NO-induced hypersensitivity to oxidative stress. The pathophysiological relevance of this observation is suggested by our finding that SNO-Prx2 is dramatically increased in murine and human Parkinson’s disease (PD) brains. Our findings therefore suggest that Srxn1 may represent a therapeutic target for neurodegenerative disorders such as PD that involve nitrosative/oxidative stress.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin Wook Hwang ◽  
Christophe Desterke ◽  
Olivier Féraud ◽  
Stephane Richard ◽  
Sophie Ferlicot ◽  
...  

SUMMARYHereditary cancers with cancer-predisposing mutations represent unique models of human oncogenesis as a driving oncogenic event is present in germline, exposing the healthy member of a family to the occurrence of cancer. The study of the secondary events in a tissue-specific manner is now possible by the induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology offering the possibility to generate an unlimited source of cells that can be induced to differentiate towards a tissue at risk of malignant transformation. We report here for the first time, the generation of a c-met-mutated iPSC lines from the somatic cells of a patient with type 1 papillary renal cell carcinoma (PRCC). We demonstrate the feasibility of kidney differentiation with iPSC-derived organoids expressing markers of kidney progenitors with presence of tight junctions and brush borders in tubular structures at transmission electron microscopy. Importantly, c-met-mutated kidney organoids expressed PRCC markers both in vitro and in vivo in NSG mice. Gene expression profiling of c-met-mutated iPSC-derived organoid structures showed striking molecular similarities with signatures found in a large cohort of PRCC patient samples and identified 11 common genes. Among these, BHLHE40 and KDM4C, well-known factors involved in PRCC pathogenesis, were expressed in c-met-mutated kidney organoids. This analysis applied to primary cancers with and without c-met mutation showed overexpression of the BHLHE40 and KDM4C only in the c-met-mutated PRCC tumors, as predicted by c-met-mutated organoid transcriptome. These data represent therefore the first proof of concept of the generation of “renal carcinoma in a dish” model using c-met-mutated iPSC-derived organoids, opening new perspectives for discovery of novel potentially predictive disease markers and novel drugs for future precision medicine strategies.


Circulation ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 143 (16) ◽  
pp. 1635-1638
Author(s):  
Danny El-Nachef ◽  
Darrian Bugg ◽  
Kevin M. Beussman ◽  
Sonette Steczina ◽  
Amy M. Martinson ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Loren Ornelas ◽  
Emilda Gomez ◽  
Lindsay Panther ◽  
Aaron Frank ◽  
...  

SummaryNeurodegenerative diseases present a challenge for systems biology, due to the lack of reliable animal models and the difficulties in obtaining samples from patients at early stages of disease, when interventions might be most effective. Studying induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neurons could overcome these challenges and dramatically accelerate and broaden therapeutic strategies. Here we undertook a network-based multi-omic characterization of iPSC-derived motor neurons from ALS patients carrying genetically dominant hexanucleotide expansions in C9orf72 to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between DNA, RNA, epigenetics and protein in the same pool of tissue. ALS motor neurons showed the expected C9orf72-related alterations to specific nucleoporins and production of dipeptide repeats. RNA-seq, ATAC-seq and data-independent acquisition mass-spectrometry (DIA-MS) proteomics were then performed on the same motor neuron cultures. Using integrative computational methods that combined all of the omics, we discovered a number of novel dysregulated pathways including biological adhesion and extracellular matrix organization and disruption in other expected pathways such as RNA splicing and nuclear transport. We tested the relevance of these pathways in vivo in a C9orf72 Drosophila model, analyzing the data to determine which pathways were causing disease phenotypes and which were compensatory. We also confirmed that some pathways are altered in late-stage neurodegeneration by analyzing human postmortem C9 cervical spine data. To validate that these key pathways were integral to the C9 signature, we prepared a separate set of C9orf72 and control motor neuron cultures using a different differentiation protocol and applied the same methods. As expected, there were major overall differences between the differentiation protocols, especially at the level of in individual omics data. However, a number of the core dysregulated pathways remained significant using the integrated multiomic analysis. This new method of analyzing patient specific neural cultures allows the generation of disease-related hypotheses with a small number of patient lines which can be tested in larger cohorts of patients.


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