ESC & iPSC News 12.09 March 8, 2017 | |
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TOP STORYComplex Multi-Enhancer Contacts Captured by Genome Architecture Mapping Scientists report a genome-wide method, genome architecture mapping (GAM), for measuring chromatin contacts and other features of three-dimensional chromatin topology on the basis of sequencing DNA from a large collection of thin nuclear sections. They apply GAM to mouse embryonic stem cells and identify enrichment for specific interactions between active genes and enhancers across very large genomic distances using a mathematical model termed SLICE. [Nature] Abstract | Press Release | |
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PUBLICATIONS(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)Assembly of Embryonic and Extra-Embryonic Stem Cells to Mimic Embryogenesis In Vitro Researchers combined mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and extra-embryonic trophoblast stem cells (TSCs) in a 3D-scaffold to generate structures whose morphogenesis was remarkably similar to natural embryos. By using genetically-modified stem cells and specific inhibitors, they showed that embryogenesis of ESC- and TSC-derived embryos, ETS-embryos, depends on crosstalk involving Nodal signaling. [Science] Abstract | Press Release Differentiation of Human and Murine Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells to Microglia-Like Cells Scientists report the differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) into microglia-like cells by exposure to defined factors and co-culture with astrocytes. These iPSC-derived microglia have the phenotype, gene expression profile and functional properties of brain-isolated microglia. [Nat Neurosci] Abstract Investigators describe a protocol for the generation of a functional and transplantable corneal epithelium derived from human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. When this protocol is followed, a proportion of iPS cells spontaneously form circular colonies, each of which is composed of four concentric zones. Cells in these zones have different morphologies and immunostaining characteristics, resembling neuroectoderm, neural crest, ocular-surface ectoderm, or surface ectoderm. [Nat Protoc] Abstract Researchers used a Sendai virus-based system that permits reprogramming to progress in a strictly KLF4-dependent manner to screen for KLF4 target genes that are critical for the progression of reprogramming. The screening identified Tcl1 as a critical target gene that directs the metabolic shift from oxidative phosphorylation to glycolysis. [Stem Cell Reports] Full Article | Press Release | Graphical Abstract Fail-Safe System against Potential Tumorigenicity after Transplantation of iPSC Derivatives Investigators examined the efficacy of the inducible caspase-9 (iCaspase9) gene as a fail-safe against undesired tumorigenic transformation of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived somatic cells. They used a lentiviral vector to transduce iCaspase9 into two iPSC lines and assessed its efficacy in vitro and in vivo. In vitro, the iCaspase9 system induced apoptosis in approximately 95% of both iPSCs and iPSC-derived neural stem/progenitor cells. [Stem Cell Reports] Full Article | Press Release The authors report an essential role of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)2 in maintaining the pluripotency of embryonic stem (ES) cell from medaka. The medaka igf2 gene was cloned for prokaryotic expression of IGF2 ligand and green fluorescent protein-tagged IGF2 namely IGF2:GFP. They demonstrated that the IGF2:GFP can bind to the cultured ES cells from medaka and zebrafish respectively. [Sci Rep] Full Article Effect of Ionizing Radiation on the Proliferation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells Researchers studied the effect of ionizing radiation on continuous growth of seven hESC lines. Cells were exposed to 0, 0.2, or 1 Gy of X-rays, and the growth rates of cell populations were assessed by measuring areas of the same individual colonies versus time. [Sci Rep] Full Article The authors investigated differently expressed genes in bovine embryo-derived stem-like cells (eSLCs) from various origins to validate their distinct characteristics of pluripotency and differentiation. They identified core pluripotency markers and additional markers which were not determined as pluripotency markers yet in bovine eSLCs. [PLoS One] Full Article DNA Repair and Replication Links to Pluripotency and Differentiation Capacity of Pig iPS Cells By improving induction conditions using various small chemicals, researchers generated pig induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells that exhibited high pluripotency and differentiation capacity that can contribute to chimeras. However, their potency was reduced with increasing passages by teratoma formation test, and correlated with declined expression levels of Rex1, an important marker for naïve state. [PLoS One] Full Article | |
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REVIEWSTechnical Approaches to Induce Selective Cell Death of Pluripotent Stem Cells Researchers offer a brief overview of recent attempts at selective elimination of undifferentiated human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) to decrease the risk of teratoma formation in hPSC-based cell therapy. [Cell Mol Life Sci] Abstract Bridging the Gap: Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived Endothelial Cells for 3D Vascular Assembly The authors highlight recent advances in endothelial cell (EC) differentiation from human pluripotent stem cells. They then describe in vitro studies focusing on understanding three-dimensional vascular assembly using human primary ECs and biomaterials developed for these systems. [Curr Opin Chem Eng] Abstract | Graphical Abstract Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the ESC & iPSC research field. | |
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INDUSTRY NEWSRodman & Renshaw Research Update: Cymerusâ„¢ Technology Advances in Asthma Cynata Therapeutics Ltd. reported that it had received the final report on a preclinical study assessing the therapeutic potential of its proprietary Cymerusâ„¢ mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in an animal model of asthma, a chronic inflammatory lung condition afflicting hundreds of millions of people worldwide. The preclinical data indicated that the Cymerusâ„¢ MSCs could exert significant benefit on all three crucial components of asthma pathophysiology: airway hyper-responsiveness, inflammation and airway remodeling. [Cynata Therapeutics Limited] Press Release Jax Receives Federal Grant to Improve Crispr-Cas9 Accuracy, Efficiency and Reliability A two-year grant totaling $455,000 from the National Institutes of Health to Michael V. Wiles, Ph.D., senior director of Technology Evaluation and Development at The Jackson Laboratory, will support research to improve the accuracy and efficiency of genome editing for research, drug testing and future therapeutic delivery. [The Jackson Laboratory] Press Release | |
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POLICY NEWSPatchy Progress on Fixing Global Gender Disparities in Science Although women are publishing more studies, being cited more often, and securing more coveted first-author positions than they were in the mid 1990s, overall progress towards gender parity in science varies widely by country and field. This is according to a massive report released on 8th March that is the first to examine such a broad swath of disciplines and regions of the world over time. [Nature News] Editorial Open-Data Contest Unearths Scientific Gems — and Controversy When a prestigious medical journal challenged scientists to analyze data from a pivotal blood-pressure study in search of new findings, hundreds of researchers around the world rushed to sign up. The contest, sponsored by the New England Journal of Medicine, offered scientists a rare opportunity to access detailed trial data that otherwise might have remained proprietary for another year — if not indefinitely. But the competition, whose winners were announced on 7th March, also illustrates the tension between speeding access to data and protecting the interests of those who laboured to collect them. [Nature News] Editorial Prominent British Geneticist Offers Defense in Long-Running Misconduct Investigation A leading UK academic has spoken publicly for the first time about a byzantine saga involving allegations of research misconduct in papers that stemmed from his research group at University College London. Geneticist David Latchman told Nature that although he did not scrutinize some of the papers sufficiently to detect errors, he also did not produce or directly supervise any of the images at the heart of the allegations. [Nature News] Editorial
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EVENTSNEW Biomed 2017: 22nd International Biomedical Science & Technology Symposium Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the community.
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JOB OPPORTUNITIESNEW Postdoctoral Research Associate – Epigenetics and Development (Imperial College London) Research Associate – Research and Development (STEMCELL Technologies, Inc.) Senior Scientist – Stem Cell Gene Editing (Universal Cells) Postdoctoral Fellow – Stem Cell Research (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) Postdoctoral Position – RNA, Stem Cell and Cancer Biology (Lund University) Postdoctoral Fellow – Human Genome Editing (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine) Postdoctoral Fellow – Multiple Areas (University of Oklahoma) Assistant or Associate Member – Stem CellGene Therapy (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center) Postdoctoral Fellow – Pluripotent Stem Cell Technology (University of California, Davis) Recruit Top Talent: Reach potential candidates by posting your organization’s career opportunities on the Connexon Creative Job Board at no cost.
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Home ESC & iPSC News Volume 12.09 | Mar 8 2017