Comparative study of hematopoietic differentiation between human embryonic stem cell lines

Directed differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) into any desired cell type has been hailed as a therapeutic promise to cure many human diseases. However, substantial roadblocks still exist for in vitro differentiation of hESCs into distinct cell types, including T lymphocytes. Here we examined the hematopoietic differentiation potential of six different hESC lines. We compare their ability to develop into CD34(+) or CD34(+)CD45(+) hematopoietic precursor populations under several differentiation conditions. Comparison of lymphoid potential of hESC derived- and fetal tissue derived-hematopoietic precursors was also made. We found diverse hematopoietic potential between hESC lines depending on the culture or passage conditions. In contrast to fetal-derived hematopoietic precursors, none of the CD34(+) precursors differentiated from hESCs were able to develop further into T cells. These data underscore the difficulties in the current strategy of hESC forward differentiation and highlight distinct differences between CD34(+) hematopoietic precursors generated in vitro versus in vivo.     

The response of human mesenchymal stem cells to osteogenic signals and its impact on bone tissue engineering

Bone tissue engineering using human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) is a multidisciplinary field that aims to treat patients with trauma, spinal fusion and large bone defects. Cell-based bone tissue engineering encompasses the isolation of multipotent hMSCs from the bone marrow of the patient, in vitro expansion and seeding onto porous scaffold materials. In vitro pre-differentiation of hMSCs into the osteogenic lineage augments their in vivo bone forming capacity. Differentiation of hMSCs into bone forming osteoblasts is a multi-step process regulated by various molecular signaling pathways, which warrants a thorough understanding of these signaling cues for the efficient use of hMSCs in bone tissue engineering. Recently, there has been a surge of knowledge on the molecular cues regulating osteogenic differentiation but extrapolation to hMSC differentiation is not guaranteed, because of species- and cell-type specificity. In this review, we describe a number of key osteogenic signaling pathways, which directly or indirectly regulate osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs. We will discuss how and to what extent the process is different from that in other cell types with special emphasis on applications in bone tissue engineering.     

Cells derived from human umbilical cord blood support the long-term growth of undifferentiated human embryonic stem cells

Various types of human cells have been tested as feeder cells for the undifferentiated growth of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) in vitro. We report here the successful culture of two hESC lines (H1 and H9) on human umbilical cord blood (UCB)-derived fibroblast-like cells. These cells permit the long-term continuous growth of undifferentiated and pluripotent hESCs. The cultured hESCs had normal karyotypes, expressed OCT-4, SSEA-4, TRA-1-60, and TRA-1-81, formed cystic embryonic body in vitro and teratomas in vivo after injected into immunodeficient mice. The wide availability of clinical-grade human UCB makes it a promising source of support cells for the growth of hESC for use in cell therapies.     

Noggin maintains pluripotency of human embryonic stem cells grown on Matrigel

Objective:  Spontaneous differentiation of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) cultures is a major concern in stem cell research. Physical removal of differentiated areas in a stem cell colony is the current approach used to keep the cultures in a pluripotent state for a prolonged period of time. All hESCs available for research require unidentified soluble factors secreted from feeder layers to maintain the undifferentiated state and pluripotency. Under experimental conditions, stem cells are grown on various matrices, the most commonly used being Matrigel.
Materials and Methods:  We propose an alternative method to prevent spontaneous differentiation of hESCs grown on Matrigel that uses low amounts of recombinant noggin. We make use of the porosity of Matrigel to serve as a matrix that traps noggin and gradually releases it into the culture to antagonize bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP). BMPs are known to initiate differentiation of hESCs and are either present in the conditioned medium or are secreted by hESCs themselves.
Results:  hESCs grown on Matrigel supplemented with noggin in conditioned medium from feeder layers (irradiated mouse embryonic fibroblasts) retained both normal karyotype and markers of hESC pluripotency for 14 days. In addition, these cultures were found to have increased cell proliferation of stem cells as compared to hESCs grown on Matrigel alone.
Conclusion:  Noggin can be utilized for short term prevention of spontaneous differentiation of stem cells grown on Matrigel.     

Chip-Based Comparison of the Osteogenesis of Human Bone Marrow- and Adipose Tissue-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells under Mechanical Stimulation

Adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ASCs) are considered as an attractive stem cell source for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. We compared human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) and hASCs under dynamic hydraulic compression to evaluate and compare osteogenic abilities. A novel micro cell chip integrated with microvalves and microscale cell culture chambers separated from an air-pressure chamber was developed using microfabrication technology. The microscale chip enables the culture of two types of stem cells concurrently, where each is loaded into cell culture chambers and dynamic compressive stimulation is applied to the cells uniformly. Dynamic hydraulic compression (1 Hz, 1 psi) increased the production of osteogenic matrix components (bone sialoprotein, oateopontin, type I collagen) and integrin (CD11b and CD31) expression from both stem cell sources. Alkaline phosphatase and Alrizarin red staining were evident in the stimulated hMSCs, while the stimulated hASCs did not show significant increases in staining under the same stimulation conditions. Upon application of mechanical stimulus to the two types of stem cells, integrin (β1) and osteogenic gene markers were upregulated from both cell types. In conclusion, stimulated hMSCs and hASCs showed increased osteogenic gene expression compared to non-stimulated groups. The hMSCs were more sensitive to mechanical stimulation and more effective towards osteogenic differentiation than the hASCs under these modes of mechanical stimulation.     

Sortilin is upregulated during osteoblastic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells and promotes extracellular matrix mineralization

Osteoblasts and adipocytes are derived from a common precursor in bone marrow, the mesenchymal stem cell (MSC). Factors driving human MSCs (hMSCs) to differentiate down the two lineages play important roles in determining bone density because it has been shown that bone volume loss associated with osteoporosis and aging is accompanied by reduced osteoblastic bone formation and increased marrow adipose tissue. The genes upregulated in hMSCs during osteogenic differentiation were screened using cDNA microarrays and were semi-quantitated by real-time RT-PCR. One of the genes identified was sortilin, which was upregulated one day after osteogenic induction and remained upregulated for a week. The overexpression of sortilin in hMSCs using an adenovirus vector resulted in the acceleration of mineralization during osteogenic differentiation without affecting alkaline phosphatase activity. Lipoprotein lipase (LPL), produced by adipocytes, is bound by sortilin, which may mediate its endocytosis. By adding LPL to osteogenic induction medium, osteoblastic mineralization was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner. Interestingly, sortilin overexpression abolished the LPL-mediated suppression of osteogenic differentiation. hMSCs exist in marrow where LPL-producing adipose cells are abundant and where osteogenesis is negatively regulated by LPL. Sortilin has a counter effect of promoting osteogenesis by acting as a scavenger of LPL.     

Direct and progressive differentiation of human embryonic stem cells into the chondrogenic lineage

Treatment of common and debilitating degenerative cartilage diseases particularly osteoarthritis is a clinical challenge because of the limited capacity of the tissue for self‐repair. Because of their unlimited capacity for self‐renewal and ability to differentiate into multiple lineages, human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are a potentially powerful tool for repair of cartilage defects. The primary objective of the present study was to develop culture systems and conditions that enable hESCs to directly and uniformly differentiate into the chondrogenic lineage without prior embryoid body (EB) formation, since the inherent cellular heterogeneity of EBs hinders obtaining homogeneous populations of chondrogenic cells that can be used for cartilage repair. To this end, we have subjected undifferentiated pluripotent hESCs to the high density micromass culture conditions we have extensively used to direct the differentiation of embryonic limb bud mesenchymal cells into chondrocytes. We report that micromass cultures of pluripotent hESCs undergo direct, rapid, progressive, and substantially uniform chondrogenic differentiation in the presence of BMP2 or a combination of BMP2 and TGF‐β1, signaling molecules that act in concert to regulate chondrogenesis in the developing limb. The gene expression profiles of hESC‐derived cultures harvested at various times during the progression of their differentiation has enabled us to identify cultures comprising cells in different phases of the chondrogenic lineage ranging from cultures just entering the lineage to well differentiated chondrocytes. Thus, we are poised to compare the abilities of hESC‐derived progenitors in different phases of the chondrogenic lineage for cartilage repair. J. Cell. Physiol. 224: 664–671, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Expression of the 49 human ATP binding cassette (ABC) genes in pluripotent embryonic stem cells and in early- and late-stage multipotent mesenchymal stem cells

The 49-member human ATP binding cassette (ABC) gene family encodes 44 membrane transporters for lipids, ions, peptides or xenobiotics, four translation factors without transport activity, as they lack transmembrane domains, and one pseudogene. To understand the roles of ABC genes in pluripotency and multipotency, we performed a sensitive qRT-PCR analysis of their expression in embryonic stem cells (hESCs), bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) and hESC-derived hMSCs (hES-MSCs). We confirm that hES-MSCs represent an intermediate developmental stage between hESCs and hMSCs. We observed that 44 ABCs were significantly expressed in hESCs, 37 in hES-MSCs and 35 in hMSCs. These variations are mainly due to plasma membrane transporters with low but significant gene expression: 18 are expressed in hESCs compared with 16 in hES-MSCs and 8 in hMSCs, suggesting important roles in pluripotency. Several of these ABCs shared similar substrates but differ regarding gene regulation. ABCA13 and ABCB4, similarly to ABCB1, could be new markers to select primitive hMSCs with specific plasma membrane transporter^low phenotypes. ABC proteins performing basal intracellular functions, including translation factors and mitochondrial heme transporters, showed the highest constant gene expression among the three populations. Peptide transporters in the endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi and lysosome were well expressed in hESCs and slightly upregulated in hMSCs, which play important roles during the development of stem cell niches in bone marrow or meningeal tissue. These results will be useful to study specific cell cycle regulation of pluripotent stem cells or ABC dysregulation in complex pathologies, such as cancers or neurological disorders.     

Different effects of intermittent and continuous fluid shear stresses on osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells

A reasonable mechanical microenvironment similar to the bone microenvironment in vivo is critical to the formation of engineering bone tissues. As fluid shear stress (FSS) produced by perfusion culture system can lead to the osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), it is widely used in studies of bone tissue engineering. However, effects of FSS on the differentiation of hMSCs largely depend on the FSS application manner. It is interesting how different FSS application manners influence the differentiation of hMSCs. In this study, we examined the effects of intermittent FSS and continuous FSS on the osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs. The phosphorylation level of ERK1/2 and FAK is measured to investigate the effects of different FSS application manners on the activation of signaling molecules. The results showed that intermittent FSS could promote the osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs. The expression level of osteogenic genes and the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity in cells under intermittent FSS application were significantly higher than those in cells under continuous FSS application. Moreover, intermittent FSS up-regulated the activity of ERK1/2 and FAK. Our study demonstrated that intermittent FSS is more effective to induce the osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs than continuous FSS.     

Osteogenic potential of rat mesenchymal stem cells after several passages

Osteogenic potential of serially passaged rat bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMCs) was evaluated for clinical feasibility. Osteogenic differentiation in vitro was evaluated by means of the concentration and mRNA expression of alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin. For in vivo osteogenesis, BMCs in various degrees of differentiation were implanted into the athymic mice. Although elevated levels of osteogenic markers were prominent in the less passaged BMCs continuously cultured with osteogenic supplements (OS group), they decreased with passaging. Similar to the in vitro experiments, abundant bone and cartilage formations inside the membrane were observed in the P0 through P2 cells of the OS group. In the P3 cells, however, the chambers were filled with fibrous tissues showing the failure of osteogenesis. Establishment of the culture conditions that permit the rapid expansion of BMCs while retaining their potential for differentiation will be required for future clinical applications.     

Development of osteogenic tissue in diffusion chambers from early precursor cells in bone marrow of adult rats

Diffusion chambers containing bone marrow cells from adult rats were implanted intraperitoneally into rat hosts and cultured in vivo for up to 64 days. Biochemical and histological analyses of the contents of the chambers demonstrate that a connective tissue consisting of bone, cartilage and fibrous tissues is formed by precursor cells present in marrow stroma. The amounts of osteogenic tissue and DNA are directly correlated with time of implantation and with number of cells inoculated. In the chambers there is initial formation of fibrous tissue which is strongly reactive to collagen type III, laminin and fibronectin. In areas of osteogenesis which appear later within this fibrous anlage, expression of collagen type III, laminin and fibronectin decrease and collagen types I and II increase in association with bone and cartilage respectively. Where osteogenesis does not develop, fibrous tissue continues to express collagen type III. The sequential expression of the different extracellular matrix components is similar to that previously observed during osteogenic differentiation in embryonic and adult developmental systems. It is concluded that the formation of fibrous and osteogenic tissues in diffusion chambers by precursor cells present in adult marrow, resembles the normal developmental process.     

Inhibition of human embryonic stem cell differentiation by mechanical strain

Mechanical forces have been reported to induce proliferation and/or differentiation in many cell types, but the role of mechanotransduction during embryonic stem cell fate decisions is unknown. To ascertain the role of mechanical strain in human embryonic stem cell (hESC) differentiation, we measured the rate of hESC differentiation in the presence and absence of biaxial cyclic strain. Above a threshold of 10% cyclic strain, applied to a deformable elastic substratum upon which the hESC colonies were cultured, hESC differentiation was reduced and self-renewal was promoted without selecting against survival of differentiated or undifferentiated cells. Frequency of mechanical strain application had little effect on extent of differentiation. hESCs cultured under cyclic strain retained pluripotency, evidenced by their ability to differentiate to cell lineages in all three germ layers. Mechanical inhibition of hESC differentiation could not be traced to secretion of chemical factors into the media suggesting that mechanical forces may directly regulate hESC differentiation. Mechanical strain is not sufficient to inhibit differentiation, however, in unconditioned medium, hESCs grown under strain differentiated at the same rate as cells cultured in the absence of strain. Thus, while mechanical forces play a role in regulating hESC self-renewal and differentiation, they must act synergistically with chemical signals. These findings imply that application of mechanical forces may be useful, in combination with chemical and matrix-encoded signals, towards controlling differentiation of hESCs for therapeutic applications.     

The inhibitory role of stromal cell mesenchyme on human embryonic stem cell hepatocyte differentiation is overcome by Wnt3a treatment

Pluripotent stem cells are derived from the inner cell mass of preimplantation embryos, and display the ability of the embryonic founder cells by forming all three germ lineages in vitro. It is well established that the cellular niche plays an important role in stem cell maintenance and differentiation. Stem cells generally have limited function without the specialized microenvironment of the niche that provides key cell-cell contact, soluble mediators, and extracellular matrices. We were interested in the role that Wnt signaling, in particular Wnt3a, played in human embryonic stem cell (hESC) differentiation to hepatic endoderm in vitro. hESC differentiation to hepatic endoderm was efficient in pure stem cell populations. However, in younger hESC lines, generating stromal cell mesenchyme, our model was very inefficient. The negative effect of stroma could be reversed by pretreating hESCs with Wnt3a prior to the onset of hepatocyte differentiation. Wnt3a pretreatment reinstated efficient hESC differentiation to hepatic endoderm. These studies represent an important step in understanding hepatocyte differentiation from hESCs and the role played by the cellular niche in vitro.     

Niche-mediated control of human embryonic stem cell self-renewal and differentiation

Complexity in the spatial organization of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) cultures creates heterogeneous microenvironments (niches) that influence hESC fate. This study demonstrates that the rate and trajectory of hESC differentiation can be controlled by engineering hESC niche properties. Niche size and composition regulate the balance between differentiation-inducing and -inhibiting factors. Mechanistically, a niche size-dependent spatial gradient of Smad1 signaling is generated as a result of antagonistic interactions between hESCs and hESC-derived extra-embryonic endoderm (ExE). These interactions are mediated by the localized secretion of bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP2) by ExE and its antagonist, growth differentiation factor-3 (GDF3) by hESCs. Micropatterning of hESCs treated with small interfering (si) RNA against GDF3, BMP2 and Smad1, as well treatments with a Rho-associated kinase (ROCK) inhibitor demonstrate that independent control of Smad1 activation can rescue the colony size-dependent differentiation of hESCs. Our results illustrate, for the first time, a role for Smad1 in the integration of spatial information and in the niche-size-dependent control of hESC self-renewal and differentiation.     

Development of scalable culture systems for human embryonic stem cells

The use of human pluripotent stem cells, including embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells, in therapeutic applications will require the development of robust, scalable culture technologies for undifferentiated cells. Advances made in large-scale cultures of other mammalian cells will facilitate expansion of undifferentiated human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), but challenges specific to hESCs will also have to be addressed, including development of defined, humanized culture media and substrates, monitoring spontaneous differentiation and heterogeneity in the cultures, and maintaining karyotypic integrity in the cells. This review will describe our current understanding of environmental factors that regulate hESC self-renewal and efforts to provide these cues in various scalable bioreactor culture systems.     

Transplantation of human embryonic stem cell‐derived endothelial cells for vascular diseases

Using endothelial cells for therapeutic angiogenesis/vasculogenesis of ischemia diseases has led to exploring human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) as a potentially unlimited source for endothelial progenitor cells. With their capacity for self‐renewal and pluripotency, hESCs and their derived endothelial cells (hESC‐ECs) may be more advantageous than other endothelial cells obtained from diseased populations. However, hESC‐ECs' poor differentiation efficiency and poorly characterized in vivo function after transplantation present significant challenges for their future clinical application. This review will focus on the differentiation pathways of hESCs and their therapeutic potential for vascular diseases, as well as the monitoring of transplanted cells' fate via molecular imaging. Finally, cell enhancement strategies to improve the engraftment efficiency of hESC‐ECs will be discussed. J. Cell. Biochem. 106: 194–199, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Diverse hematopoietic potentials of five human embryonic stem cell lines

Despite a growing body of literature concerning the hematopoietic differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), the full hematopoietic potential of the majority of existing hESC lines remains unknown. In this study, the hematopoietic response of five NIH-approved hESC lines (H1, hSF6, BG01, BG02, and BG03) was compared. Our data show that despite expressing similar hESC markers under self-renewing conditions and initiating mesodermal differentiation under spontaneous differentiation conditions, marked differences in subsequent hematopoietic differentiation potential among these lines existed. A high degree of hematopoietic differentiation was attained only by H1 and BG02, whereas this process appeared to be abortive in nature for hSF6, BG01, and BG03. This difference in hematopoietic differentiation predisposition was readily apparent during spontaneous differentiation, and further augmented under hematopoietic-inducing conditions. This predisposition appeared to be intrinsic to the specific hESC line and independent of passage number or gender karyotype. Interestingly, H1 and BG02 displayed remarkable similarities in their kinetics of hematopoietic marker expression, hematopoietic colony formation, erythroid differentiation, and globin expression, suggesting that a similar, predetermined differentiation sequence is followed. The identification of intrinsic and extrinsic factors governing the hematopoietic differentiation potential of hESCs will be of great importance for the putative clinical utility of hESC lines.