SNL fibroblast feeder layers support derivation and maintenance of human induced pluripotent stem cells

Induced pluripotent stem(iPS) cells can be derived from human somatic cells by cellular reprogramming.This technology provides a potential source of non-controversial therapeutic cells for tissue repair,drug discovery,and opportunities for studying the molecular basis of human disease.Normally,mouse embryonic fibroblasts(MEFs) are used as feeder layers in the initial derivation of iPS lines.The purpose of this study was to determine whether SNL fibroblasts can be used to support the growth of human iPS cell...     

Stable propagation of human embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells on decellularized human substrates

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) that include human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) have gained enormous interest as potential sources for regenerative biomedical therapies and model systems for studying early development. Traditionally, mouse embryonic fibroblasts have been used as a supportive feeder layer for the sustained propagation of hPSCs. However, the use of nonhuman‐derived feeders presents concerns about the possibility of xenogenic contamination, labor intensiveness, and variability in experimental results in hPSC cultures. Toward addressing some of these concerns, we report the propagation of three different hPSCs on feeder‐free extracellular matrix (ECM)‐based substrates derived from human fibroblasts. hPSCs propagated in this setting were indistinguishable by multiple criteria, including colony morphology, expression of pluripotency protein markers, trilineage in vitro differentiation, and gene expression patterns, from hPSCs cultured directly on a fibroblast feeder layer. Further, hPSCs maintained a normal karyotype when analyzed after 15 passages in this setting. Development of this ECM‐based culture system is a significant advance in hPSC propagation methods as it could serve as a critical component in the development of humanized propagation systems for the production of stable hPSCs and its derivatives for research and therapeutic applications. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2010     

诱导多能干细胞研究进展

人类诱导多能干细胞（induced pluripotent stem cells,iPS细胞）的建立被公认为目前最重要的科技进展之一。iPS细胞在动物疾病模型上的成功治疗,病患特异性iPS细胞的研究及iPS细胞的定向分化研究将有可能使人们避开治疗性克隆的伦理和技术障碍,给人类疾病的干细胞治疗带来光明的前景。本文从iPS细胞的诱导策略和方法,来源细胞及筛选、重编程机制的研究现状、应用前景以及研究中存在的问题等方面对其作一综述和讨论。     

Neural progenitor cells from human induced pluripotent stem cells generated less autogenous immune response

The breakthrough development of induced pluripotent stem cells(iPSCs)raises the prospect of patient-specific treatment for many diseases through the replacement of affected cells.However,whether iPSC-derived functional cell lineages generate a deleterious immune response upon auto-transplantation remains unclear.In this study,we differentiated five human iPSC lines from skin fibroblasts and urine cells into neural progenitor cells(NPCs)and analyzed their immunogenicity.Through co-culture with autogenous peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs),we showed that both somatic cells and iPSC-derived NPCs do not stimulate significant autogenous PBMC proliferation.However,a significant immune reaction was detected when these cells were co-cultured with allogenous PBMCs.Furthermore,no significant expression of perforin or granzyme B was detected following stimulation of autogenous immune effector cells(CD3+CD8 T cells,CD3+CD8+T cells or CD3 CD56+NK cells)by NPCs in both PBMC and T cell co-culture systems.These results suggest that human iPSC-derived NPCs may not initiate an immune response in autogenous transplants,and thus set a base for further preclinical evaluation of human iPSCs.     

诱导多能干细胞在心血管疾病研究和治疗中的应用

诱导多能干细胞（induced pluripotent stem cells,iPS细胞）不仅具有与胚胎干细胞（embryonic stem cell,ESC）相似的各项特性,相对于ESC,iPS细胞,尤其患者特异性iPS细胞还具有来源方便、不存在免疫排斥和伦理问题以及可以保留特定个体基因型等优点,为再生医学提供了可能的细胞来源。该文主要从心血管药物的筛选、疾病模型的建立、iPS细胞应用于心脏移植研究等方面入手,探讨了iPS细胞在心血管疾病研究和治疗中的现状和未来。     

Modelling familial dysautonomia in human induced pluripotent stem cells

Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells have considerable promise as a novel tool for modelling human disease and for drug discovery. While the generation of disease-specific iPS cells has become routine, realizing the potential of iPS cells in disease modelling poses challenges at multiple fronts. Such challenges include selecting a suitable disease target, directing the fate of iPS cells into symptom-relevant cell populations, identifying disease-related phenotypes and showing reversibility of such phenotypes using genetic or pharmacological approaches. Finally, the system needs to be scalable for use in modern drug discovery. Here, we will discuss these points in the context of modelling familial dysautonomia (FD, Riley-Day syndrome, hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy III (HSAN-III)), a rare genetic disorder in the peripheral nervous system. We have demonstrated three disease-specific phenotypes in FD-iPS-derived cells that can be partially rescued by treating cells with the plant hormone kinetin. Here, we will discuss how to use FD-iPS cells further in high throughput drug discovery assays, in modelling disease severity and in performing mechanistic studies aimed at understanding disease pathogenesis. FD is a rare disease but represents an important testing ground for exploring the potential of iPS cell technology in modelling and treating human disease.     

猪诱导性多能干细胞技术的研究进展及应用前景

猪作为实验材料,具有由于来源方便、基因序列与人类的相近及其在畜牧业中的重要地位等优势,成为国内外研究的热点,但是猪的胚胎干细胞(Embryonic stem cells,ESC)建系方面的研究进展缓慢。诱导性多能干细胞(induced pluripotent stem cells,iPSC)技术的诞生,开创了体细胞重编程的全新方法。猪iPSC体系的建立将为家畜ESC体系的建立奠定基础,同时也对提高猪转基因克隆的效率,高效育种和保种,乃至生物医学领域均产生深远的影响。文章综述了iPSC技术的主要进展,重点阐述了猪iPSC技术的现状及其在生物医学和畜牧业中的应用前景,以期为从事该领域研究的科研人员提供参考。     

Induced pluripotent stem cells for modelling human diseases

Research into the pathophysiological mechanisms of human disease and the development of targeted therapies have been hindered by a lack of predictive disease models that can be experimentally manipulated in vitro. This review describes the current state of modelling human diseases with the use of human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell lines. To date, a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, haematopoietic disorders, metabolic conditions and cardiovascular pathologies have been captured in a Petri dish through reprogramming of patient cells into iPS cells followed by directed differentiation of disease-relevant cells and tissues. However, realizing the true promise of iPS cells for advancing our basic understanding of disease and ultimately providing novel cell-based therapies will require more refined protocols for generating the highly specialized cells affected by disease, coupled with strategies for drug discovery and cell transplantation.     

转录因子与诱导型多能干细胞

小鼠的成纤维细胞通过转染四种转录因子（Oct3／4、Sox2、c-Myc和K1F4）可以被诱导转变成类似胚胎干细胞的多能性干细胞,称之为诱导型多能干细胞（induced pluripotent stem cell,iPS）,这种多能干细胞在细胞形态、增殖速率、致瘤性、基因表达以及形成嵌合小鼠的能力上与胚胎干细胞有许多相似之处,将来可能成为胚胎干细胞在临床应用中的替代。本文综述了iPS相关的几种转录因子,及其在重编程过程中的作用以及iPS的发展前景。     

Three-dimensional hydrogel culture conditions promote the differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells into hepatocytes

Background aims

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) are becoming increasingly popular in research endeavors due to their potential for clinical application; however, such application is challenging due to limitations such as inferior function and low induction efficiency. In this study, we aimed to establish a three-dimensional (3D) culture condition to mimic the environment in which hepatogenesis occurs in vivo to enhance the differentiation of hiPSCs for large-scale culture and high throughput BAL application.

Single-cell cloning and expansion of human induced pluripotent stem cells by a microfluidic culture device

The microenvironment of cells, which includes basement proteins, shear stress, and extracellular stimuli, should be taken into consideration when examining physiological cell behavior. Although microfluidic devices allow cellular responses to be analyzed with ease at the single-cell level, few have been designed to recover cells. We herein demonstrated that a newly developed microfluidic device helped to improve culture conditions and establish a clonality-validated human pluripotent stem cell line after tracing its growth at the single-cell level. The device will be a helpful tool for capturing various cell types in the human body that have not yet been established in vitro.     

新物种诱导多能干细胞的研究进展

胚胎干细胞（embryonic stem cells,ESC）在人类遗传病学研究、疾病模型建立、器官再生以及动物物种改良和定向变异等方面的地位是其他类型的细胞不可取代的。但是,由于实验技术和体外培养条件的限制,除了小鼠、恒河猴和人之外,大鼠、猪、牛、羊等其他哺乳动物的ES细胞系被证明很难获得。先后有多个研究小组报道了他们利用新兴的诱导多能干细胞（induced pluripotent stem cells,iPS细胞）技术成功建立大鼠和猪的iPS细胞系的研究成果。迄今为止,这两个物种是在未成功建立ES细胞系之前利用iPS技术建立多能干细胞系的成功范例。这些研究对于那些还未建立ES细胞的物种建立多能干细胞系提供了一种新的方案,也将给这些物种的胚胎干细胞的建立、基因修饰动物的产生以及人类医疗事业的促进和发展带来新的希望。     

Highly efficient induction and long-term maintenance of multipotent cardiovascular progenitors from human pluripotent stem cells under defined conditions

Cardiovascular progenitor cells (CVPCs) derived from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), including human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), hold great promise for the study of cardiovascular development and cell-based therapy of heart diseases, but their applications are challenged by the difficulties in their efficient generation and stable maintenance. This study aims to develop chemically defined systems for robust generation and stable propagation of hPSC-derived CVPCs by modulating the key early developmental pathways involved in human cardiovascular specification and CVPC self-renewal. Herein we report that a combination of bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4), glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) inhibitor CHIR99021 and ascorbic acid is sufficient to rapidly convert monolayer-cultured hPSCs, including hESCs and hiPSCs, into homogeneous CVPCs in a chemically defined medium under feeder- and serum-free culture conditions. These CVPCs stably self-renewed under feeder- and serum-free conditions and expanded over 10⁷-fold when the differentiation-inducing signals from BMP, GSK3 and Activin/Nodal pathways were simultaneously eliminated. Furthermore, these CVPCs exhibited expected genome-wide molecular features of CVPCs, retained potentials to generate major cardiovascular lineages including cardiomyocytes, smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells in vitro, and were non-tumorigenic in vivo. Altogether, the established systems reported here permit efficient generation and stable maintenance of hPSC-derived CVPCs, which represent a powerful tool to study early embryonic cardiovascular development and provide a potentially safe source of cells for myocardial regenerative medicine.     

体细胞诱导为多能干细胞的最新进展

2007年11-12月,Cell、Science和Nature发表一系列体外诱导人类体细胞转变为多能干细胞的论文。来自日本和美国的研究小组利用慢病毒载体分别将Oct-4、Sox2、C-Myc、Klf4和Oct-4、Sox2、Nanog、Lin28两套基因转入人成纤维细胞,均获得类似ES细胞的克隆。小鼠诱导性多能干细胞已初步用于镰刀细胞性贫血的基因治疗。短短一年半,诱导性多能干细胞的研究和关注度呈现了爆炸式成长;体细胞重编程、去分化、多能干细胞来源等一系列热点问题再次成为大众瞩目的中心。     

Xeno-free derivation and culture of human embryonic stem cells： current status, problems and challenges

Human embryonic stem cells （hESC） not only hold great promise for the treatment of degenerative diseases but also provide a valuable tool for developmental studies. However, the clinical applications of hESC are at present limited by xeno-contamination during the in vitro derivation and propagation of these cells. In this review, we summarize the current methodologies for the derivation and the propagation of hESC in conditions that will eventually enable the generation of clinical-grade cells for future therapeutic applications.     

Specific lectin biomarkers for isolation of human pluripotent stem cells identified through array-based glycomic analysis

Rapid and dependable methods for isolating human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) populations are urgently needed for quality control in basic research and in cell-based therapy applications. Using lectin arrays, we analyzed glycoproteins extracted from 26 hPSC samples and 22 differentiated cell samples, and identified a small group of lectins with distinctive binding signatures that were sufficient to distinguish hPSCs from a variety of non-pluripotent cell types. These specific biomarkers were shared by all the 12 human embryonic stem cell and the 14 human induced pluripotent stem cell samples examined, regardless of the laboratory of origin, the culture conditions, the somatic cell type reprogrammed, or the reprogramming method used. We demonstrated a practical application of specific lectin binding by detecting hPSCs within a differentiated cell population with lectin-mediated staining followed by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry, and by enriching and purging viable hPSCs from mixed cell populations using lectin-mediated cell separation. Global gene expression analysis showed pluripotency-associated differential expression of specific fucosyltransferases and sialyltransferases, which may underlie these differences in protein glycosylation and lectin binding. Taken together, our results show that protein glycosylation differs considerably between pluripotent and non-pluripotent cells, and demonstrate that lectins may be used as biomarkers to monitor pluripotency in stem cell populations and for removal of viable hPSCs from mixed cell populations.     

A simplified method to generate serotonergic neurons from mouse embryonic stem and induced pluripotent stem cells

We have developed a new simple method to induce serotonergic neurons from embryonic stem (ES) and induced pluripotent stem cells. When ES or induced pluripotent stem cells were cultured on a thick gel layer of Matrigel, most colonies extended TuJ1-positive neurites. We found that noggin, a known antagonist of bone morphogenic protein, induces ES cells to express genes involved in serotonergic differentiation, such as Nkx2.2, Pet-1, Sonic hedgehog, tryptophan hydroxylase 2, and serotonin transporter, as well as increases high potassium-induced release of serotonin. To concentrate serotonergic neurons, ES cells carrying Pet-1-enhancer-driven enhanced green fluorescent protein were differentiated and sorted into about 80% pure cultures of serotonergic neurons. Whole cell voltage-clamp recordings showed a voltage-dependent current in dissociated neurons. This simplified method provides an alternative option for serotonergic differentiation of pluripotent stem cells and will likely contribute a deeper understanding regarding the nature of serotonergic neurons and open new therapeutic perspectives for the treatment of psychiatric disorders.