ESC & iPSC News Volume 15.21 | June 3 2020

TOP STORY

A Multiplexed Barcodelet Single-Cell RNA-Seq Approach Elucidates Combinatorial Signaling Pathways that Drive ESC Differentiation

Scientists applied barcodelet single-cell RNA sequencing to simultaneously manipulate up to seven developmental pathways and study effects on ESC germ layer specification and mesodermal specification, uncovering combinatorial effects of signaling pathway activation on gene expression. [Cell Stem Cell] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

CD49f is a Novel Marker of Functional and Reactive Human iPSC-Derived Astrocytes

Researchers provided single-cell and bulk transcriptome analyses of CD49f⁺ human iPSC-astrocytes and demonstrated that they performed key astrocytic functions in vitro, including trophic support of neurons, glutamate uptake, and phagocytosis. [Neuron] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

Improving the Safety of Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Therapies using Genome-Edited Orthogonal Safeguards

Investigators used genome editing to engineer a general platform to improve the safety of future human PSC-derived cell transplantation therapies. They developed human PSC lines bearing two drug-inducible safeguards, which had distinct functionalities and addressed separate safety concerns. [Nat Commun] Full Article

Loss of the Transcription Factor MAFB Limits β-Cell Derivation from Human PSCs

MAF BZIP transcription factor B (MAFB) knockout human PSCs have normal pancreatic differentiation capacity up to the progenitor stage, but favor somatostatin- and pancreatic polypeptide–positive cells at the expense of insulin- and glucagon-producing cells during endocrine cell development. [Nat Commun] Full Article

NitroSynapsin Ameliorates Hypersynchronous Neural Network Activity in Alzheimer hiPSC Models

The authors proposed a novel model of synaptic plasticity in which aberrant neural networks are rebalanced by NitroSynapsin. They proposed that human iPSC models may be useful for screening drugs to treat hyperexcitability and related synaptic damage in Alzheimer’s disease. [Mol Psychiatry] Abstract

Detection of Deleterious On-Target Effects after HDR-Mediated CRISPR Editing

Scientists investigated the occurrence of deleterious on-target effects in human stem cells after insertion of disease-related mutations by homology-directed repair and gene editing using non-homologous end joining. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Critical Roles of Translation Initiation and RNA Uridylation in Endogenous Retroviral Expression and Neural Differentiation in Pluripotent Stem Cells

Researchers generated a conditional knockout of NAT1 in primed PSCs and used the cells for the functional analyses of NAT1. They showed that NAT1 was required for the self-renewal and neural differentiation of primed PSCs. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Rett iPSC-Derived Neuronal Progenitors

The authors used a Rett syndrome patient iPSC-based model with isogenic controls and performed time-series of proteomic analysis using in-depth high-resolution quantitative mass spectrometry during early stages of neuronal development. [Mol Autism] Full Article

TET1 and 5-Hydroxymethylation Preserve the Stem Cell State of Mouse Trophoblast

Investigators established an integrated panel of absolute 5-hydroxymethylcytosine levels, genome-wide DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation patterns, transcriptomes, and TET1 chromatin occupancy in trophoblast stem cells and differentiated trophoblast cells. [Stem Cell Reports] Full Article

Role of CD133 in Human Embryonic Stem Cell Proliferation and Teratoma Formation

CD133 knockout human ESC WA26 cell line was generated with CRISPR/Cas9. CD133 knockout and wide type ESC lines were subjected to pluripotency, proliferation, telomere biology, and teratoma tests; the related global changes and underlying mechanisms were further systemically analyzed by RNA-seq. [Stem Cell Res Ther] Full Article

Stage-Specific Regulation of Gremlin1 on the Differentiation and Expansion of Human Urinary Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells into Endothelial Progenitors

Researchers provided a new non-invasive source for endothelial progenitors (EPs), demonstrated critical roles of Gremlin1 in human urinary iPSC-EPs and afforded a novel strategy to improve stem cell-based therapy for ischaemic diseases. [J Cell Mol Med] Full Article

Heparin Mimics and Fibroblast Growth Factor-2 Fabricated Nanogold Composite in Promoting Neural Differentiation of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells

Scientists proposed a new neural-differentiation inductive nanocomposite, containing gold nanoparticles, poly(2-methacrylamido glucopyranose-co-3-sulfopropyl acrylate), and basic fibroblast growth factor, for the high efficient directional neural-specific differentiation of mouse ESCs. [J Biomater Sci Polym Ed] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

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Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) As Game-Changing Tools in the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Disease: Mirage or Reality?

The authors summarize iPSC-based disease modeling in neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and Huntington’s disease. They discuss the efficacy of cell-replacement therapies for neurodegenerative disease. [J Cell Physiol] Abstract

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

AgeX Therapeutics and Sernova to Collaborate to Engineer Universal Locally Immune Protected Cell Therapies for Type I Diabetes and Hemophilia A

AgeX Therapeutics, Inc. and Sernova Corp. have announced a research collaboration where Sernova will utilize AgeX’s UniverCyte^TM gene technology to generate immune-protected universal therapeutic cells for use in combination with Sernova’s Cell Pouch^TM for the treatment of type I diabetes and hemophilia A. [AgeX Therapeutics, Inc.] Press Release

Europe Bets R&D Spending Will Bring Jobs to Battered Economy

The European Union wants a massive dose of research spending to lift it out of what could be the worst recession in its history. Last week, as part of a €1.85 trillion budget and pandemic recovery proposal, the European Commission, the EU executive arm, unveiled plans to pump €94.4 billion into research over 7 years, nearly €11 billion more than originally planned for the program, called Horizon Europe. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

The Pandemic Is Challenging China’s Breakneck Race to the Top of Science

When COVID-19 hit, China was close to surpassing the United States as the leading science funder, two years after it took top place as the biggest producer of scientific articles. The pandemic could slow that momentum by shrinking funding for scientific research in China and severely squeezing the pipeline of Chinese students to other countries. [Nature News] Editorial

Will the Pandemic Permanently Alter Scientific Publishing?

The COVID-19 crisis has underlined just how fast and open science publishing can be – when scientists want it that way. Researchers working on the pandemic are sharing preliminary results on preprint servers and institutional websites at unprecedented rates, embracing the kind of early, public sharing that physicists and mathematicians have practised for decades. [Nature News] Editorial

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NEW Postdoctoral Researcher (National University of Ireland Galway)

NEW Postdoctoral Position – Cardiovascular Molecular Mechanics (Spanish National Center for Cardiovascular Research)

Scientist – CAR Engineering and Protein Sciences (Century Therapeutics)

Research Scientist – Stem Cells (Evotec SE)

Fellowship Position – Genome Stem Cell Research (Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research)

Postdoctoral Position – Human iPS Models (The Jackson Laboratory)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Bioinformatics of Stem Cell Epigenetics (Albert Einstein College of Medicine)

PhD Candidate – Cardiovascular Diseases (University Medical Center Göttingen)

Senior Scientist – Human iPSC Gene Engineering (Empyrean Therapeutics Ltd)

Postdoctoral Fellow – ALS (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine)

Research Specialist – Stem Cells for Regenerative Medicine (University of Illinois at Chicago)

Postdoctoral Position – Human Pluripotent Stem Cells to Hepatobiliary Tissues (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine)

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