ESC & iPSC News Volume 7.39 | Oct 3 2012

c-Myc Is a Universal Amplifier of Expressed Genes in Lymphocytes and Embryonic Stem Cells
To observe Myc target expression and function in a system where Myc is temporally and physiologically regulated, the transcriptomes and the genome-wide distributions of Myc, RNA polymerase II, and chromatin modifications were compared during lymphocyte activation and in embryonic stem cells as well. [Cell] Abstract | Press Release

De Novo CNV Formation in Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells Occurs in the Absence of Xrcc4-Dependent Nonhomologous End Joining
To test whether the canonical nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) pathway of double-strand break repair is involved in the formation of nonrecurrent copy number variants (CNVs), chromosome integrity was monitored in NHEJ-deficient Xrcc4^−/− mouse embryonic stem cells following treatment with low doses of aphidicolin, a DNA replicative polymerase inhibitor. [PLoS Genet] Full Article

Structural and Quantitative Evidence for Dynamic Glycome Shift upon Production of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Researchers performed a quantitative glycome analysis targeting both N- and O-linked glycans derived from 201B7 human induced pluripotent stem cells and human dermal fibroblasts as undifferentiated and differentiated cells, respectively. [Mol Cell Proteomics] Abstract | Full Article

Induced Pluripotent Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Clones Retain Donor-Derived Differences in DNA Methylation Profiles
Investigators reprogrammed mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) from human bone marrow and compared their DNA methylation profiles with initial MSC and embryonic stem cells using high-density DNA methylation arrays covering more than 450,000 CpG sites. [Mol Ther] Abstract

Inhibition of Activin/Nodal Signaling Is Necessary for Pancreatic Differentiation of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
Scientists used defined culture media to identify signaling pathways controlling the differentiation of human embryonic stem cells/human induced pluripotent stem cells into pancreatic or hepatic progenitors. [Diabetologia] Abstract | Full Article

Aberrant Gene Expression Profiles in Pluripotent Stem Cells Induced from Fibroblasts of a Klinefelter’s Syndrome Patient
Researchers reported the derivation of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines from a Klinefelter’s Syndrome (KS) patient with a karyotype of 47, XXY. Derived KS-iPSCs meet all criteria of normal iPSCs with potential for germ cell differentiation. [J Biol Chem] Abstract | Full Article

Induced Pluripotency and Oncogenic Transformation Are Related Processes
To test the hypotheses that induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) and oncogenic foci (OF) are related cell types and, more broadly, that the induction of pluripotency and tumorigenicity are related processes, researchers produced iPSC and OF in parallel from common parental fibroblasts. [Stem Cells Dev]
Abstract | Press Release

Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes: Response to TTX and Lidocain Reveals Strong Cell to Cell Variability
Sensitivity to lidocain was considerably reduced in human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hESC-CMs) as compared to human induced pluripotent stem cell derived-CMs, and the effect could not be explained by differences in beating frequency. In contrast, sensitivity to tetrodotoxin (TTX) was higher in hESC-CMs suggesting different contributions of TTX-sensitive and TTX-resistant sodium channels to action potential generation. [PLoS One] Full Article

Differentiation and Selection of Hepatocyte Precursors in Suspension Spheroid Culture of Transgenic Murine Embryonic Stem Cells
Investigators aimed to establish an in vitro culture system for scalable generation of hepatic progenitor cells. They used stable transgenic clones of murine embryonic stem cells possessing a reporter/selection vector, in which the enhanced green fluorescent protein- and puromycin N-acetyltransferase-coding genes are driven by a common alpha-fetoprotein gene promoter. [PLoS One] Full Article

Apoptotic Susceptibility to DNA Damage of Pluripotent Stem Cells Facilitates Pharmacologic Purging of Teratoma Risk
Researchers exploited a hypersensitive apoptotic response to DNA damage within pluripotent stem cells to decrease risk of dysregulated growth and augment the safety profile of transplant-ready, bioengineered progenitor cells. [Stem Cells Transl Med] Abstract | Press Release

Molecular Roadblocks for Cellular Reprogramming
The authors discuss how transcription factors interface with the genome and induce changes in cellular identity in the context of development and reprogramming. [Mol Cell] Abstract

Cardiomyocytes Derived from Pluripotent Stem Cells: Progress and Prospects from China
Researchers reviewed recent progress in basic stem cell biology involving studies of cardiogenesis and cardiomyocytes (CMs) through pluripotent stem cell differentiation, approaches for chamber-specific CM differentiation, maturation processes involving regulation of intracellular Ca²⁺ signals, and applications. [Exp Cell Res] Abstract

Whitehead Members to Help Establish International Stem Cell Research Center
Three Members of the Whitehead Institute faculty are poised to play significant roles in the establishment of a new stem cell research center based at Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in suburban Moscow. [Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research] Press Release

New Edition of Definitive (Two-Volume) Resource in Stem Cells Released
Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. announced that its chief scientific officer, Robert Lanza, M.D. and Anthony Atala, M.D. have released the second edition of Handbook of Stem Cells (Academic Press/Elsevier), the widely-recognized definitive resource in the field of stem cells. [Advanced Cell Technology, Inc.]
Press Release

Bucking European Trend, Swedish Government Plans Major Science Investment
The Swedish government has proposed to raise its spending on research and innovation significantly. A new plan calls for adding $609 million to the annual budget by 2016, a 13.2% increase. The hike would be implemented in steps, starting with $264 million in 2013. [Swedish Education and Research Minister, Sweden] Press Release

Billions of Spanish Research Euros Remain Unspent
The Spanish government’s science budget has been declining sharply for years. But the situation is even worse than the official numbers show. Billions of euros in the government’s science budget were never spent, according to an analysis by the Confederation of Spanish Scientific Societies. [Confederation of Spanish Scientific Societies, Spain] Press Release

French Science Dodges Austerity
French Higher Education and Research Minister Geneviève Fioraso had something to smile about as she briefed reporters the day before the government unveiled its 2013 austerity budget. Hers was one of the few ministries to escape spending cuts as socialist President François Hollande and his team strive to honor their commitment to slash the deficit from 4.5% of gross domestic product to 3% next year. [French President, France] 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)

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

Postdoctoral Fellowship – Stem Cells, Cardiovascular and Metabolic Discovery (Roche Switzerland AG)

Postdoctoral Opportunity in Basic and Translational Neuroscience/Stem Cell Research (University of Aveiro, Portugal)


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