ESC & iPSC News Volume 13.38 | Sep 26 2018

TOP STORY

Generation of Human Oogonia from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells In Vitro

The human primordial germ cell-like cell-derived oogonia displayed hallmarks of epigenetic reprogramming, i.e., genome-wide DNA demethylation, imprint erasure, and extinguishment of aberrant DNA methylation in human PSCs, and acquired an immediate precursory state for meiotic recombination. [Science] Abstract | Editorial

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

Identification of the Human Skeletal Stem Cell

Scientists reported the isolation of a self-renewing and multipotent human skeletal stem cell (hSSC) that generated progenitors of bone, cartilage, and stroma, but not fat. Self-renewing and multipotent hSSCs were present in fetal and adult bones and could also be derived from BMP2-treated human adipose stroma and iPSCs. [Cell] Full Article | Press Release | Graphical Abstract | Video

Esophageal Organoids from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Delineate Sox2 Functions during Esophageal Specification

Researchers established a three-dimensional organoid model of esophageal development through directed differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells. Using human esophageal organoid cultures to model human esophageal birth defects, they identified that Sox2 promoted esophageal specification in part through repressing Wnt signaling in dorsal anterior foregut and promoting survival. [Cell Stem Cell] Abstract | Press Release | Graphical Abstract

3D Modeling of Esophageal Development Using Human PSC-Derived Basal Progenitors Reveals a Critical Role for Notch Signaling

Investigators established an efficient protocol for generating esophageal progenitor cells (EPCs) from human PSCs. They found that inhibition of TGF-β and BMP signaling was required for sequential specification of EPCs, which could be further purified using cell-surface markers. [Cell Stem Cell] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

Highly Efficient Genome Editing via CRISPR-Cas9 in Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Is Achieved by Transient BCL-XL Overexpression

Scientists reported that the transient delivery of BCL-XL increases iPSC survival by ~10-fold after plasmid transfection, leading to a 20- to 100-fold increase in homology-directed repair (HDR) knockin efficiency and a 5-fold increase in non-homologous end joining knockout efficiency. [Nucleic Acids Res] Full Article

Reproducibility of Molecular Phenotypes after Long-Term Differentiation to Human iPSC-Derived Neurons: A Multi-Site Omics Study

To establish the reproducibility of a well-defined long-term neuronal differentiation protocol, the authors repeated the cellular and molecular comparison of the same two iPSC lines across five distinct laboratories. Despite uncovering acceptable variability within individual laboratories, they detected poor cross-site reproducibility of the differential gene expression signature between these two lines. [Stem Cell Reports] Full Article

Histone Variants H2A.Z and H3.3 Coordinately Regulate PRC2-Dependent H3K27me3 Deposition and Gene Expression Regulation in mES Cells

Scientists revealed that in mouse ES (mES) cells, H3K27me3 enrichment correlated strongly with H2A.Z. They demonstrate that H2A.Z promoted PRC2 activity on H3K27 methylation through facilitating chromatin compaction both in vitro and in mES cells. [BMC Biol] Full Article

Modeling Alzheimer’s Disease by Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Carrying APP D678H Mutation

Researchers generated iPSCs from two familial Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients carrying a heterozygous D678H mutation in the APP gene (AD-iPSCs). The neurons derived from AD-iPSCs demonstrated aberrant accumulation of intracellular and secreted Aβ42 and Aβ40, reduction of serine 9 phosphorylation in glycogen synthase kinase 3β hyperphosphorylation of threonine 181 and serine 396 in tau protein, impaired neurite outgrowth, downregulation of synaptophysin, and increased caspase 1 activity. [Mol Neurobiol] Full Article

AIMP3 Depletion Causes Genome Instability and Loss of Stemness in Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase-interacting multifunctional protein-3 (AIMP3) depletion resulted in loss of self-renewal and ability to differentiate to three germ layers in mouse ESCs (mESCs). AIMP3 depletion led to accumulation of DNA damage by blocking double-strand break repair, in particular homologous recombination. The p53 signaling pathway was identified as being activated in AIMP3-depleted mESCs. [Cell Death Dis] Full Article

RIPK1 Is a Critical Modulator of Both Tonic and TLR-Responsive Inflammatory and Cell Death Pathways in Human Macrophage Differentiation

Knock-out of RIPK1 in human iPSCs demonstrated that this protein was not required for erythro-myeloid differentiation. Knock-out of RIPK1 did not block the differentiation of iPSC-derived macrophages, which displayed a similar phenotype to WT hiPSC-derived macrophages. [Cell Death Dis] Full Article

Urine-Derived Cells Provide a Readily Accessible Cell Type for Feeder-Free mRNA Reprogramming

The authors showed that mRNA reprogramming efficiently generated human iPSCs (hiPSCs) from urine-derived cells. They generated feeder-free bulk hiPSCs lines that did not display genomic abnormalities. [Sci Rep] Full Article

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Utilizing Microphysiological Systems and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells for Disease Modeling: A Case Study for Blood Brain Barrier Research in a Pharmaceutical Setting

With advances in iPSC technology, pharmaceutical companies can access cells from patients to help recreate specific disease phenotypes in microphysiological systems (MPS) platforms. Combining iPSC and MPS technologies will contribute to the understanding of the complexities of neurodegenerative diseases and of the blood brain barrier leading to development of enhanced therapeutics. [Adv Drug Deliv Rev] Abstract

Prospects for the Use of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSC) in Animal Conservation and Environmental Protection

There is great potential in iPSC technology and what can be achieved in consumerism, animal welfare, and environmental protection and conservation. Investigators discuss current research in the field of iPSCs and how these research groups are attempting to achieve their goals. [Stem Cells Transl Med] Full Article

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

STEMCELL Technologies Signs Exclusive License to Commercialize Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Kidney Organoid Culture System

STEMCELL Technologies announced that they have signed an exclusive license agreement with Brigham and Women’s Hospital for rights to commercialize technologies for the generation of human pluripotent stem cell-derived kidney organoids. [STEMCELL Technologies Inc.] Press Release

Boeing, National Science Foundation Announce Partnership for Workforce Development and Diversity in STEM

The National Science Foundation and Boeing announced a new, $21 million partnership through which Boeing will invest $11 million to accelerate training in critical skill areas and increase diversity in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. [National Science Foundation] Press Release

NTU Singapore Receives S$9m Boost to Attract Top Young Scientists from Swedish Universities

The Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, the largest private financier of research in Sweden, is making a S$9 million cash gift to Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) to establish a new postdoctoral fellowship program to support up to 40 fellows over the next six years. [Nanyang Technological University] Press Release

Science Learns from Its Mistakes Too

Scientific studies should always be published irrespective of their result. That is one of the conclusions of a research project conducted by the German Centre for the Protection of Laboratory Animals at the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, the results of which have now been published in the journal PLOS ONE. [EurekAlert!] Editorial

Six Months to Brexit: How Scientists Are Preparing for the Split

The incredible is fast becoming the inevitable. Just six months from now, unless a political earthquake intervenes, the United Kingdom must leave the European Union. Yet the details of the March 2019 break-up are still muddy, and scientists are growing increasingly anxious — and angry — about how Brexit will alter their research and their lives. [Nature News] Editorial

Trump Administration Launches Review of Scientific Research Involving Fetal Tissue

The Trump administration has launched a comprehensive review of all research that involves fetal tissue, reopening an issue that has galvanized anti-abortion activists but worried scientists who fear their work could be under threat. [STAT News] Editorial

NEW International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) 2019 Annual Meeting
June 26-29, 2019
Los Angeles, California, United States

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

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

Scientist – Cell Culture Media and Cell Line Development (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Senior Scientist – Pluripotent Stem Cells (STEMCELL Technologies Inc.)

Director – Center for Cell Reprogramming (Georgetown University)

Assistant Professor – Stem Cell & Regenerative Biology (Columbia University Stem Cell Initiative)

Postdoctoral Research Fellow – Gene Transcription in Development & Disease (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

Senior Scientists/Principal Investigators – iPSC & Diabetes Research (Qatar Biomedical Research Institute)

Faculty Position – Stem Cell Biology (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Optogenetic Control of Cell Polarity (European Molecular Biology Laboratory)

Assistant/Associate Professor – Stem Cell or Organoid Model Research (Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center)

Scientist/Senior Scientist – Bioprocess Engineering (Bluerock Therapeutics, LLC.)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering (Stanford University)

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