Endothelial Cell Co-culture Mediates Maturation of Human Embryonic Stem Cell to Pancreatic Insulin Producing Cells in a Directed Differentiation Approach

Embryonic stem cells (ESC) have two main characteristics: they can be indefinitely propagated in vitro in an undifferentiated state and they are pluripotent, thus having the potential to differentiate into multiple lineages. Such properties make ESCs extremely attractive for cell based therapy and regenerative treatment applications ¹. However for its full potential to be realized the cells have to be differentiated into mature and functional phenotypes, which is a daunting task. A promising approach in inducing cellular differentiation is to closely mimic the path of organogenesis in the in vitro setting. Pancreatic development is known to occur in specific stages ², starting with endoderm, which can develop into several organs, including liver and pancreas. Endoderm induction can be achieved by modulation of the nodal pathway through addition of Activin A ³ in combination with several growth factors ^4-7. Definitive endoderm cells then undergo pancreatic commitment by inhibition of sonic hedgehog inhibition, which can be achieved in vitro by addition of cyclopamine ⁸. Pancreatic maturation is mediated by several parallel events including inhibition of notch signaling; aggregation of pancreatic progenitors into 3-dimentional clusters; induction of vascularization; to name a few. By far the most successful in vitro maturation of ESC derived pancreatic progenitor cells have been achieved through inhibition of notch signaling by DAPT supplementation ⁹. Although successful, this results in low yield of the mature phenotype with reduced functionality. A less studied area is the effect of endothelial cell signaling in pancreatic maturation, which is increasingly being appreciated as an important contributing factor in in-vivo pancreatic islet maturation ^10,11.The current study explores such effect of endothelial cell signaling in maturation of human ESC derived pancreatic progenitor cells into insulin producing islet-like cells. We report a multi-stage directed differentiation protocol where the human ESCs are first induced towards endoderm by Activin A along with inhibition of PI3K pathway. Pancreatic specification of endoderm cells is achieved by inhibition of sonic hedgehog signaling by Cyclopamine along with retinoid induction by addition of Retinoic Acid. The final stage of maturation is induced by endothelial cell signaling achieved by a co-culture configuration. While several endothelial cells have been tested in the co-culture, herein we present our data with rat heart microvascular endothelial Cells (RHMVEC), primarily for the ease of analysis.     

Progenitor-derived Oligodendrocyte Culture System from Human Fetal Brain

Differentiation of human neural progenitors into neuronal and glial cell types offers a model to study and compare molecular regulation of neural cell lineage development. In vitro expansion of neural progenitors from fetal CNS tissue has been well characterized. Despite the identification and isolation of glial progenitors from adult human sub-cortical white matter and development of various culture conditions to direct differentiation of fetal neural progenitors into myelin producing oligodendrocytes, acquiring sufficient human oligodendrocytes for in vitro experimentation remains difficult. Differentiation of galactocerebroside⁺ (GalC) and O4⁺ oligodendrocyte precursor or progenitor cells (OPC) from neural precursor cells has been reported using second trimester fetal brain. However, these cells do not proliferate in the absence of support cells including astrocytes and neurons, and are lost quickly over time in culture. The need remains for a culture system to produce cells of the oligodendrocyte lineage suitable for in vitro experimentation.Culture of primary human oligodendrocytes could, for example, be a useful model to study the pathogenesis of neurotropic infectious agents like the human polyomavirus, JCV, that in vivo infects those cells. These cultured cells could also provide models of other demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). Primary, human fetal brain-derived, multipotential neural progenitor cells proliferate in vitro while maintaining the capacity to differentiate into neurons (progenitor-derived neurons, PDN) and astrocytes (progenitor-derived astrocytes, PDA) This study shows that neural progenitors can be induced to differentiate through many of the stages of oligodendrocytic lineage development (progenitor-derived oligodendrocytes, PDO). We culture neural progenitor cells in DMEM-F12 serum-free media supplemented with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), platelet derived growth factor (PDGF-AA), Sonic hedgehog (Shh), neurotrophic factor 3 (NT-3), N-2 and triiodothyronine (T3). The cultured cells are passaged at 2.5e6 cells per 75cm flasks approximately every seven days. Using these conditions, the majority of the cells in culture maintain a morphology characterized by few processes and express markers of pre-oligodendrocyte cells, such as A2B5 and O-4. When we remove the four growth factors (GF) (bFGF, PDGF-AA, Shh, NT-3) and add conditioned media from PDN, the cells start to acquire more processes and express markers specific of oligodendrocyte differentiation, such as GalC and myelin basic protein (MBP). We performed phenotypic characterization using multicolor flow cytometry to identify unique markers of oligodendrocyte.     

Optogenetic Perturbation of Neural Activity with Laser Illumination in Semi-intact Drosophila Larvae in Motion

Drosophila larval locomotion is a splendid model system in developmental and physiological neuroscience, by virtue of the genetic accessibility of the underlying neuronal components in the circuits^1-6. Application of optogenetics^7,8 in the larval neural circuit allows us to manipulate neuronal activity in spatially and temporally patterned ways^9-13. Typically, specimens are broadly illuminated with a mercury lamp or LED, so specificity of the target neurons is controlled by binary gene expression systems such as the Gal4-UAS system^14,15. In this work, to improve the spatial resolution to "sub-genetic resolution", we locally illuminated a subset of neurons in the ventral nerve cord using lasers implemented in a conventional confocal microscope. While monitoring the motion of the body wall of the semi-intact larvae, we interactively activated or inhibited neural activity with channelrhodopsin^16,17 or halorhodopsin^18-20, respectively. By spatially and temporally restricted illumination of the neural tissue, we can manipulate the activity of specific neurons in the circuit at a specific phase of behavior. This method is useful for studying the relationship between the activities of a local neural assembly in the ventral nerve cord and the spatiotemporal pattern of motor output.     

The Neuroblast Assay: An Assay for the Generation and Enrichment of Neuronal Progenitor Cells from Differentiating Neural Stem Cell Progeny Using Flow Cytometry

Neural stem cells (NSCs) can be isolated and expanded in large-scale, using the neurosphere assay and differentiated into the three major cell types of the central nervous system (CNS); namely, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and neurons. These characteristics make neural stem and progenitor cells an invaluable renewable source of cells for in vitro studies such as drug screening, neurotoxicology and electrophysiology and also for cell replacement therapy in many neurological diseases. In practice, however, heterogeneity of NSC progeny, low production of neurons and oligodendrocytes, and predominance of astrocytes following differentiation limit their clinical applications. Here, we describe a novel methodology for the generation and subsequent purification of immature neurons from murine NSC progeny using fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) technology. Using this methodology, a highly enriched neuronal progenitor cell population can be achieved without any noticeable astrocyte and bona fide NSC contamination. The procedure includes differentiation of NSC progeny isolated and expanded from E14 mouse ganglionic eminences using the neurosphere assay, followed by isolation and enrichment of immature neuronal cells based on their physical (size and internal complexity) and fluorescent properties using flow cytometry technology. Overall, it takes 5-7 days to generate neurospheres and 6-8 days to differentiate NSC progeny and isolate highly purified immature neuronal cells.     

Differentiation of Newborn Mouse Skin Derived Stem Cells into Germ-like Cells In vitro

Studying germ cell formation and differentiation has traditionally been very difficult due to low cell numbers and their location deep within developing embryos. The availability of a "closed" in vitro based system could prove invaluable for our understanding of gametogenesis. The formation of oocyte-like cells (OLCs) from somatic stem cells, isolated from newborn mouse skin, has been demonstrated and can be visualized in this video protocol. The resulting OLCs express various markers consistent with oocytes such as Oct4 , Vasa , Bmp15, and Scp3. However, they remain unable to undergo maturation or fertilization due to a failure to complete meiosis. This protocol will provide a system that is useful for studying the early stage formation and differentiation of germ cells into more mature gametes. During early differentiation the number of cells expressing Oct4 (potential germ-like cells) reaches ~5%, however currently the formation of OLCs remains relatively inefficient. The protocol is relatively straight forward though special care should be taken to ensure the starting cell population is healthy and at an early passage.     

Differentiation of Atrial Cardiomyocytes from Pluripotent Stem Cells Using the BMP Antagonist Grem2

Protocols for generating populations of cardiomyocytes from pluripotent stem cells have been developed, but these generally yield cells of mixed phenotypes. Researchers interested in pursuing studies involving specific myocyte subtypes require a more directed differentiation approach. By treating mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells with Grem2, a secreted BMP antagonist that is necessary for atrial chamber formation in vivo, a large number of cardiac cells with an atrial phenotype can be generated. Use of the engineered Myh6-DSRed-Nuc pluripotent stem cell line allows for identification, selection, and purification of cardiomyocytes. In this protocol embryoid bodies are generated from Myh6-DSRed-Nuc cells using the hanging drop method and kept in suspension until differentiation day 4 (d4). At d4 cells are treated with Grem2 and plated onto gelatin coated plates. Between d8-d10 large contracting areas are observed in the cultures and continue to expand and mature through d14. Molecular, histological and electrophysiogical analyses indicate cells in Grem2-treated cells acquire atrial-like characteristics providing an in vitro model to study the biology of atrial cardiomyocytes and their response to various pharmacological agents.     

Serial Enrichment of Spermatogonial Stem and Progenitor Cells (SSCs) in Culture for Derivation of Long-term Adult Mouse SSC Lines

Spermatogonial stem and progenitor cells (SSCs) of the testis represent a classic example of adult mammalian stem cells and preserve fertility for nearly the lifetime of the animal. While the precise mechanisms that govern self-renewal and differentiation in vivo are challenging to study, various systems have been developed previously to propagate murine SSCs in vitro using a combination of specialized culture media and feeder cells^1-3.Most in vitro forays into the biology of SSCs have derived cell lines from neonates, possibly due to the difficulty in obtaining adult cell lines⁴. However, the testis continues to mature up until ~5 weeks of age in most mouse strains. In the early post-natal period, dramatic changes occur in the architecture of the testis and in the biology of both somatic and spermatogenic cells, including alterations in expression levels of numerous stem cell-related genes. Therefore, neonatally-derived SSC lines may not fully recapitulate the biology of adult SSCs that persist after the adult testis has reached a steady state.Several factors have hindered the production of adult SSC lines historically. First, the proportion of functional stem cells may decrease during adulthood, either due to intrinsic or extrinsic factors^5,6. Furthermore, as with other adult stem cells, it has been difficult to enrich SSCs sufficiently from total adult testicular cells without using a combination of immunoselection or other sorting strategies⁷. Commonly employed strategies include the use of cryptorchid mice as a source of donor cells due to a higher ratio of stem cells to other cell types⁸. Based on the hypothesis that removal of somatic cells from the initial culture disrupts interactions with the stem cell niche that are essential for SSC survival, we previously developed methods to derive adult lines that do not require immunoselection or cryptorchid donors but rather employ serial enrichment of SSCs in culture, referred to hereafter as SESC^2,3.The method described below entails a simple procedure for deriving adult SSC lines by dissociating adult donor seminiferous tubules, followed by plating of cells on feeders comprised of a testicular stromal cell line (JK1)³. Through serial passaging, strongly adherent, contaminating non-germ cells are depleted from the culture with concomitant enrichment of SSCs. Cultures produced in this manner contain a mixture of spermatogonia at different stages of differentiation, which contain SSCs, based on long-term self renewal capability. The crux of the SESC method is that it enables SSCs to make the difficult transition from self-renewal in vivo to long-term self-renewal in vitro in a radically different microenvironment, produces long-term SSC lines, free of contaminating somatic cells, and thereby enables subsequent experimental manipulation of SSCs.     

Tissue Engineering of a Human 3D in vitro Tumor Test System

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Current therapeutic strategies are predominantly developed in 2D culture systems, which inadequately reflect physiological conditions in vivo. Biological 3D matrices provide cells an environment in which cells can self-organize, allowing the study of tissue organization and cell differentiation. Such scaffolds can be seeded with a mixture of different cell types to study direct 3D cell-cell-interactions. To mimic the 3D complexity of cancer tumors, our group has developed a 3D in vitro tumor test system.Our 3D tissue test system models the in vivo situation of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs), which we established with our decellularized porcine jejunal segment derived biological vascularized scaffold (BioVaSc). In our model, we reseeded a modified BioVaSc matrix with primary fibroblasts, microvascular endothelial cells (mvECs) and the S462 tumor cell line. For static culture, the vascular structure of the BioVaSc is removed and the remaining scaffold is cut open on one side (Small Intestinal Submucosa SIS-Muc). The resulting matrix is then fixed between two metal rings (cell crowns).Another option is to culture the cell-seeded SIS-Muc in a flow bioreactor system that exposes the cells to shear stress. Here, the bioreactor is connected to a peristaltic pump in a self-constructed incubator. A computer regulates the arterial oxygen and nutrient supply via parameters such as blood pressure, temperature, and flow rate. This setup allows for a dynamic culture with either pressure-regulated pulsatile or constant flow.In this study, we could successfully establish both a static and dynamic 3D culture system for MPNSTs. The ability to model cancer tumors in a more natural 3D environment will enable the discovery, testing, and validation of future pharmaceuticals in a human-like model.