ESC & iPSC News Volume 7.38 | Sep 26 2012

Long-Term Maintenance of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cell Pluripotency by Manipulating Integrin Signaling within 3D Scaffolds without Active Stat3
Researchers engineered an acellular biomimetic microenvironment to regulate stem cell fate and applied it to maintain mouse embryonic stem cell self-renewal. [Biomaterials] Abstract

Targeted Proteomics of the Secretory Pathway Reveals the Secretome of Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts and Human Embryonic Stem Cells
Investigators showed that targeted proteomics of secretory pathway organelles is a powerful alternate approach to interrogate the cellular secretome. They developed procedures to obtain subcellular fractions from mouse embryonic fibroblasts and human embryonic stem cells that are enriched in secretory pathway organelles, while ensuring retention of the secretory cargo. [Mol Cell Proteomics]
Abstract | Full Article | Press Release

A Kinase Inhibitor Screen Identifies Small-Molecule Enhancers of Reprogramming and iPS Cell Generation
Researchers performed an inhibitor screen to identify kinases that enhance, or present a barrier to, reprogramming. In particular, inhibitors of p38, inositol trisphosphate 3-kinase, and Aurora A kinase potently enhance induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) generation, and iPSCs derived from inhibitor-treated somatic cells are capable of reaching a fully reprogrammed state. [Nat Commun] Abstract | Press Release

Matrix Bound Heparan Sulfate Is Essential for the Growth and Pluripotency of Human Embryonic Stem Cells
Data suggested that matrix bound heparan sulfate is required for the growth and pluripotency of human embryonic stem cells and that ethanol-fixed murine embryonic fibroblasts may be used as a ‘live cell’-free substrate for stem cells. [Glycobiology] Abstract

Wnt/Beta-Catenin Signaling in Embryonic Stem Cell Converted Tumor Cells
Researchers aimed to obtain embryonic stem cells-converted tumor cell lines and to investigate the mechanism of malignancy in pluripotent stem cells. [J Transl Med] Abstract | Full Article

Inducing Endoderm Differentiation by Modulating Mechanical Properties of Soft Substrates
The authors reported how the cellular mechanical microenvironment of soft substrates affects the differentiation and phenotypic commitment of embryonic stem cells. [J Tissue Eng Regen Med] Abstract

Gene-Expression Analysis Reveals that Embryonic Stem Cells Cultured Under Osteogenic Conditions Produce Mineral Non-Specifically Compared to Marrow Stromal Cells or Osteoblasts
Researchers related the expression of osteogenic and chondrogenic genes in cultures of murine embryonic stem cells, marrow stromal cells and calvarial osteoblasts cultured under osteogenic conditions to the biochemical composition and quantity of mineral formed. [Eur Cell Mater] Abstract

High-Throughput Screening for Bioactive Molecules Using Primary Cell Culture of Transgenic Zebrafish Embryos
Scientists reported a high-throughput approach for screening small molecules that regulate cell differentiation using lineage-specific green fluorescent protein transgenic zebrafish embryonic cells. 23 molecules were confirmed to enhance angiogenesis, and 11 of them were validated to promote the proliferation of mammalian human umbilical vascular endothelial cells and induce Flk1+ cells from murine embryonic stem cells. [Cell Rep] Abstract

DNA Double-Strand Break Response in Stem Cells: Mechanisms to Maintain Genomic Integrity
Investigators described the mechanisms by which embryonic stem cells respond to DNA double-strand break (DSB)-inducing agents such as reactive oxygen species and ionizing radiation, compared to somatic cells. They also discussed whether the DSB response is fully reprogrammed in induced pluripotent stem cells and the role of the DNA damage response in reprogramming of these cells. [Biochim Biophys Acta] Abstract

Myocardial Cell Sheet Therapy and Cardiac Function
The cell sheet is an innovative technology for constructing aligned graft cells, and several cell sources have been investigated for making a feasible cell sheet. Regenerative cardiomyocytes (CM) derived from pluripotent stem cells, such as embryonic stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells, are the most promising, because a myocardial cell sheet constructed with regenerative CM can potentially enable contraction recovery and electromechanical coupling with host CM. [Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol] Abstract

iPS Cell Technology Patents Granted in Japan and the United States
Kyoto University has been granted four patents relating to its basic induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology, one in Japan and three in the United States. Two of the US patents have already completed patent registration and the remaining two patents are due for registration within a month. [Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University] Press Release

Five UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering Graduate Students Named 2013 Siebel Scholars
Five University of California (UC), San Diego graduate students pursuing research at the intersection of bioengineering, medicine and biology are among the 85 recipients of 2013 Siebel Scholars awards, announced by the Siebel Scholars Foundation. [University of California, San Diego] Press Release

China-Japan Territorial Dispute Threatens Scientific Exchanges, Again
A long simmering spat between China and Japan about the sovereignty over a group of uninhabited islets in the East China Sea boiled over again and is, again, denting scientific cooperation. [China Association for Science and Technology, China] Press Release

U.S. Science Advisory Panels Need Greater Transparency, Report Says
U.S. government agencies recruiting scientists and other experts to serve on advisory panels should be asking for more detailed disclosures of potential conflicts of interest. [The Keystone Center, United States]
Press Release

Chilean Scientists Oppose Funding-Agency Relocation
Chilean scientific organizations are alarmed by a suggestion from the country’s economy minister that he should oversee the National Science and Technology Research Commission, the main science funder. [Chilean Economy Minister, Chile] Press Release

Research Technologist – Media Development (STEMCELL Technologies, Inc.)

Research Technologist – Research and Development (STEMCELL Technologies, Inc.)

Scientific Communications & Publishing Coordinator (STEMCELL Technologies, Inc.)

Quality Control Operations Coordinator (STEMCELL Technologies, Inc.)

Product Manager – Hematopoietic (STEMCELL Technologies, Inc.)

Stem Cell Researcher (BioTalentum Ltd.)

Postdoctoral Position – Biomedical Engineering (School of Medicine, Tsinghua University)

Research Associate – Quality Assurance (University of California)

Stem Cell Research Technician (University of Nantes, France)

Postdoctoral Fellow in Stem Cell Tissue Engineering (Stanford University School of Medicine)


Recruit Top Talent: Reach more than 55,000 potential candidates by posting your organization’s career opportunities on the Connexon Creative Job Board at no cost.

Have we missed an important article or publication in ESC & iPSC News? Click here to submit!

Comments or Suggestions? Email info@connexoncreative.com with your feedback.