ESC & iPSC News Volume 13.41 | Oct 17 2018

TOP STORY

Chinese Researchers Produce Mouse Pups with Same-Sex Parents

“We tried to find out whether more normal mice with two female parents, or even mice with two male parents, could be produced using haploid embryonic stem cells with gene deletions,” said the paper’s co-senior author Zhou Qi, professor of Institute of Zoology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. [Press release from Chinese Academy of Sciences discussing online prepublication in Cell Stem Cell] Press Release | Full Article | Editorial | Graphical Abstract

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

Neural Blastocyst Complementation Enables Mouse Forebrain Organogenesis

Injection of donor ES cells into blastocysts with forebrain-specific targeting of diphtheria toxin subunit A enabled donor-derived dorsal telencephalic progenitors to populate the vacant niche in host embryos, giving rise to neocortices and hippocampi that were morphologically and neurologically normal with respect to learning and memory formation. [Nature] Abstract | Press Release | Editorial

Thyroid Hormone Signaling Specifies Cone Subtypes in Human Retinal Organoids

To determine the mechanism that controls the first decision between short wavelength and long/medium wavelength cone fates, investigators studied human retinal organoids derived from stem cells. [Science] Abstract | Press Release | Editorial | Graphical Abstract

Subtype Diversification and Synaptic Specificity of Stem Cell-Derived Spinal Interneurons

Scientists developed an ESC-based system to model subtype diversification of V1 interneurons, a class of spinal neurons comprising four clades collectively containing dozens of molecularly distinct neuronal subtypes. [Neuron] Abstract

Generation of Orthotopically Functional Salivary Gland from Embryonic Stem Cells

Researchers identified a specific combination of two transcription factors responsible for the differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cell-derived oral ectoderm into the salivary gland rudiment in an organoid culture system. [Nat Commun] Full Article | Press Release

Tracing the Transitions from Pluripotency to Germ Cell Fate with CRISPR Screening

The authors identified key genes both for exit from pluripotency and for acquisition of primordial germ cells (PGC) fate, and characterized a central role for the transcription regulators Nr5a2 and Zfp296 in germline ontogeny. Abrogation of these genes resulted in widespread activation or inhibition of WNT pathway factors in PGC-like cells. [Nat Commun] Full Article

DNMT3L Facilitates DNA Methylation Partly by Maintaining DNMT3A Stability in Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells

DNA methylation analysis of DNMT3-like (DNMT3L)-deficient mouse ESCs (mESCs) revealed hypomethylation at many DNMT3A target regions. Mechanistically, DNMT3L formed a complex with DNMT3A2 and prevented DNMT3A2 from being degraded. Restoring the DNMT3A protein level in DNMT3L-deficient mESCs partially recovered DNA methylation. [Nucleic Acids Res] Full Article

NANOG Is Required for the Long-Term Establishment of Avian Somatic Reprogrammed Cells

Investigators generated avian reprogrammed cells by reprogramming chicken and duck primary embryonic fibroblasts. The reprogrammed cells were positive for several key pluripotency-associated markers including alkaline phosphatase activity, telomerase activity, SSEA1 expression, and specific cell cycle and epigenetic markers. [Stem Cell Reports] Full Article

Development of an Innervated Tissue-Engineered Skin with Human Sensory Neurons and Schwann Cells Differentiated from iPS Cells

In order to build a fully human model of innervated tissue-engineered skin, scientists used iPSCs generated from human skin fibroblasts. Nearly 100% of the iPSCs differentiated into sensory neurons were shown to express the neuronal markers BRN3A and β3-tubulin after 19 days of maturation. [Acta Biomater] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

Bezafibrate Upregulates Mitochondrial Biogenesis and Influence Neural Differentiation of Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Researchers investigated the effect of bezafibrate on the expression of genes that are linked to different pathways involved in mitochondrial biogenesis, and involved in neuronal or astroglial fate, during neural differentiation of human iPSCs. [Mol Neurobiol] Abstract

An Ultrasensitive Calcium Reporter System via CRISPR-Cas9 Mediated Genome Editing in Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Investigators showed that genetically encoded calcium indicator protein (GCaMP) expressing human PSCs could be generated and used for cardiomyocyte characterization. By leveraging CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing tools, they generated a knockin cell line that constitutively expressed GCaMP6s, an ultrasensitive calcium sensor protein. [iScience] Abstract | Full Article | Graphical Abstract

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Application of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (hiPSCs) to Study Synaptopathy of Neurodevelopmental Disorders

The authors discuss the advantages and limitations of using hiPSC-derived neurons to study synaptic disorders. They use Methyl-CpG binding protein 2, SH3 and multiple ankyrin repeat domains 3 and disrupted in schizophrenia 1 as examples to illustrate the promise of using hiPSCs as cellular models to elucidate the mechanisms underlying disease-related synaptopathy. [Dev Neurobiol] Abstract

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

Applied StemCell Has Joined the NIST, Genome Editing Consortium

Applied StemCell, Inc. announced that it has joined the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Genome Editing Consortium. Applied StemCell brings to the Consortium its expertise in TARGATT^™ CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing tools and iPSC technology for the advancement of drug discovery and therapeutic applications. [Applied StemCell] Press Release

Australia Announces $42 Million Grant for International Clinical Trial Collaborations

This competitive grant opportunity will provide support for Australian research teams to conduct clinical trial research in collaboration with international counterparts. Applications will only be accepted from NHMRC approved administering institutions. [Massachusetts Biotechnology Council] Press Release

Multidisciplinary Team to Develop Stem Cell-Based Approaches to Restore Vision

School of Veterinary Medicine, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists will lead a team in developing a stem cell-based approach to treat blindness in dogs. The work is one of five initiatives newly funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Eye Institute Audacious Goals Initiative. [Penn Today] Press Release

‘We Are Headed for a Very Dark Period.’ Brazil’s Researchers Fear Election of Far-Right Presidential Candidate

Beset by economic woes and dissatisfied with the left-wing politicians in power for most of the past 15 years, Brazil appears poised to make a hard turn and elect a far-right candidate, Jair Bolsonaro, as its next president. His rapid ascent has unnerved local researchers, who worry about the future of Brazilian science, the protection of the country’s biodiversity, and its role in the global struggle against climate change. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

The Wide World of Weed Research

Canada has just become the second country in the world, after Uruguay, to legalize cannabis for all uses — a move that has prompted a flood of funding for basic research into cultivation of the plant, and a clamor for scientists with expertise in genetics, bioengineering and growing practices. [Nature News] Editorial

Outsider Takes Helm at Indian Research Giant

Shekhar Mande, a structural biologist, took over as director-general of India’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), headquartered in New Delhi, which operates a network of 40 research labs around the country. Mande is the first outsider to take on the top job at CSIR since 1984. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

NEW Gordon Research Conference: Stem Cells and Cancer
March 24-29, 2019
Ventura, California, United States

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

NEW Postdoctoral Position – Stem Cells and Diabetes (A*STAR)

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

Postdoctoral Position – iPSCs & the Blood-Brain Barrier (Aarhus University)

Postdoctoral Fellows – iPSCs & Blood Development (University of Washington)

Postdoctoral Research Scientist – Precision Medicine (Columbia University)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Genome Biology (European Molecular Biology Laboratory)

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

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)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering (Stanford University)

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