ESC & iPSC News Volume 14.41 | Oct 23 2019

TOP STORY

Generation of Blastocyst-Like Structures from Mouse Embryonic and Adult Cell Cultures

Starting from a single stem cell type, extended pluripotent stem (EPS) cells, researchers established a 3D differentiation system that enabled the generation of blastocyst-like structures (EPS-blastoids) through lineage segregation and self-organization. EPS-blastoids resembled blastocysts in morphology and cell-lineage allocation and recapitulated key morphogenetic events during preimplantation and early postimplantation development in vitro. [Cell] Abstract | Graphical Abstract | Press Release

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V2a Interneuron Differentiation from Mouse and Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Investigators describe how to produce V2a interneurons from mouse and human PSCs, as well as strategies to characterize and mature the cells for further analysis. The described protocols were based on a sequence of small-molecule treatments that induced differentiation of PSCs into V2a interneurons. [Nat Protoc] Abstract

Superresolution Architecture of Cornerstone Focal Adhesions in Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Using superresolution two-color interferometric photo-activated localisation microscopy, the authors examined the three-dimensional architecture of cornerstone adhesions and report vertical lamination of focal adhesions proteins with three main structural features distinct from previously studied focal adhesions. [Nat Commun] Full Article

Dynamics of Trophoblast Differentiation in Peri-Implantation-Stage Human Embryos

Scientists analyzed the transcriptomes of three early placental cell types, cytoTB (CTB), syncytioTB, and migratoryTB, picked manually from cultured embryos dissociated with trypsin and were able to follow sublineages that emerged from proliferating CTB at the periphery of the conceptus. [Proc Natl Acad Sci USA] Abstract

Gene Editing to Generate Versatile Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Reporter Lines for Analysis of Differentiation and Lineage Tracing

Investigators report an inducible and quantitative reporter platform based on the Cre-LoxP recombination system that enabled robust, quantifiable, and continuous monitoring of live human PSCs and their progeny to investigate the roles of transcription factors during human development and disease. [Stem Cells] Abstract

A Comprehensive Resource for Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells from Patients with Primary Tauopathies

Researchers generated a collection of fibroblasts from 140 MAPT mutation/risk variant carriers, progressive supranuclear palsy, corticobasal degeneration, and cognitively normal controls; 31 iPSC lines from MAPT mutation carriers, non-carrier family members, and autopsy-confirmed PSP patients; 33 genome engineered iPSCs that were corrected or mutagenized; and forebrain neural progenitor cells. [Stem Cell Reports] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

CRISPR-Cas9-Mediated Knockout of the Prkdc in Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells Leads to the Modulation of the Expression of Pluripotency Genes

To address the potential role of Prkdc in mouse ESC pluripotency and in vitro differentiation into ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm germ layers under normal physiological conditions, a bi-allelic Prkdc-knockout cell line was generated by employing the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Its potential role in stemness and development was studied. [J Cell Physiol] Abstract

MiR-499 Responsive Lethal Construct for Removal of Human Embryonic Stem Cells after Cardiac Differentiation

The authors generated a miRNA-responsive lethal mRNA construct that selectively induced rapid apoptosis in human ESCs by expressing a mutant Bax variant. Insertion of miR-499 target sites in the construct enabled enrichment hESC-derived cardiomyocytes in culture. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Enhanced Ex Vivo Generation of Erythroid Cells From Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells in a Simplified Cell Culture System With Low Cytokine Support

Scientists describe a simplified, xeno- and feeder-free culture system for prolonged red blood cell generation that uses low numbers of supporting cytokines and is based on the intermediate development of a hematopoietic cell forming complex (HCFC). From this HCFC, CD43⁺ hematopoietic cells were continuously released into the supernatant and could be collected repeatedly over a period of six weeks for further erythroid differentiation. [Stem Cells Dev] Abstract

Generation of Infant- and Pediatric-Derived Urinary Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Competent to Form Kidney Organoids

Urine cells were isolated from pediatric urine specimens, including bag collections, and reprogrammed using episomal vectors into urinary iPSCs. Following iPSC-quality assessment, human kidney organoids were generated. [Pediatr Res] Abstract

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Stem Cell Derived Oligodendrocytes to Study Myelin Diseases

The authors summarize the differences between human and rodent oligodendrocytes, provide an overview of the different techniques to generate oligodendrocytes from human progenitor or stem cells and describe the results from studies using iPSC derived oligodendroglial lineage cells. [Glia] Full Article

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Synthego Launches High Throughput Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Genome Engineering

Synthego announced the launch of genome engineering for induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. The new offering expands Synthego’s automated cell editing to achieve unprecedented editing efficiency of iPS cells at an industrial scale. [Synthego] Press Release

Texas Engineer Honored with NIH Trailblazer Award to Shine New Light on Stem Cells

Janet Zolen’s work on engineering the fate of human iPSCs earned her recognition this year from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with the Trailblazer Award, which is given annually by NIH’s National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering to select early-stage investigators exploring new areas of biomedical research. Zoldan is the first UT Austin faculty member to receive the award. [The University of Texas at Austin] Press Release

Female Researchers in Australia Less Likely to Win Major Medical Grants than Males

Female scientists in Australia were less likely to win a major type of medical-research grants this year than their male counterparts, despite an overhaul of the country’s science funding that was supposed to address gender inequity. [Nature News] Editorial

Trump Names Seven to Revived Presidential Science Advisory Panel

Thirty-three months after taking office, President Donald Trump has chosen a group of business leaders to advise him on science and technology policy. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

UK Science Minister Says DARPA-Like Agency Is in the Works

The UK government is working to establish a “blue sky” funding agency similar to the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, UK science minister Chris Skidmore told the Science and Technology Select Committee of Parliament’s House of Commons. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

NEW Islet Biology: From Gene to Cell to Micro-Organ
January 27-31, 2020
Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States

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NEW Postdoctoral Researcher – CRISPR/Cas9 in ESCs (Institute of Molecular Biology gGmbH)

NEW Postdoctoral Researcher – iPSC Models in Neurology (IRIBHM)

Postdoctoral Scientist – Regenerative Medicine (Cedars-Sinai Medical Center)

PhD Position – Human Inducible Stem Cells (University of Fribourg)

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

Group Leader – Stem Cell Science (University of Cambridge)

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

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

Postdoctoral Fellows – Striated Muscle Regeneration (Duke University)

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

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