scholarly journals Efficient Genetic Safety Switches for Future Application of iPSC-Derived Cell Transplants

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 565
Author(s):  
Julia Dahlke ◽  
Juliane W. Schott ◽  
Philippe Vollmer Barbosa ◽  
Denise Klatt ◽  
Anton Selich ◽  
...  

Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cell products hold great promise as a potential cell source in personalized medicine. As concerns about the potential risk of graft-related severe adverse events, such as tumor formation from residual pluripotent cells, currently restrict their applicability, we established an optimized tool for therapeutic intervention that allows drug-controlled, specific and selective ablation of either iPSCs or the whole graft through genetic safety switches. To identify the best working system, different tools for genetic iPSC modification, promoters to express safety switches and different safety switches were combined. Suicide effects were slightly stronger when the suicide gene was delivered through lentiviral (LV) vectors compared to integration into the AAVS1 locus through TALEN technology. An optimized HSV-thymidine kinase and the inducible Caspase 9 both mediated drug-induced, efficient in vitro elimination of transgene-positive iPSCs. Choice of promoter allowed selective elimination of distinct populations within the graft: the hOct4 short response element restricted transgene expression to iPSCs, while the CAGs promoter ubiquitously drove expression in iPSCs and their progeny. Remarkably, both safety switches were able to prevent in vivo teratoma development and even effectively eliminated established teratomas formed by LV CAGs-transgenic iPSCs. These optimized tools to increase safety provide an important step towards clinical application of iPSC-derived transplants.

2019 ◽  
Vol 125 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Gintant ◽  
Paul Burridge ◽  
Lior Gepstein ◽  
Sian Harding ◽  
Todd Herron ◽  
...  

It is now well recognized that many lifesaving oncology drugs may adversely affect the heart and cardiovascular system, including causing irreversible cardiac injury that can result in reduced quality of life. These effects, which may manifest in the short term or long term, are mechanistically not well understood. Research is hampered by the reliance on whole-animal models of cardiotoxicity that may fail to reflect the fundamental biology or cardiotoxic responses of the human myocardium. The emergence of human induced pluripotent stem cell–derived cardiomyocytes as an in vitro research tool holds great promise for understanding drug-induced cardiotoxicity of oncological drugs that may manifest as contractile and electrophysiological dysfunction, as well as structural abnormalities, making it possible to deliver novel drugs free from cardiac liabilities and guide personalized therapy. This article briefly reviews the challenges of cardio-oncology, the strengths and limitations of using human induced pluripotent stem cell–derived cardiomyocytes to represent clinical findings in the nonclinical research space, and future directions for their further 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.


Author(s):  
Navin Gupta✉ ◽  
Emre Dilmen ◽  
Ryuji Morizane

Abstract The kidneys are essential organs that filter the blood, removing urinary waste while maintaining fluid and electrolyte homeostasis. Current conventional research models such as static cell cultures and animal models are insufficient to grasp the complex human in vivo situation or lack translational value. To accelerate kidney research, novel research tools are required. Recent developments have allowed the directed differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells to generate kidney organoids. Kidney organoids resemble the human kidney in vitro and can be applied in regenerative medicine and as developmental, toxicity, and disease models. Although current studies have shown great promise, challenges remain including the immaturity, limited reproducibility, and lack of perfusable vascular and collecting duct systems. This review gives an overview of our current understanding of nephrogenesis that enabled the generation of kidney organoids. Next, the potential applications of kidney organoids are discussed followed by future perspectives. This review proposes that advancement in kidney organoid research will be facilitated through our increasing knowledge on nephrogenesis and combining promising techniques such as organ-on-a-chip models.


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.


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.


eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis Grafton ◽  
Jaclyn Ho ◽  
Sara Ranjbarvaziri ◽  
Farshad Farshidfar ◽  
Anastasiia Budan ◽  
...  

Drug-induced cardiotoxicity and hepatotoxicity are major causes of drug attrition. To decrease late-stage drug attrition, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries need to establish biologically relevant models that use phenotypic screening to detect drug-induced toxicity in vitro. In this study, we sought to rapidly detect patterns of cardiotoxicity using high-content image analysis with deep learning and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs). We screened a library of 1280 bioactive compounds and identified those with potential cardiotoxic liabilities in iPSC-CMs using a single-parameter score based on deep learning. Compounds demonstrating cardiotoxicity in iPSC-CMs included DNA intercalators, ion channel blockers, epidermal growth factor receptor, cyclin-dependent kinase, and multi-kinase inhibitors. We also screened a diverse library of molecules with unknown targets and identified chemical frameworks that show cardiotoxic signal in iPSC-CMs. By using this screening approach during target discovery and lead optimization, we can de-risk early-stage drug discovery. We show that the broad applicability of combining deep learning with iPSC technology is an effective way to interrogate cellular phenotypes and identify drugs that may protect against diseased phenotypes and deleterious mutations.


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.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0245571
Author(s):  
Junya Yokoyama ◽  
Shigeru Miyagawa ◽  
Takami Akagi ◽  
Mitsuru Akashi ◽  
Yoshiki Sawa

The extracellular matrix (ECM) plays a key role in the viability and survival of implanted human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs). We hypothesized that coating of three-dimensional (3D) cardiac tissue-derived hiPSC-CMs with the ECM protein fibronectin (FN) would improve the survival of transplanted cells in the heart and improve heart function in a rat model of ischemic heart failure. To test this hypothesis, we first explored the tolerance of FN-coated hiPSC-CMs to hypoxia in an in vitro study. For in vivo assessments, we constructed 3D-hiPSC cardiac tissues (3D-hiPSC-CTs) using a layer-by-layer technique, and then the cells were implanted in the hearts of a myocardial infarction rat model (3D-hiPSC-CTs, n = 10; sham surgery control group (without implant), n = 10). Heart function and histology were analyzed 4 weeks after transplantation. In the in vitro assessment, cell viability and lactate dehydrogenase assays showed that FN-coated hiPSC-CMs had improved tolerance to hypoxia compared with the control cells. In vivo, the left ventricular ejection fraction of hearts implanted with 3D-hiPSC-CT was significantly better than that of the sham control hearts. Histological analysis showed clear expression of collagen type IV and plasma membrane markers such as desmin and dystrophin in vivo after implantation of 3D-hiPSC-CT, which were not detected in 3D-hiPSC-CMs in vitro. Overall, these results indicated that FN-coated 3D-hiPSC-CT could improve distressed heart function in a rat myocardial infarction model with a well-expressed cytoskeletal or basement membrane matrix. Therefore, FN-coated 3D-hiPSC-CT may serve as a promising replacement for heart transplantation and left ventricular assist devices and has the potential to improve survivability and therapeutic efficacy in cases of ischemic heart disease.


2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (15) ◽  
pp. e2025847118
Author(s):  
Dorit Trudler ◽  
Kristopher L. Nazor ◽  
Yvonne S. Eisele ◽  
Titas Grabauskas ◽  
Nima Dolatabadi ◽  
...  

Parkinson’s disease is characterized by accumulation of α-synuclein (αSyn). Release of oligomeric/fibrillar αSyn from damaged neurons may potentiate neuronal death in part via microglial activation. Heretofore, it remained unknown if oligomeric/fibrillar αSyn could activate the nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptor (NLR) family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome in human microglia and whether anti-αSyn antibodies could prevent this effect. Here, we show that αSyn activates the NLRP3 inflammasome in human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived microglia (hiMG) via dual stimulation involving Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) engagement and mitochondrial damage. In vitro, hiMG can be activated by mutant (A53T) αSyn secreted from hiPSC-derived A9-dopaminergic neurons. Surprisingly, αSyn–antibody complexes enhanced rather than suppressed inflammasome-mediated interleukin-1β (IL-1β) secretion, indicating these complexes are neuroinflammatory in a human context. A further increase in inflammation was observed with addition of oligomerized amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) and its cognate antibody. In vivo, engraftment of hiMG with αSyn in humanized mouse brain resulted in caspase-1 activation and neurotoxicity, which was exacerbated by αSyn antibody. These findings may have important implications for antibody therapies aimed at depleting misfolded/aggregated proteins from the human brain, as they may paradoxically trigger inflammation in human microglia.


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