miR-371-3 Expression Predicts Neural Differentiation Propensity in Human Pluripotent Stem Cells In this study, researchers characterized 13 human embryonic stem cell and 26 human induced pluripotent stem cell lines to identify markers that predict neural differentiation behavior. [Cell Stem Cell] Co-Assembly of REST and Its Cofactors at Sites of Gene Repression in Embryonic Stem Cells Data supports a model where productive gene repression by REST requires assembly of a multimeric “repressosome” complex, whereas weak recruitment of REST and its cofactors is insufficient to repress gene expression. [Genome Res] Reprogramming of EBV-Immortalized B-Lymphocyte Cell Lines into Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Investigators reported the generation of induced pluripotent stem cell from Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) immortalized B cell lines derived from multiple inherited disease patients via a non-viral method. [Blood] Direct Conversion of Human Fibroblasts to Dopaminergic Neurons Recent reports demonstrate that somatic mouse cells can be directly converted to other mature cell types by using combined expression of defined factors. Scientists showed that the same strategy can be applied to human embryonic and postnatal fibroblasts. [Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A] Generation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells from Urine Researchers presented a simple, reproducible, noninvasive method for generating human induced pluripotent stem cells from renal tubular cells present in urine. [J Am Soc Nephrol] Dissecting the Oncogenic Potential of Human Embryonic and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Derivatives Investigators analyzed the gene expression patterns from three sets of human induced pluripotent stem cell- and human embryonic stem cell- derivatives and the corresponding primary cells, and compared their transcriptomes with those of five different types of cancer. [Cancer Res] Targeted Suicide Gene Therapy for Glioma Using Human Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Neural Stem Cells Genetically Modified by Baculoviral Vectors Scientists reported that neural stem cells derived from HES1 human embryonic stem cell line were capable of migrating into intracranial glioma xenografts after systemic injection or after intracranial injection at a site distant from the tumor. [Gene Ther] Derivation of High Purity Neuronal Progenitors from Human Embryonic Stem Cells Researchers described for the first time a method for producing human neuronal progenitors in large quantity and high purity from human embryonic stem cells in feeder-free conditions, without the use of exogenous noggin, sonic hedgehog or analogs, rendering the process clinically compliant. [PLoS One] Efficient Differentiation of Human Embryonic and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells into Functional Astrocytes Results demonstrated the feasibility of using induced pluripotent cell-derived astrocytes as a new potential source for therapeutic use for brain tumors and other neurological diseases. [Stem Cells Dev] |