ESC & iPSC News Volume 10.45 | Dec 2 2015

Using Zinc Finger Nuclease Technology to Generate CRX-Reporter Human Embryonic Stem Cells as a Tool to Identify and Study the Emergence of Photoreceptors Precursors during Pluripotent Stem Cell Differentiation
The authors generated human embryonic stem cell lines harboring the green fluorescent protein reporter at the endogenous loci of the cone-rod homeobox (CRX) gene, a key transcription factor in retinal development. [Stem Cells] Full Article

A Cost-Effective System for Differentiation of Intestinal Epithelium from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Investigators established a rapid and cost effective system for differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells into definitive endoderm cells. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Lumen Formation Is an Intrinsic Property of Isolated Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
Scientists demonstrated that dissociated human pluripotent stem cells are intrinsically programmed to form lumens. [Stem Cell Reports] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells to Model Human Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva
Investigators generated human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) from fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) patients with the ALK2 R206H mutation. The mutant ALK2 gene changed differentiation efficiencies of hiPSCs into FOP bone-forming progenitors: endothelial cells and pericytes. [Stem Cell Reports] Full Article

Elevated α-Synuclein Caused by SNCA Gene Triplication Impairs Neuronal Differentiation and Maturation in Parkinson’s Patient-Derived Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Researchers have assessed the impact of α-synuclein overexpression on the differentiation potential and phenotypic signatures of two neural-committed induced pluripotent stem cell lines derived from a Parkinson’s disease patient with a triplication of the human SNCA genomic locus. [Cell Death Dis] Full Article

Self-Renewal of Human Embryonic Stem Cells on Defined Synthetic Electrospun Nanofibers
Scientists demonstrated the potential of nanofibers as xeno-free scaffolds supportive of human embryonic stem cells adhesion, self-renewal and differentiation in in vitro culture conditions. [Biomed Mater] Abstract

Generation of Genome-Edited Mouse Epiblast Stem Cells via a Detour through ES Cell-Chimeras
Investigators outlined an experimental procedure for deriving epiblast stem cells from post-implantation chimeric embryos that are generated using genome-edited embryonic stem cells. [Differentiation] Abstract

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Growing Stem Cells Faster on Seaweed
Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering IBMT have identified seaweed from Chile as a particularly efficient source of nutrients for the expansion of pluripotent stem cells. Over the past few years, they have developed a controlled and documented production process for alginate, the seaweed’s supporting structure. [Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft] Press Release

Einstein Awarded $148 Million for Research from NIH in 2015
Investigators at Albert Einstein College of Medicine received $148 million in research funding from the National Institutes of Health during the federal fiscal year of 2015. [Albert Einstein College of Medicine (EurekAlert!)] Press Release

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Optimism at Canada’s Annual Science Policy Summit, but Also Doubts
Scientists and policy experts gathered for Canada’s premier science policy conference. It was the first since a new Liberal government took power, replacing a Conservative government that had drawn fierce complaints from many scientists as a result of its moves to muzzle government scientists, shut down science advisory mechanisms, and shuffle spending priorities. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

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Assistant or Associate Professor – Regenerative Kidney Research (University of Montreal)

Assistant, Associate or Full Professor – Regenerative Vision Research (University of Montreal)

Team Leader/Professor/Associate Professor – Regenerative Medicine (Ji Nan University)

Postdoctoral Fellow and Research Scientist – Epigenomics and Systems Biology (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Cardiac Regeneration (Duke University)

Postdoctoral Position – Modeling and Treatment of Human Skeletal Muscle Diseases (Duke University)

Team Leader Position – Developmental Biology (Institut de Biologie Paris-Seine)

Postdoctoral Position – Neuroscience/Stem Cell Research (University of California, Davis)

Postdoctoral Position – Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (Northwestern University)

Assistant/Associate/Full Professor – Biomedical Engineering (Worcester Polytechnic Institute)

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