Fam60a defines a variant Sin3a‐Hdac complex in embryonic stem cells required for self‐renewal

Sin3a is the central scaffold protein of the prototypical Hdac1/2 chromatin repressor complex, crucially required during early embryonic development for the growth of pluripotent cells of the inner cell mass. Here, we compare the composition of the Sin3a‐Hdac complex between pluripotent embryonic stem (ES) and differentiated cells by establishing a method that couples two independent endogenous immunoprecipitations with quantitative mass spectrometry. We define the precise composition of the Sin3a complex in multiple cell types and identify the Fam60a subunit as a key defining feature of a variant Sin3a complex present in ES cells, which also contains Ogt and Tet1. Fam60a binds on H3K4me3‐positive promoters in ES cells, together with Ogt, Tet1 and Sin3a, and is essential to maintain the complex on chromatin. Finally, we show that depletion of Fam60a phenocopies the loss of Sin3a, leading to reduced proliferation, an extended G1‐phase and the deregulation of lineage genes. Taken together, Fam60a is an essential core subunit of a variant Sin3a complex in ES cells that is required to promote rapid proliferation and prevent unscheduled differentiation.     

STELLA Facilitates Differentiation of Germ Cell and Endodermal Lineages of Human Embryonic Stem Cells

Stella is a developmentally regulated gene highly expressed in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells and in primordial germ cells (PGCs). In human, the gene encoding the STELLA homologue lies on chromosome 12p, which is frequently amplified in long-term cultured human ES cells. However, the role played by STELLA in human ES cells has not been reported. In the present study, we show that during retinoic acid (RA)-induced differentiation of human ES cells, expression of STELLA follows that of VASA, a marker of germline differentiation. By contrast, human embryonal carcinoma cells express STELLA at a higher level compared with both karyotypically normal and abnormal human ES cell lines. We found that over-expression of STELLA does not interfere with maintenance of the stem cell state of human ES cells, but following retinoic acid induction it leads to up-regulation of germline- and endodermal-associated genes, whereas neural markers PAX6 and NEUROD1 are down-regulated. Further, STELLA over-expression facilitates the differentiation of human ES cells into BE12-positive cells, in which the expression of germline- and endodermal-associated genes is enriched, and suppresses differentiation of the neural lineage. Taken together, this finding suggests a role for STELLA in facilitating germline and endodermal differentiation of human ES cells.     

BRCA1-IRIS regulates cyclin D1 expression in breast cancer cells

The regulator of cell cycle progression, cyclin D1, is up-regulated in breast cancer cells; its expression is, in part, dependent on ERalpha signaling. However, many ERalpha-negative tumors and tumor cell lines (e.g., SKBR3) also show over-expression of cyclin D1. This suggests that, in addition to ERalpha signaling, cyclin D1 expression is under the control of other signaling pathways; these pathways may even be over-expressed in the ERalpha-negative cells. We previously noticed that both ERalpha-positive and -negative cell lines over-express BRCA1-IRIS mRNA and protein. Furthermore, the level of over-expression of BRCA1-IRIS in ERalpha-negative cell lines even exceeded its over-expression level in ERalpha-positive cell lines. In this study, we show that: (1) BRCA1-IRIS forms complex with two of the nuclear receptor co-activators, namely, SRC1 and SRC3 (AIB1) in an ERalpha-independent manner. (2) BRCA1-IRIS alone, or in connection with co-activators, is recruited to the cyclin D1 promoter through its binding to c-Jun/AP1 complex; this binding activates the cyclin D1 expression. (3) Over-expression of BRCA1-IRIS in breast cells over-activates JNK/c-Jun; this leads to the induction of cyclin D1 expression and cellular proliferation. (4) BRCA1-IRIS activation of JNK/c-Jun/AP1 appears to account for this, because in cells that were depleted from BRCA1-IRIS, JNK remained inactive. However, depletion of SRC1 or SRC3 instead reduced c-Jun expression. Our data suggest that this novel signaling pathway links BRCA1-IRIS to cellular proliferation through c-Jun/AP1 nuclear pathway; finally, this culminates in the increased expression of the cyclin D1 gene.     

不同防冻剂对兔胚胎干细胞慢速冷冻保存的影响

干细胞冷冻保存是干细胞研究和临床应用中的必需技术。为提高兔胚胎干细胞在慢速冻存过程中的保存效果,比较了二甲基亚砜(DMSO)和乙二醇(ethylene glycol,EG)对兔胚胎干细胞冷冻保护效果。对冷冻复苏后的细胞进行台盼蓝染色,并研究其胚胎干细胞分子特性,结果表明DMSO比EG具有更好的冷冻保护效果。再在以10%DMSO为基础的防冻液中添加膜稳定剂海藻糖(trehalose)或谷氨酰胺(glutamine),细胞冷冻复苏后结果显示,谷氨酰胺对兔胚胎干细胞有明显的冷冻保护作用,使细胞存活率从71%提高到83.7%。当谷氨酰胺浓度为0、5、10、20、40mmol/L分别加入防冻液中后,20mmol/L的谷氨酰胺具有最佳的冷冻保护效果。以上结果得出兔胚胎干细胞慢速冷冻的防冻液改进配方为:在胚胎干细胞培养液中添加10%DMSO 20mmol/L谷氨酰胺。     

Proteomic analysis of reporter genes for molecular imaging of transplanted embryonic stem cells

Study of stem cells may reveal promising treatment for diseases. The fate and function of transplanted stem cells remain poorly defined. Recent studies demonstrate that reporter genes can monitor real-time survival of transplanted stem cells in living subjects. We examined the effects of a novel and versatile triple fusion (TF) reporter gene construction on embryonic stem (ES) cell function by proteomic analysis. Murine ES cells were stably transduced with a self-inactivating lentiviral vector containing fluorescence (firefly luciferase; Fluc), bioluminescence (monomeric red fluorescence protein; mRFP), and positron emission tomography (herpes simplex virus type 1 truncated thymidine kinase; tTK) reporter genes. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis isolated stably transduced populations. TF reporter gene effects on cellular function were evaluated by quantitative proteomic profiling of control ES cells versus ES cells stably expressing the TF construct (ES-TF). Overall, no significant changes in protein quantity were observed. TF reporter gene expression had no effect on ES cell viability, proliferation, and differentiation capability. Molecular imaging studies tracked ES-TF cell survival and proliferation in living animals. In summary, this is the first proteomic study, demonstrating the unique potential of reporter gene imaging for tracking ES cell transplantation non-invasively, repetitively, and quantitatively.     

Making gametes from alternate sources of stem cells: past,present and future

Infertile couples including cancer survivors stand to benefit from gametes differentiated from embryonic or induced pluripotent stem (ES/iPS) cells. It remains challenging to convert human ES/iPS cells into primordial germ-like cells (PGCLCs) en route to obtaining gametes. Considerable success was achieved in 2016 to obtain fertile offspring starting with mouse ES/iPS cells, however the specification of human ES/iPS cells into PGCLCs in vitro is still not achieved. Human ES cells will not yield patient-specific gametes unless and until hES cells are derived by somatic cell nuclear transfer (therapeutic cloning) whereas iPS cells retain the residual epigenetic memory of the somatic cells from which they are derived and also harbor genomic and mitochondrial DNA mutations. Thus, they may not be ideal starting material to produce autologus gametes, especially for aged couples. Pluripotent, very small embryonic-like stem cells (VSELs) have been reported in adult tissues including gonads, are relatively quiescent in nature, survive oncotherapy and can be detected in aged, non-functional gonads. Being developmentally equivalent to PGCs (natural precursors to gametes), VSELs spontaneously differentiate into gametes in vitro. It is also being understood that gonadal stem cells niche is compromised by oncotherapy and with age. Improving the gonadal somatic niche could regenerate non-functional gonads from endogenous VSELs to restore fertility. Niche cells (Sertoli/mesenchymal cells) can be directly transplanted and restore gonadal function by providing paracrine support to endogenous VSELs. This strategy has been successful in several mice studies already and resulted in live birth in a woman with pre-mature ovarian failure.     

Negative feedback via RSK modulates Erk‐dependent progression from naïve pluripotency

Mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK)/extracellular signal‐regulated kinase (ERK) signalling is implicated in initiation of embryonic stem (ES) cell differentiation. The pathway is subject to complex feedback regulation. Here, we examined the ERK‐responsive phosphoproteome in ES cells and identified the negative regulator RSK1 as a prominent target. We used CRISPR/Cas9 to create combinatorial mutations in RSK family genes. Genotypes that included homozygous null mutations in Rps6ka1, encoding RSK1, resulted in elevated ERK phosphorylation. These RSK‐depleted ES cells exhibit altered kinetics of transition into differentiation, with accelerated downregulation of naïve pluripotency factors, precocious expression of transitional epiblast markers and early onset of lineage specification. We further show that chemical inhibition of RSK increases ERK phosphorylation and expedites ES cell transition without compromising multilineage potential. These findings demonstrate that the ERK activation profile influences the dynamics of pluripotency progression and highlight the role of signalling feedback in temporal control of cell state transitions.     

Efficiency of embryoid body formation and hematopoietic development from embryonic stem cells in different culture systems

Embryonic stem (ES) cells have tremendous potential as a cell source for cell-based therapies. Realization of that potential will depend on our ability to understand and manipulate the factors that influence cell fate decisions and to develop scalable methods of cell production. We compared four standard ES cell differentiation culture systems by measuring aspects of embryoid body (EB) formation efficiency and cell proliferation, and by tracking development of a specific differentiated tissue type-blood-using functional (colony-forming cell) and phenotypic (Flk-1 and CD34 expression) assays. We report that individual murine ES cells form EBs with an efficiency of 42 +/- 9%, but this value is rarely obtained because of EB aggregation-a process whereby two or more individual ES cells or EBs fuse to form a single, larger cell aggregate. Regardless of whether EBs were generated from a single ES cell in methylcellulose or liquid suspension culture, or aggregates of ES cells in hanging drop culture, they grew to a similar maximum cell number of 28,000 +/- 9,000 cells per EB. Among the three methods for EB generation in suspension culture there were no differences in the kinetics or frequency of hematopoietic development. Thus, initiating EBs with a single ES cell and preventing EB aggregation should allow for maximum yield of differentiated cells in the EB system. EB differentiation cultures were also compared to attached differentiation culture using the same outputs. Attached colonies were not similarly limited in cell number; however, hematopoietic development in attached culture was impaired. The percentage of early Flk-1 and CD34 expressing cells was dramatically lower than in EBs cultured in suspension, whereas hematopoietic colony formation was almost completely inhibited. These results provide a foundation for development of efficient, scalable bioprocesses for ES cell differentiation, and inform novel methods for the production of hematopoietic tissues.     

Fish stem cell cultures

Stem cells have the potential for self-renewal and differentiation. First stem cell cultures were derived 30 years ago from early developing mouse embryos. These are pluripotent embryonic stem (ES) cells. Efforts towards ES cell derivation have been attempted in other mammalian and non-mammalian species. Work with stem cell culture in fish started 20 years ago. Laboratory fish species, in particular zebrafish and medaka, have been the focus of research towards stem cell cultures. Medaka is the second organism that generated ES cells and the first that gave rise to a spermatogonial stem cell line capable of test-tube sperm production. Most recently, the first haploid stem cells capable of producing whole animals have also been generated from medaka. ES-like cells have been reported also in zebrafish and several marine species. Attempts for germline transmission of ES cell cultures and gene targeting have been reported in zebrafish. Recent years have witnessed the progress in markers and procedures for ES cell characterization. These include the identification of fish homologs/paralogs of mammalian pluripotency genes and parameters for optimal chimera formation. In addition, fish germ cell cultures and transplantation have attracted considerable interest for germline transmission and surrogate production. Haploid ES cell nuclear transfer has proven in medaka the feasibility of semi-cloning as a novel assisted reproductive technology. In this special issue on "Fish Stem Cells and Nuclear Transfer", we will focus our review on medaka to illustrate the current status and perspective of fish stem cells in research and application. We will also mention semi-cloning as a new development to conventional nuclear transfer.