Extrinsic factors derived from mouse embryonal carcinoma cell lines maintain pluripotency of mouse embryonic stem cells through a novel signal pathway

Embryonic carcinoma (EC) cells, which are malignant stem cells of teratocarcinoma, have numerous morphological and biochemical properties in common with pluripotent stem cells such as embryonic stem (ES) cells. However, three EC cell lines (F9, P19 and PCC3) show different developmental potential and self‐renewal capacity from those of ES cells. All three EC cell lines maintain self‐renewal capacity in serum containing medium without Leukemia Inhibitory factor (LIF) or feeder layer, and show limited differentiation capacity into restricted lineage and cell types. To reveal the underlying mechanism of these characteristics, we took the approach of characterizing extrinsic factors derived from EC cells on the self‐renewal capacity and pluripotency of mouse ES cells. Here we demonstrate that EC cell lines F9 and P19 produce factor(s) maintaining the undifferentiated state of mouse ES cells via an unidentified signal pathway, while P19 and PCC3 cells produce self‐renewal factors of ES cells other than LIF that were able to activate the STAT3 signal; however, inhibition of STAT3 activation with Janus kinase inhibitor shows only partial impairment on the maintenance of the undifferentiated state of ES cells. Thus, these factors present in EC cells‐derived conditioned medium may be responsible for the self‐renewal capacity of EC and ES cells independently of LIF signaling.     

The cellular form of the prion protein is involved in controlling cell cycle dynamics,self‐renewal,and the fate of human embryonic stem cell differentiation

Prion protein (PrP^C), is a glycoprotein that is expressed on the cell surface. The current study examines the role of PrP^C in early human embryogenesis using human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and tetracycline‐regulated lentiviral vectors that up‐regulate or suppresses PrP^C expression. Here, we show that expression of PrP^C in pluripotent hESCs cultured under self‐renewal conditions induced cell differentiation toward lineages of three germ layers. Silencing of PrP^C in hESCs undergoing spontaneous differentiation altered the dynamics of the cell cycle and changed the balance between the lineages of the three germ layers, where differentiation toward ectodermal lineages was suppressed. Moreover, over‐expression of PrP^C in hESCs undergoing spontaneous differentiation inhibited differentiation toward lineages of all three germ layers and helped to preserve high proliferation activity. These results illustrate that PrP^C is involved in key activities that dictate the status of hESCs including regulation of cell cycle dynamics, controlling the switch between self‐renewal and differentiation, and determining the fate of hESCs differentiation. This study suggests that PrP^C is at the crossroads of several signaling pathways that regulate the switch between preservation of or departure from the self‐renewal state, control cell proliferation activity, and define stem cell fate.     

Generation of human cortical neurons from a new immortal fetal neural stem cell line

Isolation and expansion of neural stem cells (NSCs) of human origin are crucial for successful development of cell therapy approaches in neurodegenerative diseases. Different epigenetic and genetic immortalization strategies have been established for long-term maintenance and expansion of these cells in vitro. Here we report the generation of a new, clonal NSC (hc-NSC) line, derived from human fetal cortical tissue, based on v-myc immortalization. Using immunocytochemistry, we show that these cells retain the characteristics of NSCs after more than 50 passages. Under proliferation conditions, when supplemented with epidermal and basic fibroblast growth factors, the hc-NSCs expressed neural stem/progenitor cell markers like nestin, vimentin and Sox2. When growth factors were withdrawn, proliferation and expression of v-myc and telomerase were dramatically reduced, and the hc-NSCs differentiated into glia and neurons (mostly glutamatergic and GABAergic, as well as tyrosine hydroxylase-positive, presumably dopaminergic neurons). RT-PCR analysis showed that the hc-NSCs retained expression of Pax6, Emx2 and Neurogenin2, which are genes associated with regionalization and cell commitment in cortical precursors during brain development. Our data indicate that this hc-NSC line could be useful for exploring the potential of human NSCs to replace dead or damaged cortical cells in animal models of acute and chronic neurodegenerative diseases. Taking advantage of its clonality and homogeneity, this cell line will also be a valuable experimental tool to study the regulatory role of intrinsic and extrinsic factors in human NSC biology.     

Exo-1基因对端粒酶缺陷小鼠造血干细胞植入效率的影响

目的利用不同的造血干细胞移植方式,探讨Exo-1基因缺失对端粒酶基因敲除小鼠的造血干细胞植入效率的影响。方法以CD45.1小鼠的骨髓细胞或骨髓造血干细胞为供体,以端粒酶基因敲除小鼠或Exo-1基因和端粒酶基因双敲除小鼠为受体,在给予不同剂量X线照射或不照射的情况下,重复进行静脉注射全骨髓细胞或分选的骨髓造血干细胞(c-kit+、Sca-1+、lineage-,KSL),于移植后1个月取外周血,流式分析嵌合率。结果未经X线照射及1 Gy、2 Gy照射情况下,端粒酶基因缺陷受体小鼠的外周血中供体来源的细胞嵌合率较低;6 Gy照射后,供体来源的外周血细胞嵌合率仍低于50%,而且端粒酶基因缺陷受体小鼠在移植后1个月内死亡较多;3 Gy照射可形成较高嵌合率,Exo-1基因缺失对端粒酶缺陷小鼠的造血干细胞植入效率的影响不显著。结论以端粒酶缺陷小鼠作为衰老模型研究造血干细胞植入效率时,3 Gy X线照射能够有效地形成较高的外周血供体细胞的嵌合率,但是Exo-1基因没有进一步提高造血干细胞在端粒酶敲除小鼠的植入效率。     

Involvement of neuropeptide Y and its Y1 and Y5 receptors in maintaining self‐renewal and proliferation of human embryonic stem cells

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and NPY receptors are widely expressed in various organs and cell types and have been shown to have pleiotropic functions. However, their presence or role in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) remains unknown. We now show that undifferentiated hESCs primarily express NPY and its Y1 and Y5 receptors. Inhibition of NPY signalling using either the selective NPY Y1 or Y5 receptor antagonist reduces the maintenance of self‐renewal and proliferation of undifferentiated hESCs. We also provide compelling evidence that exogenous NPY supports the long‐term growth of undifferentiated hESCs in the absence of feeder cell factors using only knockout serum replacement media. Further, NPY facilitates the use of chemically defined medium made up of N2/B27 supplement and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) for hESC feeder‐free culture. Our results indicate that both Y1 and Y5 receptors appear to be involved in the NPY‐mediated activation of AKT/protein kinase B and extracellular signal‐regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) in hESCs. Notably, only Y1 receptor, but not Y5 receptor, is responsible for the NPY‐induced activation of cAMP‐response element binding (CREB) in hESCs. These results provide the first evidence that NPY and its Y1 and Y5 receptors have potential role in maintaining hESC self‐renewal and pluripotency. We demonstrate the underlying importance of NPY signalling and its usefulness in the development of a defined and xeno‐free culture condition for the large‐scale propagation of undifferentiated hESCs.     

Gangliosides as a potential new class of stem cell markers: the case of GD1a in human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells

Owing to their exposure on the cell surface and the possibility of being directly recognized with specific antibodies, glycosphingolipids have aroused great interest in the field of stem cell biology. In the search for specific markers of the differentiation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) toward osteoblasts, we studied their glycosphingolipid pattern, with particular attention to gangliosides. After lipid extraction and fractionation, gangliosides, metabolically ³H-labeled in the sphingosine moiety, were separated by high-performance TLC and chemically characterized by MALDI MS. Upon induction of osteogenic differentiation, a 3-fold increase of ganglioside GD1a was observed. Therefore, the hypothesis of GD1a involvement in hBMSCs commitment toward the osteogenic phenotype was tested by comparison of the osteogenic propensity of GD1a-highly expressing versus GD1a-low expressing hBMSCs and direct addition of GD1a in the differentiation medium. It was found that either the high expression of GD1a in hBMSCs or the addition of GD1a in the differentiation medium favored osteogenesis, providing a remarkable increase of alkaline phosphatase. It was also observed that ganglioside GD2, although detectable in hBMSCs by immunohistochemistry with an anti-GD2 antibody, could not be recognized by chemical analysis, likely reflecting a case, not uncommon, of molecular mimicry.     

Establishment and in vitro differentiation of a new embryonic stem cell line from human blastocyst

Embryonic stem cells have the ability to remain undifferentiated and proliferate indefinitely in vitro while maintaining the potential to differentiate into derivatives of all three embryonic germ layers. These cells have, therefore, potential for in vitro differentiation studies, gene function, and so on. The aim of this study was to produce a human embryonic stem cell line. An inner cell mass of a human blastocyst was separated and cultured on mouse embryonic fibroblasts in embryonic stem cell medium with related additives. The established line was evaluated by morphology; passaging; freezing and thawing; alkaline phosphatase; Oct-4 expression; anti-surface markers including Tra-1-60 and Tra-1-81; and karyotype and spontaneous differentiation. Differentiated cardiomyocytes and neurons were evaluated by transmission electron microscopy and immunocytochemistry. Here, we report the derivation of a new embryonic stem cell line (Royan H1) from a human blastocyst that remains undifferentiated in morphology during continuous passaging for more than 30 passages, maintains a normal XX karyotype, is viable after freezing and thawing, and expresses alkaline phosphatase, Oct-4, Tra-1-60, and Tra-1-81. These cells remain undifferentiated when grown on mouse embryonic fibroblast feeder layers in the presence or absence of recombinant human leukemia inhibitory factor. Royan H1 cells can differentiate in vitro in the absence of feeder cells and can produce embryoid bodies that can further differentiate into beating cardiomyocytes as well as neurons. These results define Royan H1 cells as a new human embryonic stem cell line.     

Combined effects of leukocyte telomere length,p53 polymorphism and human papillomavirus infection on esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in a Han Chinese population

Telomere shortening has been suggested to be a genetic predictor for various cancers. However, evidences about this point with respect to esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in Han Chinese populations remain limited. Our previous study demonstrated that p53 Arg72Pro polymorphism was associated with the risk of human papillomavirus (HPV)-related ESCC. Telomeres and p53 play important roles in maintaining genomic stability and regulating the cell cycle. HPV impacts both telomere length stabilization and p53 degradation. Given the roles of the three factors, we evaluated leukocyte telomere length, p53 variants and HPV-16 serology to examine the potential associations between them and ESCC risk in a case–control study with 308 patients and 309 cancer-free controls matched by age and sex. Compared with long telomere length, short telomere length was significantly associated with an increased risk of ESCC (adjusted OR 2.01; 95% CI 1.41–2.80). Moreover, this association was enhanced when combined with HPV-16 seropositivity and p53 Arg/Arg or Arg/Pro genotypes. Notably, individuals with short telomere length, Arg/Pro or Arg/Arg genotypes and HPV-16 seropositivity had a 12.08-fold (95% CI 5.49–26.56) increased risk of ESCC compared to those with none of the three investigated risk factors. Taken together, these results indicate that short telomere length in peripheral blood leukocytes is a biomarker for ESCC risk, and has statistically additive effects with p53 variants and HPV seropositivity with regard to the risk of ESCC in a Han Chinese population.     

Id-1 plays a key role in cell adhesion in neural stem cells through the preservation of RAP1 signaling

Reorganization of the cytoskeleton is necessary for apoptosis, proliferation, migration, development and tissue repair. However, it is well established that mutations or overexpression of key regulators contribute to the phenotype and progression of several pathologies such as cancer. For instance, c-src mutations and the overexpression of FAK have been implicated in the invasive and metastatic process, suggesting that components of the motility system may represent a new class of therapeutic targets. Over the last several years, we and others have established distinct roles for the Ste20-like kinase SLK, encompassing apoptosis, growth, motility and development. Here, we review the SLK field from its initial cloning to the most recent findings from our laboratory. We summarize the various roles of SLK and the biochemical mechanisms that regulate its activity. These various findings reveal very complex functions and pattern of regulation for SLK in development and cancer, making it a potential therapeutic target.     

Biological character of human adipose-derived adult stem cells and influence of donor age on cell replication in culture

To investigate the biological character of human adipose-derived adult stem cells (hADAS cells) when cultured in vitro and the relationship between hADAS cell’s replication activity and the donor’s age factor, and to assess the stem cells as a new source for tissue engineering. hADAS cells are isolated from human adipose tissue of different age groups (from adolescents to olds: <20 years old, 21–40 years old, 41–60 years old and >61 years old groups). The protein markers (CD29, CD34, CD44, CD45, CD49d, HLA-DR, CD106) of hADAS cells were detected by flow cytometry (FCM) to identify the stem cell, and the cell cycle was examined for P20 hADAS cells to evaluate the safety of the subculture in vitro. The generative activity of hADAS cells in different age groups was also examined by MTT method. The formula “TD = t log2/logNt − logN0” was used to get the time doubling (TD) of the cells. The results showed that the cells kept heredity stabilization by chromosome analysis for at least 20 passages. The TD of these cells increased progressively by ageing, and the TD of the <20 years old group was lower than that of the >61 years old group (statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA), P=0.002, P<0.05). These findings suggested that a higher level of hADAS cells replication activity was found in the younger donators, and they represent novel and valuable seed cells for studies of tissue engineering.     

Biological character of human adipose-derived adult stem cells and influence of donor age on cell replication in culture

To investigate the biological character of human adipose-derived adult stem cells (hADAS cells) when cultured in vitro and the relationship between hADAS cell's replication activity and the donor's age factor, and to assess the stem cells as a new source for tissue engineering, hADAS cells are isolated from human adipose tissue of different age groups (from adolescents to olds ＜20 years old, 21-40years old, 41-60 years old and ＞61 years old groups). The protein markers (CD29, CD34, CD44, CD45,CD49d, HLA-DR, CD106) of hADAS cells were detected by flow cytometry (FCM) to identify the stem cell,and the cell cycle was examined for P20 hADAS cells to evaluate the safety of the subculture in vitro.The generative activity of hADAS cells in different age groups was also examined by MTT method. The formula "TD = t log2/logNt - logN0 "was used to get the time doubling (TD) of the cells. The results showed that the cells kept heredity stabilization by chromosome analysis for at least 20 passages. The TD of these cells increased progressively by ageing, and the TD of the ＜20 years old group was lower than that of the ＞61 years old group (statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA), P=-0.002, P＜0.05). These findings suggested that a higher level of hADAS cells replication activity was found in the younger donators, and they represent novel and valuable seed cells for studies of tissue engineering.     

Selection using the alpha-1 integrin (CD49a) enhances the multipotentiality of the mesenchymal stem cell population from heterogeneous bone marrow stromal cells

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells consist of a developmentally heterogeneous population of cells obtained from colony forming progenitors. As these colonies express the alpha-1 integrin (CD49a), here we single-cell FACS sorted CD49a+ cells from bone marrow in order to create clones and then compared their colony forming efficiency and multilineage differentiation capacity to the unsorted cells. Following selection, 40% of the sorted CD49a+ cells formed colonies, whereas parental cells failed to form colonies following limited dilution plating at 1 cell/well. Following ex vivo expansion, clones shared a similar morphology to the parental cell line, and also demonstrated enhanced proliferation. Further analysis by flow cytometry using a panel of multilineage markers demonstrated that the CD49a+ clones had enhanced expression of CD90 and CD105 compared to unsorted cells. Culturing cells in adipogenic, osteogenic or chondrogenic medium for 7, 10 and 15 days respectively and then analysing them by quantitative PCR demonstrated that CD49a+ clones readily underwent multlineage differentiation into fat, bone and cartilage compared to unsorted cells. These results thus support the use of CD49a selection for the enrichment of mesenchymal stem cells, and describes a strategy for selecting the most multipotential cells from a heterogeneous pool of bone marrow mononuclear stem cells.     

Ovariectomy of 12-month-old rats: effects on osteoprogenitor numbers in bone cell populations isolated from femur and on histomorphometric parameters of bone turnover in corresponding tibia

Ovariectomy (OVX) in rats results in increased bone turnover and decreased bone volume and bone mineral density when measured in the metaphyses of long bones. We have investigated the effects of OVX on changes in the number of progenitors in cell populations derived from the metaphyseal bone of femurs of ovariectomized rats at 12 months of age, by using colony assays, bone nodule assays, and limiting dilution analysis at 1.5 and 9 months post-OVX. We have also measured histomorphometric parameters of bone formation and resorption in the corresponding tibia at the same time-points. A significant increase, as shown by bone nodule assays and limiting dilution analysis, occurs in the number of progesterone- and dexamethasone-responsive osteoprogenitors in cell populations isolated from ovariectomized rats at the 9-month post-OVX time-point. Progesterone-responsive osteoprogenitors are also increased at 1.5 months post-OVX. The number of fibroblast colony-forming units does not change. Histomorphometry has shown that OVX causes an increase in osteoblast surfaces, mineralizing surfaces, and bone formation rate at both 1.5 and 9 months post-OVX. The mineral apposition rate is increased at 1.5 months post-OVX. OVX also increases parameters of bone resorption at both time-points, the net result being a decrease in bone mineral density and cancellous bone volume at 9 months post-OVX. Thus, OVX in rats at 12 months of age is associated with an increase in the number of both progesterone- and dexamethasone-responsive osteoprogenitors 9 months post-OVX; this corresponds with increases in the histomorphometric parameters of bone formation.     

The effect of medium composition on deposition of collagen type 1 and expression of osteogenic genes in mesenchymal stem cells derived from human adipose tissue and bone marrow

The two mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) populations that have gained most attention in relation to bone tissue engineering are adipose tissue (AT) MSCs and bone marrow (BM) MSCs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the ability of human BM-MSCs and AT-MSCs to survive, proliferate and deposit collagen type 1 when cultured on polycaprolactone nanofiber scaffolds and to ascertain the effect of medium composition on collagen type 1 formation and expression of osteogenic genes. The cells were seeded on polycaprolactone nanofiber scaffolds and cultured in three different types of media that differed by the presence of ascorbic acid, β-glycerophosphate and dexamethasone, that are typical components used for osteogenic differentiation of MSCs in vitro.In summary, AT-MSCs were proliferating significantly faster than BM-MSCs. AT-MSCs also showed better ability to deposit collagen type 1 and had a higher expression of early osteogenic markers, whereas BM-MSCs had higher expression of late osteogenic markers. This suggests that MSCs from diverse sources have different attributes and with respect to osteogenic differentiation, AT-MSCs are more immature compared to BM-MSCs. Collagen formation was depending on medium composition and the organization of collagen type 1 appeared to be influenced by the presence of dexamethasone.