ESC & iPSC News Volume 11.45 | Nov 16 2016

TOP STORY

Transient Transcription in the Early Embryo Sets an Epigenetic State That Programs Postnatal Growth

Researchers demonstrated that chromatin changes occurring in the pluripotent embryo could be dispensable for embryogenesis but instead signal essential regulatory information in the adult mouse. [Nat Genet] Abstract

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

Capturing the Biology of Disease Severity in a PSC-Based Model of Familial Dysautonomia

Scientists present disease-related phenotypes in human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) that capture familial dysautonomia severity. Cells from individuals with severe but not mild disease showed impaired specification of neural crest derivatives, including autonomic and sensory neurons. [Nat Med] Abstract

Cooperative Action between SALL4A and TET Proteins in Stepwise Oxidation of 5-Methylcytosine

5hmC and TET enzymes occupy distinct chromatin regions, suggesting unknown mechanisms controlling the fate of 5hmC within diverse chromatin environments. The authors report that SALL4A preferentially associates with 5hmC in vitro and occupies enhancers in mouse embryonic stem cells in a largely TET1-dependent manner. [Mol Cell] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

CFTR-β-Catenin Interaction Regulates Mouse Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation and Embryonic Development

Investigators showed that cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is functionally expressed in mouse embryonic stem cells. [Cell Death Differ] Abstract

Nucleosome Density ChIP-Seq Identifies Distinct Chromatin Modification Signatures Associated with MNase Accessibility

Researchers investigated the relationship between bivalent histone modifications and nucleosome density by utilizing a native chromatin immunoprecipitation approach. Integration of nucleosome accessibility with histone modification states in human embryonic stem cells and primitive hematopoietic cells allowed bivalent and heterogeneously marked promoters to be effectively segregated genome-wide and showed that they belonged to distinct cell types. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

CGG Repeat-Induced FMR1 Silencing Depends on the Expansion Size in Human iPSCs and Neurons Carrying Unmethylated Full Mutations

Investigators showed that hypomethylation of the FMR1 promoter is maintained in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from two unmethylated full mutation individuals. [Stem Cell Reports] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Pluripotent Stem Cell Expansion and Neural Differentiation in 3-D Scaffolds of Tunable Poisson’s Ratio

Scaffolds with tunable Poisson’s ratio are anticipated to provide a spectrum of unique biophysical 3-D microenvironments to influence stem cell fate. To test this hypothesis, the authors fabricated auxetic polyurethane scaffolds and evaluated their effects on neural differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells and human induced pluripotent stem cells. [Acta Biomater] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

Binary Colloidal Crystals as a Feeder-Free System to Generate Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Researchers reprogrammed human fibroblasts into human induced pluripotent stem cells using a feeder-free system and episomal vectors using novel substrates based on binary colloidal crystals. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Sex-Specific Effects of Testosterone on the Sexually Dimorphic Transcriptome and Epigenome of Embryonic Neural Stem/Progenitor Cells

Using a mouse embryonic neural stem cell model to understand early events contributing to sexually dimorphic brain development, the authors identified novel interactions between chromosomal sex and hormonal exposure that are instrumental to early brain sex differences. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Skin-Derived Stem Cells as a Source of Primordial Germ Cell- and Oocyte-Like Cells

The authors discuss the origin and characteristics of skin-derived stem cells (SDSCs) from which the germ cell-like cells (GCLC) are derived, the possible mechanisms of this differentiation process, and finally the prospective biomedical applications of the SDSC-derived GCLCs. [Cell Death Dis] Full Article

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Promethera Biosciences Provides Update on HepaStem NASH-Fibrosis Program with Late-Breaking Preclinical Data

Promethera Biosciences SA announced the presentation of new preclinical nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-Fibrosis data from its proprietary HepaStem program, demonstrating a beneficial effect of HepaStem in a NASH mouse model and confirming Hepastem’s unique and multifaceted mode of action. [Press release from Promethera Biosciences discussing research presented at the 67^th Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD), Boston] Press Release

Bellicum Pharmaceuticals Recommended for $16.9 Million Award from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas

Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the company received notice of a Product Development award totaling approximately $16.9 million from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas to support clinical studies of its lead product candidate BPX-501. [Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc.] Press Release

Creative Medical Technology Holdings Announces Creation of Amniotic Fluid Stem Cell Focused Subsidiary AmnioStem LLC

Creative Medical Technology Holdings announced the formation of a wholly-owned subsidiary, AmnioStem LLC, focused on the development of therapeutic products derived from amniotic fluid stem cells. [Creative Medical Technology Holdings, Inc. (PR Newswire Association LLC.)] Press Release

Asterias Biotherapeutics Announces Treatment of First Spinal Cord Injury Patient with Maximum Dose of AST-OPC1 in SCiStar Clinical Trial

Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc. announced that the first patient with complete cervical spinal cord injury was successfully administered the highest dose of 20 million cells of AST-OPC1 (oligodendrocyte progenitor cells) in the SCiStar clinical trial at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, CA. [Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc.] Press Release

Kadimastem Signs Letter of Intent with Hadassah Medical Center for Performance of the Clinical Trial in ALS

Kadimastem announced that it has signed a letter of intent with Hadasit Medical Research Services & Development Ltd. for the performance of the clinical trial on Kadimastem’s cell therapy product for the treatment of ALS. [Kadimastem] Press Release

In Bold New Step, Dutch Science Academy Holds Women-Only Elections

In order to reduce its perpetual gender imbalance—87% of its 556 members are men—the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences seeks to recruit ten new members in 2017 and six more in 2018, all with two X chromosomes. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

How Self-Appointed Guardians of “Sound Science” Tip the Scales Toward Industry

At a time when public mistrust of science runs high, and non-experts are hard-pressed to separate fact from industry-sponsored spin, Sense About Science, a charity based in London with an affiliate in New York, presents itself as a trustworthy arbiter. The organization purports to help the misinformed public sift through alarmist claims about public health and the environment by directing journalists, policymakers, and others to vetted sources who can explain the evidence behind debates about controversial products like e-cigarettes and flame retardants. [The Intercept_] Editorial

CRISPR Gene-Editing Tested in a Person for the First Time

A Chinese group has become the first to inject a person with cells that contain genes edited using the revolutionary CRISPR–Cas9 technique. A team led by oncologist Lu You at Sichuan University in Chengdu delivered the modified cells into a patient with aggressive lung cancer as part of a clinical trial at the West China Hospital, also in Chengdu. The move by Chinese scientists could spark a biomedical duel between China and the United States. [Nature News] Editorial

NEW ICSCRM 2017: ^19th International Conference on Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine
February 16-17, 2017
London, United Kingdom

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NEW Research Assistant – Human Germ Cell Biology (University of Cambridge)

NEW Senior Scientist – Regenerative Medicine (Astellas)

Postdoctoral Position – Bioinformatics and Stem Cell Biology (Lund University)

Research Fellow – Metabolic Diseases (The Singapore Bioimaging Consortium)

Postdoctoral Position – Human Pluripotent Stem Cells (University of Sheffield)

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

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)

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

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)

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