ESC & iPSC News Volume 14.37 | Sep 25 2019

TOP STORY

KLF4 Is Involved in the Organization and Regulation of Pluripotency-Associated Three-Dimensional Enhancer Networks

Using KLF4 as a paradigm, scientists provide a transcription-factor-centric view of chromatin reorganization and its association with three-dimensional enhancer rewiring and transcriptional changes during the reprogramming of mouse embryonic fibroblasts to pluripotent stem cells. [Nat Cell Biol] Abstract

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Generation of Blood Vessel Organoids from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Researchers describe a protocol to generate self-organizing 3D human blood vessel organoids from human PSCs that exhibit morphological, functional and molecular features of human microvasculature. [Nat Protoc] Abstract

TRIM66 Reads Unmodified H3R2K4 and H3K56ac to Respond to DNA Damage in Embryonic Stem Cells

The authors found that the recognition of histone modification by tripartite motif-containing 66 (TRIM66) was critical for DNA damage repair in ESCs. [Nat Commun] Full Article

Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Vocal Fold Mucosa Mimics Development and Responses to Smoke Exposure

Investigators report development of engineered vocal fold (VF) mucosae from hiPSC, transfected via TALEN constructs for green fluorescent protein, that mimic development of VF epithelial cells in utero. [Nat Commun] Full Article

hESC-Derived Dopaminergic Transplants Integrate into Basal Ganglia Circuitry in a Preclinical Model of Parkinson’s Disease

Scientists provide evidence that human ESC (hESC)-derived dopaminergic grafts transplanted in a long-term preclinical rat model of Parkinson’s disease receive synaptic input from subtypes of host cortical, striatal, and pallidal neurons that are known to regulate the function of endogenous nigral dopamine neurons. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Targeted Repair of p47-CGD in iPSCs by CRISPR/Cas9: Functional Correction without Cleavage in the Highly Homologous Pseudogenes

Researchers applied CRISPR/Cas9 to generate patient-like p47-c.75_76delGT iPSCs for disease modeling. To avoid unpredictable chromosomal rearrangements by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated cleavage in the pseudogenes, they developed a gene-correction approach to specifically target NCF1 but leave the pseudogenes intact. [Stem Cell Reports] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Single-Cell RNA Sequencing of hESC-Derived 3D Retinal Organoids Reveals Novel Genes Regulating RPC Commitment in Early Human Retinogenesis

By performing single-cell RNA sequencing of cells isolated from human ESC (hESC)-derived 3D retinal organoids, the authors successfully deconstructed the temporal progression of retinal progenitor cells during early human retinogenesis. [Stem Cell Reports] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

YAP/TEAD3 Signal Mediates Cardiac Lineage Commitment of Human‐Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Scientists identified the role of Hippo‐YAP signal pathway in determining cardiac differentiation fate of human‐induced PSCs (hiPSCs). They found that cardiac differentiation of hiPSCs were significantly inhibited after treatment with verteporfin. [J Cell Physiol] Abstract

In Vitro Metabolic Zonation through Oxygen Gradient on a Chip

Investigators aimed to understand whether an oxygen gradient, generated in vitro in a developed device, was sufficient to instruct a functional metabolic zonation during the differentiation of human embryonic stem cells from endoderm toward terminally differentiated hepatocytes, thus mimicking the in vivo situation. [Sci Rep] Full Article

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Stem Cells: A Path towards Improved Epilepsy Therapies

The authors summarize the current state of iPSC research in epilepsy and closely related syndromes, discuss the growing need for high-throughput drug screening, and review the use of stem cell technology for the purpose of autologous transplantation for epilepsy stem cell therapy. [Neuropharmacology] Abstract

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

Testing Chemicals for Birth Defects Using Stem Cells, not Mice

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside, are part of an ambitious plan at the US Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, to eliminate animal testing by 2035. Their contribution: developing a way to test whether chemicals cause musculoskeletal birth defects using lab-grown human tissue, not live animals. [University of California, Riverside] Press Release

SanBio Granted Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy Designation from the US FDA for SB623 for the Treatment of Chronic Neurological Motor Deficits Secondary to Traumatic Brain Injury

The SanBio Group announced that the FDA has granted Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy Designation for SB623 cell therapy for the treatment of chronic neurological motor deficits secondary to traumatic brain injury. [The SanBio Group (Business Wire, Inc.)] Press Release

How Us Sanctions Are Crippling Science in Iran

After almost a year of sanctions put in place by US President Donald Trump, Iran is experiencing economic recession, a depreciating currency and high inflation. All of this is stretching budgets for equipment, supplies and travel, endangering research projects and sapping morale, say researchers. [Nature News] Editorial

The Potent Effects of Japan’s Stem-Cell Policies

A five-year regulatory free-for-all in regenerative medicine has given the industry a boost. But patients might be paying the price. [Nature News] Editorial

NEW Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society European Chapter Meeting 2020
May 26-29, 2020
Manchester, United Kingdom

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

NEW Research Associate – Computational Image Analysis and AI (University of Bristol)

Research Associate – Human IPSC Culture (Bayer)

Group Leader – Stem Cell Science (University of Cambridge)

Faculty Position – Stem Cell Biology (Children’s Research Institute at UT Southwestern)

Research Fellow – Vascular Stem Cell Biology (Queen’s University Belfast)

Postdoctoral Researcher – Cell Cycles in Stem Cells (University of California, Santa Cruz)

Postdoctoral Positions – Stem Cell and Bioinformatics (Indiana University School of Medicine)

Investigator – Stem Cells (GlaxoSmithKline)

Assistant Specialist – Division of Cardiovascular Medicine (University of California, Davis)

Biologist – Stem Cell Engineering (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

Postdoctoral Fellows – Striated Muscle Regeneration (Duke University)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Genetics and Epigenomics of iPSC Biology (Stanford University)

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