ESC & iPSC News Volume 13.12 | Mar 28 2018

TOP STORY

Genetic Scars Help Understand Individual Cell Lineages

Scientists have developed a method enabling them to investigate the embryonic origin of individual cells in an adult organism. For this, the team used a combination of techniques, based on studying afflicted genetic scars in separate cells. According to the researchers, their results could shed light on the reconstruction of the adult body from a single cell. [Press release from the Hubrecht Institute discussing online prepublication in Nature] Press Release | Abstract

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iPSCs from a Hibernator Provide a Platform for Studying Cold Adaptation and Its Potential Medical Applications

Using the first iPSC line from a hibernating mammal, the authors uncovered cellular pathways critical for cold tolerance. Comparison between human and ground squirrel iPSC-derived neurons revealed differential mitochondrial and protein quality control responses to cold. [Cell] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

NCoR/SMRT Co-Repressors Cooperate with c-MYC to Create an Epigenetic Barrier to Somatic Cell Reprogramming

Researchers demonstrated that NCoR/SMRT co-repressors bind to pluripotency loci to create a barrier to reprogramming with the four Yamanaka factors, and consequently, suppressing NCoR/SMRT significantly enhances reprogramming efficiency and kinetics. [Nat Cell Biol] Abstract

Klf4 Glutamylation Is Required for Cell Reprogramming and Early Embryonic Development in Mice

Scientists showed that cytosolic carboxypeptidases 1 (CCP1) or CCP6 deficiency substantially promotes iPSC induction and pluripotency of ESCs. Klf4 polyglutamylation at Glu381 by tubulin tyrosine ligase-like 4 (TTLL4) and TTLL1 during cell reprogramming impeded its lysine 48-linked ubiquitination and sustained Klf4 stability. [Nat Commun] Full Article

Genetic Mapping of Species Differences via In Vitro Crosses in Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells

Investigators developed a technique called in vitro recombination to circumvent breeding. They induced genetic reshuffling through mitotic recombination with the drug ML216 and mapped trait variations in a dish. [Proc Natl Acad Sci USA] Full Article | Press Release

HOXB7 Overexpression in Lung Cancer Is a Hallmark of Acquired Stem-Like Phenotype

Researchers analyzed publicly available microarray and RNA-seq lung cancer expression datasets and found that HOXB7-overexpressing tumors are enriched in gene signatures characterizing adult and embryonic stem cells, and iPSCs. [Oncogene] Abstract

Retinal Ganglion Cell Diversity and Subtype Specification from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Scientists describe the derivation of retinal ganglion cell (RGC) subtypes from human PSCs and will support the future exploration of phenotypic and functional diversity within human RGCs. [Stem Cell Reports] Full Article

Laser Bioprinting of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells – The Effect of Printing and Biomaterials on Cell Survival, Pluripotency, and Differentiation

Laser bioprinting of undifferentiated human iPSCs (hiPSCs) in combination with different biomaterials was performed and the impact on cells’ behavior, pluripotency, and differentiation was investigated. The authors suggest that hiPSCs are indeed more sensitive to the applied biomaterials, but not to laser printing itself. [Biofabrication] Abstract

Optimization of Reprogramming Culture Condition for the Generation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells from Col1a1 4F2A‐Oct4‐GFP Mice with High Efficiency

A reprogrammable transgenic mouse strain, called Col1a1 4F2A‐Oct4‐GFP, was bred. Because the somatic cells of this mouse strain contain only two copies of each Yamanaka factor, these animals were inefficient at producing iPSCs under traditional culture conditions. With an optimized culture condition, the iPSC production rate of MEF^{Col1a1 4F2A‐Oct4‐GFP} was increased. [FEBS J] Abstract

Amenable Epigenetic Traits of Dental Pulp Stem Cells Underlie High Capability of Xeno-Free Episomal Reprogramming

Scientists showed a robust episomal and xeno-free reprogramming strategy for human iPS generation from dental pulp stem cells, which renders good efficiency over a short time frame. [Stem Cell Res Ther] Full Article

Gas5 Is an Essential lncRNA Regulator for Self-Renewal and Pluripotency of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Researchers investigated mouse ESC self-renewal, differentiation, and proliferation in vitro by knocking down a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), growth arrest specific 5 (Gas5). They identified that Gas5 was required for self-renewal and pluripotency of mESCs and iPSCs. [Stem Cell Res Ther] Full Article

Deconstructing the Pluripotency Gene Regulatory Network

The authors describe the molecular principles of pluripotency gene function and highlight post-transcriptional controls, particularly those induced by RNA-binding proteins and alternative splicing, as an important regulatory layer of pluripotency. [Nat Cell Biol] Abstract

Identifying Human Naïve Pluripotent Stem Cells − Evaluating State‐Specific Reporter Lines and Cell‐Surface Markers

Several transcriptional and epigenetic hallmarks of human pluripotent states in recently described cell lines are reviewed and evaluated. Methods to derive and identify human naïve pluripotent stem cells are also discussed, with a focus on the uses and future developments of state‐specific reporter cell lines and cell‐surface proteins. [Bioessays] Full Article

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World’s First Commercial iPSC Cell Plant Opens in Japan

A pharmaceutical company based in Osaka, Japan, opened a regenerative medicine center that will produce cells derived from iPS cells for commercial applications. The center is the first plant of its kind globally. It will initially produce cells for use in clinical trials. [Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd. (The Scientist)] Press Release

Disease Models from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Now Commercially Available

Elixirgen Scientific has begun selling a variety of cell-based human disease models after signing a new agreement, which allows the company to produce and distribute cells differentiated from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine’s human PSC repository. [Elixirgen Scientific, LLC] Press Release

India Taps Biologist as New Science Adviser

India has a new science adviser. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government tapped Krishnaswamy VijayRaghavan, a molecular biologist and head of India’s Department of Biotechnology, to fill the post. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

Cambridge Analytica Controversy Must Spur Researchers to Update Data Ethics

Revelations keep emerging in the Cambridge Analytica personal-data scandal, which has captured global public attention. But when the dust settles, researchers harvesting data online will face greater scrutiny. And so they should. [Nature News] Editorial

NEW Goodbye Flat Biology: In Vivo Inspired Cancer Biology and Therapy
September 9-12, 2018
Berlin, Germany

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NEW Research Associate – Regulatory Dynamics and Cell Identity (Imperial College London)

Postdoctoral Positions – Translational iPS Cell Research, Division of Pre-Clinical Innovation (National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences)

Associate/Assistant Professor(s) – Disease Modeling with Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Animal Models of Down Syndrome (Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome)

Postdoctoral Position – Cancer, Immunotherapy, and Fibrosis (University of Alabama at Birmingham)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Stem Cells, Development and Cancer (Albert Einstein College of Medicine)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Immunology and iPSCs (Stanford University)

Postdoctoral Associate – hiPSC-Based Brain Organoids (Rutgers University)

Principal Investigator – Stem Cell Approaches to Study Neurodevelopmental Diseases (CHU Sainte-Justine, University of Montreal)

Postdoctoral Associate – Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (Duke University)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Stem Cell Biology (City of Hope)

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