ESC & iPSC News Volume 9.00 | Jan 8 2014

High-Throughput Sequencing Reveals the Disruption of Methylation of Imprinted Gene in Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Researchers found that methylation of an imprinted gene, Zrsr1, was consistently disrupted in the induced pluripotent stem cell lines with reduced pluripotency. [Cell Res] Abstract

Modeling and Rescuing Neurodevelopmental Defect of Down Syndrome Using Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells from Monozygotic Twins Discordant for Trisomy 21
Researchers report the generation and characterization of induced pluripotent stem cells derived from monozygotic twins discordant for trisomy 21 in order to eliminate the effects of the variability of genomic background. [EMBO Mol Med] Abstract

Inhibition of Stearoyl-CoA Desaturase Selectively Eliminates Tumorigenic Nanog-Positive Cells: Improving the Safety of iPS Cell Transplantation to Myocardium
The authors found that plurisin#1 treatment significantly decreased the mRNA and protein level of Nanog, a marker for both cell pluripotency and tumor progression; importantly, they provide evidence that PluriSin#1 treatment at 20 µM for 1 day significantly induces the apoptosis of Nanog-positive induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell derivates. [Cell Cycle] Full Article

Identification of a Novel Gene Signature of ES Cells Self-Renewal Fluctuation through System-Wide Analysis
Investigators aimed to characterize the high-pluripotent Embryonic Stem (ES) cell metastate marked by the expression of Zscan4 through a supervised machine learning framework based on an ensemble of support vector machine classifiers. [PLoS One] Full Article

Generation of iPSC Lines from Archived Non-Cryoprotected Biobanked Dura Mater
Researchers report the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from frozen non-cryoprotected dural tissue stored at -80°C for up to 11 years. This autopsy cohort included subjects with Alzheimer’s disease and four other neurodegenerative diseases. [Acta Neuropathol Commun] Abstract | Full Article | Press Release

PI3K/Akt1 Signaling Specifies Foregut Precursors by Generating Regionalized Extra-Cellular Matrix
The authors used mouse embryonic stem cell differentiation to uncover a new mechanism for PI3K signaling that is required for endoderm specification. They found that PI3K signaling promotes the transition from naïve endoderm precursors into committed anterior endoderm. [eLife] Full Article | Press Release

Myogenic Differentiation of Muscular Dystrophy-Specific Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells for Use in Drug Discovery
Researchers have a particular interest in modeling skeletal muscle from various genetic backgrounds; however, efficient and reproducible methods for the myogenic differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells have not previously been demonstrated. [Stem Cell Transl Med] Abstract

Pluripotent Stem Cells Derived from Mouse and Human White Mature Adipocytes
Scientists defined stem cell characteristics of dedifferentiated fat cells as they are generated from adipocytes and the relationship between these characteristics and lineage differentiation. [Stem Cell Transl Med] Abstract

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

GE to Expand in Life Sciences with Acquisition of Strategic Assets from Thermo Fisher Scientific
GE and Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that they have entered into an agreement for GE Healthcare to acquire Thermo Fisher’s HyClone™ cell culture media and sera, and gene modulation and magnetic beads businesses for approximately $1.06 billion. [Business Wire] Press Release

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Europe Waters Down Transnational ‘Research Buddy’ Plan
Europe’s latest research-funding program includes, for the first time, money for ‘low-performing’ member states to set up research centers in their regions, in partnership with well-established institutions from other countries. But some observers were disappointed earlier this month when the European Union announced that the host countries will manage the centers – a rule that critics say could be challenging for fledgling institutions and perhaps perpetuate problems, such as nepotism, that have contributed to their poor performance in the first place. [Nature News] Editorial

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NEW Postdoctoral Researcher – Stem Cell Biology (University of Luxembourg)

Postdoctoral Position – Epigenetic Regulation of Heart Formation Using Human ES & iPS Cells (University of Pittsburgh)

Postdoctoral Associate – Stem Cell Biology (State University of New York)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Cardiovascular Tissue Engineering (Stanford University School of Medicine)

Clinical MD – Clinical Development Program for Oncology and Autoimmune Diseases (Immunomedics, Inc.)

Chief Medical Officer – Novel Therapeutics in Oncology and Autoimmune Disease (Immunomedics, Inc.)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Liver Tissue Engineering (Harvard Medical School)

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