ESC & iPSC News Volume 11.42 | Oct 26 2016

TOP STORY

Transplanted Embryonic Neurons Integrate into Adult Neocortical Circuits

Using chronic in vivo two-photon imaging, researchers showed that embryonic neurons transplanted into the visual cortex of adult mice mature into bona fide pyramidal cells with selective pruning of basal dendrites, achieving adult-like densities of dendritic spines and axonal boutons within 4–8 weeks. [Nature] Abstract | Press Release

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

Expanding the Circuitry of Pluripotency by Selective Isolation of Chromatin-Associated Proteins

The authors developed a method combining ChIP with selective isolation of chromatin-associated proteins (SICAP) followed by mass spectrometry to identify chromatin-bound partners of a protein of interest. ChIP-SICAP in mouse embryonic stem cells identified over 400 proteins associating with Oct4, Sox2, and Nanog, including several whose interaction depends on the pluripotent state. [Mol Cell] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Identification and Propagation of Haploid Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Investigators describe two methodologies, namely metaphase spread analysis and cell sorting, for the identification of haploid human cells within parthenogenetic embryonic stem cells lines. [Nat Protoc] Full Article

Control of Embryonic Stem Cell Self-Renewal and Differentiation via Coordinated Alternative Splicing and Translation of YY2

Scientists describe a transcriptional regulator of mouse embryonic stem cells, Yin-yang 2 (YY2), that is controlled by the translation inhibitors, Eukaryotic initiation factor 4E-binding proteins. [Proc Natl Acad Sci USA] Abstract

Roles of H3K27me2 and H3K27me3 Examined during Fate Specification of Embryonic Stem Cells

Scientists have generated isogenic mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) with a modified H3K27me2/H3K27me3 ratio. Their findings document dynamic developmental control in the genomic distribution of H3K27me2 and H3K27me3 at regulatory regions in ESCs. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Marked Differences in C9orf72 Methylation Status and Isoform Expression between C9/ALS Human Embryonic and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Researchers established two human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines with a GGGGCC expansion in the C9orf72 gene (C9), and compared them with haploidentical and unrelated C9 induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). They found a marked difference in C9 methylation between the cells. hESCs and parental fibroblasts are entirely unmethylated while the iPSCs are hypermethylated. [Stem Cell Reports] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Reactive Oxygen Species Impair the Function of CD90⁺ Hematopoietic Progenitors Generated from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Scientists showed that high levels of reactive oxygen species in in vitro differentiation systems of human pluripotent stem cells is a major determinant in the lack of ability to generate hematopoietic cells with similar proliferation/differentiation potential to in vivo hematopoietic progenitors. [Stem Cells] Abstract | Press Release

Characterization of Phenotypic and Transcriptional Differences in Human Pluripotent Stem Cells under 2D and 3D Culture Conditions

The authors showed that H9 human embryonic stem cells and 253G1 human induced pluripotent stem cells in the hydrogel/3D cellular microenvironment plate (HG/3D-CEP) system maintain their pluripotent marker expression under HG/3D-CEP self-renewing conditions. [Adv Healthc Mater] Abstract

AKT/GSK3β Signaling Pathway Is Critically Involved in Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Survival

The authors explored the molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of pluripotent stem cells survival by AKT. They found that inhibition of AKT with three non-structurally related inhibitors (GSK690693, AKT inhibitor VIII and AKT inhibitor IV) decreased cell viability and induced apoptosis. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Preclinical Study of Mouse Pluripotent Parthenogenetic Embryonic Stem Cell Derivatives for the Construction of Tissue-Engineered Skin Equivalent

The authors tested stemness marker expression and the pluripotent differentiation ability of parthenogenetic embryonic stem cells. After embryoid body formation and adherence culture, mesenchymal stem cells were enriched and directed to differentiate into fibroblastic lineage. Characteristics of derived fibroblasts were assessed by quantitative real-time PCR and ELISA. Functional ability of the constructed tissue-engineered skin equivalents was tested by a mouse skin defects repair model. [Stem Cell Res Ther] Full Article

T Cell Genesis: In Vitro Veritas Est?

The authors discuss recent strategies for the generation of T cells from human hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells and pluripotent stem cells in vitro. Continued advancement in the generation of human T cells in vitro will expand their benefits and therapeutic potential in the clinic. [Trends Immunol] Abstract

Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the ESC & iPSC research field.

First Patient Cohort Data from BioTime’s OpRegen^® Clinical Trial in Dry-AMD to Be Presented

BioTime, Inc. reported that data from the first patient cohort of the Phase I/IIa clinical trial of OpRegen^® in the advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration (dry-AMD). [BioTime, Inc.] Press Release

Feng Zhang Receives 2016 New York Stem Cell Foundation – Robertson Stem Cell Prize

The New York Stem Cell Foundation announced that Feng Zhang, PhD, is the 2016 recipient of the NYSCF – Robertson Stem Cell Prize for his pioneering advances to edit human and plant genomes using CRISPR-Cas9. [The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF)] Press Release

CSUN Receives $2.77 Million to Build ‘Bridges’ to Regenerative Medicine

Fifty undergraduate students from California State University, Northridge (CSUN) will get the chance of a lifetime to conduct stem cell research alongside some of the top scientists in the country as part of a $2.77-million grant to the university. The grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine continues a stem cell research and regenerative medicine “Bridges” program between CSUN and UCLA. [California State University Northridge] Press Release

Scientific Challenges Loom for Canada’s Popular Prime Minister

Many in Canada’s science community say they are reserving judgement, waiting to see whether Trudeau can sustain his string of victories as he tackles some of country’s thorniest science-policy issues. [Nature News] Editorial

Review Finds Misconduct in Events Surrounding WHO Fetal Growth Study

For the first time in its 68-year history, the World Health Organization (WHO) has concluded that researchers are guilty of research misconduct. An independent review commissioned by WHO has found that “research ethics misconduct occurred” in a multimillion-dollar global study on fetal growth led by researchers at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

Two Major California Research Institutes Will Merge

One of the biggest nonprofit biomedical research outfits in the world is getting a new translational medicine research arm, aimed at speeding the conversion of basic research insights into novel medicines. Officials at the Scripps Research Institute announced that it will merge with the California Institute for Biomedical Research, which was launched in 2012 as a nonprofit version of a drug development company. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

To Save Money, NSF Requires University Cost-Sharing for Rotators

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has decided that universities should pay 10% of the salaries of faculty members working temporarily at the agency. NSF hopes the new policy will demonstrate its commitment to saving taxpayer dollars without alienating the academic community that it relies upon to stay on the cutting edge of basic science. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

NEW American Society for Matrix Biology (ASMB) 2016
November 13-16, 2016
St. Petersburg, Florida, United States

Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the community.

NEW NYSCF Investigator – Stem Cell And Neuroscience (New York Stem Cell Foundation)

Research Technologist – Pluripotent Stem Cell Biology (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Neural Stem/Progenitor Cells (University of California – San Francisco)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Pluripotent Stem Cells, Cartilage Development and Disease (Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School)

Staff Scientist/Research Assistant II – Pluripotent Stem Cells and Cartilage Biology (Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Histone and RNA Modifications in Totipotency, Pluripotent Embryonic Stem Cells and Embryo Development (Oslo University Hospital)

Research Fellow – Pluripotent Stem Cells Self-Renewal Program and Cell Cycle (KU Leuven)

Faculty Position – Stem Cell Research (Stanford University)

Faculty Position – Stem Cell Research (Children’s Research Institute)

Assistant or Associate Member – Stem CellGene Therapy (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

Postdoctoral Position – Cellular Neuroscience, Stem Cell-Derived Neurons and Autism Research (Weill Cornell Medical School)

Faculty Position – Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine (The Hospital for Sick Children)

Chair – Medical Biology (Masaryk University)

Research Technologist – Cancer Research (Penn State College of Medicine)

Postdoctoral Fellow Position – Stem Cell Biology & Immunology (Toronto General Research Institute & McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Pluripotent Stem Cell Technology (University of California, Davis)

Postdoctoral Position – Bone and Stem Cell Research (University of Connecticut Health)

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