Derivation of human embryonic stem cell lines after blastocyst microsurgery

2010 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 479-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guoliang Meng ◽  
Shiying Liu ◽  
Xiangyun Li ◽  
Roman Krawetz ◽  
Derrick E. Rancourt

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are derived from the inner cell mass (ICM) of the blastocyst. Because of their ability to differentiate into a variety of cell types, human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) provide an unlimited source of cells for clinical medicine and have begun to be used in clinical trials. Presently, although several hundred hESC lines are available in the word, only few have been widely used in basic and applied research. More and more hESC lines with differing genetic backgrounds are required for establishing a bank of hESCs. Here, we report the first Canadian hESC lines to be generated from cryopreserved embryos and we discuss how we navigated through the Canadian regulatory process. The cryopreserved human zygotes used in this study were cultured to the blastocyst stage, and used to isolate ICM via microsurgery. Unlike previous microsurgery methods, which use specialized glass or steel needles, our method conveniently uses syringe needles for the isolation of ICM and subsequent hESC lines. ICM were cultured on MEF feeders in medium containing FBS or serum replacer (SR). Resulting outgrowths were isolated, cut into several cell clumps, and transferred onto fresh feeders. After more than 30 passages, the two hESC lines established using this method exhibited normal morphology, karyotype, and growth rate. Moreover, they stained positively for a variety of pluripotency markers and could be differentiated both in vitro and in vivo. Both cell lines could be maintained under a variety of culture conditions, including xeno-free conditions we have previously described. We suggest that this microsurgical approach may be conducive to deriving xeno-free hESC lines when outgrown on xeno-free human foreskin fibroblast feeders.

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 220
Author(s):  
B. P. Telugu ◽  
T. Ezashi ◽  
A. Alexenko ◽  
S. Lee ◽  
R. S. Prather ◽  
...  

Authentic embryonic stem cells (ESC) may never have been successfully derived from the inner cell mass (ICM) of pig and other ungulates, despite over 25 years of effort. Recently, porcine induced pluripotent stem cells (piPSC) were generated by reprogramming somatic cells with a combination of four factors OCT4, SOX2, KLF4 and c-MYC (OSKM) delivered by lentiviral transduction. The established piPSC are analogous to FGF2-dependent human (h) ESC and murine “epiblast stem cells,” and are likely to advance swine as a model in biomedical research. Here, we report for the first time, the establishment of LIF-dependent, so called naïve type pluripotent stem cells (1) from the inner cell mass (ICM) of porcine blastocysts by up-regulating the expression of KLF4 and POU5F1; and (2) from umbilical cord mesenchyme (Wharton's jelly) by transduction with OSKM factors and subsequent culture in the presence of LIF-based medium with inhibitors that substitute for low endogenous expression of c-MYC and KLF4 and promote pluripotency. The 2 compounds that have been used in this study are, CHIR99021 (CH), which substitutes c-MYC by inhibiting GSK3B and activating WNT signalling and Kenpaullone (KP), which inhibits both GSK3B and CDK1 and supplants KLF4 function. The lentiviral vectors employed for introducing the re-programming genes were modified for doxycycline-mediated induction of expression (tet-on) and are ‘floxed’ for Cre-mediated recombination and removal of transgenes following complete reprogramming. Two LIF-dependent cell lines have been derived from the ICM cells of late d 5.5 in vitro produced blastocysts and four from umbilical cord mesenchyme recovered from fetuses at d 35 of pregnancy. The derived stem cell lines are alkaline phosphatase-positive, resemble mouse embryonic stem cells in colony morphology, cell cycle interval, transcriptome profile and expression of pluripotent markers, such as POU5F1, SOX2 and surface marker SSEA1. They are dependent on LIF signalling for maintenance of pluripotency, can be cultured over extended passage (>50) with no senescence. Of importance, the ICM-derived lines have been successful in their ability to form teratomas. The cells could be cultured in feeder free conditions on a synthetic matrix in the presence of chemically defined medium and can be coaxed to differentiate under xeno-free conditions. Currently, the piPSC lines are being investigated for their ability to give rise to teratomas and to produce a live offspring by nuclear transfer. Supported by Addgene Innovation Award, MO Life Sciences Board Grant 00022147 and NIH grant HD21896.


2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 191
Author(s):  
V. J. Hall ◽  
J. Christensen ◽  
P. Maddox-Hyttel

Pluripotency in mice and human embryonic stem cells is regulated by a number of transcription factors, notably including Oct-4, Sox-2, and Nanog. However, in the pig, previous research indicates that Oct-4 protein and mRNA is not specifically localized to the inner cell mass (ICM) of the zona-intact (ZI) blastocyst. Levels of expression of Nanog mRNA, on the other hand, appear to be low in the ZI blastocyst, and protein has not been detected. Similarly, Sox-2 expression in the ZI blastocyst is relatively low and not specific to the ICM. In this study, we investigated the mRNA expression of Oct-4, Sox-2, and Nanog in D6/D7-derived ZI porcine in vivo-derived blastocysts compared with epiblasts mechanically isolated from hatched D10/D11 in vivo-derived blastocysts. We then investigated components involved in pathways important for regulating pluripotency, including JAK/STAT (i.e. gp130, LIFr), FGF (i.e. bFGF, FGFr1, FGFr2), and BMP (bmp4, smad4) signaling pathways and their downstream targets, stat3, c-myc, c-fos, by using RT-PCR. Sows were artificially inseminated, and embryos were flushed from uteri following slaughter. Single D6/D7 blastocysts (n = 3), single mechanically isolated D10/D11 epiblasts (n = 3), endometrium, and oviduct total RNA was isolated using the RNeasy Micro Kit (Qiagen, Valencia, CA, USA). Total RNA from the blastocysts and epiblasts was then amplified to form cDNA using the QuantiTect Whole Transcriptome kit (Qiagen). Positive control tissues (oviduct and endometrium) were reverse transcribed using the RevertAid First Strand cDNA synthesis kit (Fermentas, Burlington, Ontario, Canada). Primers were designed to span introns in highly homologous sequences to human mRNA. Primers were tested in both oviduct and endometrium tissue, and products were sequenced to confirm specificity. PCR was performed at 55°C for 35 cycles. Results indicate that D6/D7 blastocysts only expressed Oct-4 and not Nanog and Sox-2. In contrast, all 3 transcripts were expressed in D10/D11 epiblasts. The D10/D11 epiblasts also expressed LIFr, bFGF, FGFr1, FGFr2, bmp4, smad4, stat3, c-myc, and c-fos. The cytokine receptor gp130 was only weakly expressed in a single epiblast. In contrast, the earlier stage D6/D7 blastocysts failed to express these messengers with the exception of weak expression of gp130 in all 3 blastocysts, and only a single blastocyst expressed LIFr, smad4, c-myc, and c-fos. In conclusion, this study indicates that the ICM of the porcine D6/D7 ZI blastocyst has not developed pluripotency signaling as observed in mice and humans at this developmental stage. Furthermore, without expression of gp130, the JAK/STAT pathway is unlikely to play a role in regulating pluripotency in the epiblast. It is likely that the later stage epiblast may be more amenable for the derivation of porcine embryonic stem cells.


Reproduction ◽  
2001 ◽  
pp. 729-733 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Amano ◽  
Y Kato ◽  
Y Tsunoda

The developmental potential of enucleated mouse oocytes receiving embryonic stem cells from ten lines with either the same or different genetic backgrounds using the cell fusion method was examined in vitro and in vivo. The development of nuclear-transferred oocytes into blastocysts was high (34-88%). However, there was no clear correlation between development into blastocysts after nuclear transfer and the chimaera formation rate of embryonic stem cells. The development into live young was low (1-3%) in all cell lines and 14 of 19 young died shortly after birth. Most of the live young had morphological abnormalities. Of the five remaining mice, two died at days 23 and 30 after birth, but the other three mice are still active at days 359 (mouse 1) and 338 (mice 4 and 5) after birth, with normal fertility. However, the reasons for the abnormalities and postnatal death of embryonic stem cell-derived mice are unknown.


2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (15) ◽  
pp. 6710-6718 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirei Murakami ◽  
Tomoko Ichisaka ◽  
Mitsuyo Maeda ◽  
Noriko Oshiro ◽  
Kenta Hara ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT TOR is a serine-threonine kinase that was originally identified as a target of rapamycin in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and then found to be highly conserved among eukaryotes. In Drosophila melanogaster, inactivation of TOR or its substrate, S6 kinase, results in reduced cell size and embryonic lethality, indicating a critical role for the TOR pathway in cell growth control. However, the in vivo functions of mammalian TOR (mTOR) remain unclear. In this study, we disrupted the kinase domain of mouse mTOR by homologous recombination. While heterozygous mutant mice were normal and fertile, homozygous mutant embryos died shortly after implantation due to impaired cell proliferation in both embryonic and extraembryonic compartments. Homozygous blastocysts looked normal, but their inner cell mass and trophoblast failed to proliferate in vitro. Deletion of the C-terminal six amino acids of mTOR, which are essential for kinase activity, resulted in reduced cell size and proliferation arrest in embryonic stem cells. These data show that mTOR controls both cell size and proliferation in early mouse embryos and embryonic stem cells.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (23) ◽  
pp. 12918
Author(s):  
Man-Ling Zhang ◽  
Yong Jin ◽  
Li-Hua Zhao ◽  
Jia Zhang ◽  
Meng Zhou ◽  
...  

The inner cell mass of the pre-implantation blastocyst consists of the epiblast and hypoblast from which embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and extra-embryonic endoderm (XEN) stem cells, respectively, can be derived. Importantly, each stem cell type retains the defining properties and lineage restriction of its in vivo tissue origin. We have developed a novel approach for deriving porcine XEN (pXEN) cells via culturing the blastocysts with a chemical cocktail culture system. The pXEN cells were positive for XEN markers, including Gata4, Gata6, Sox17, and Sall4, but not for pluripotent markers Oct4, Sox2, and Nanog. The pXEN cells also retained the ability to undergo visceral endoderm (VE) and parietal endoderm (PE) differentiation in vitro. The maintenance of pXEN required FGF/MEK+TGFβ signaling pathways. The pXEN cells showed a stable phenotype through more than 50 passages in culture and could be established repeatedly from blastocysts or converted from the naïve-like ESCs established in our lab. These cells provide a new tool for exploring the pathways of porcine embryo development and differentiation and providing further reference to the establishment of porcine ESCs with potency of germline chimerism and gamete development.


2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 220
Author(s):  
J. K. Park ◽  
H. S. Kim ◽  
K. J. Uh ◽  
K. H. Choi ◽  
H. M. Kim ◽  
...  

Since pluripotent cells were first derived from the inner cell mass (ICM) of mouse blastocysts, tremendous efforts have been made to establish embryonic stem cell (ESC) lines in several domestic species including the pig; however, authentic porcine ESCs have not yet been established. It has proven difficult to derive pluripotent cells of naïve state that represents full pluripotency, due to the frequent occurrence of spontaneous differentiation into an EpiSC-like state during culture in pigs. We have been able to derive EpiSC-like porcine embryonic stem cell (pESC) lines of a differentiated non-ES cell state from blastocyst stage porcine embryos of various origins, including in vitro fertilized (IVF), in vivo derived, IVF aggregated and parthenogenetic embryos. In addition, we have generated induced pluripotent stem cells (piPSCs) via plasmid transfection of reprogramming factors (Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc) into porcine fibroblast cells. In this study, we analysed characteristics such as marker expression, pluripotency and the X chromosome inactivation (XCI) status of our EpiSC-like pESC lines along with our piPSC line. Our results show that these cell lines demonstrate the expression of genes associated with the Activin/Nodal and FGF2 pathways along with the expression of pluripotent markers Oct4, Sox2, Nanog, SSEA4, TRA 1-60 and TRA 1-81. Furthermore all of these cell lines showed in vitro differentiation potential; female XCI activity and a normal karyotype. Here we provide preliminary results that suggest that, as a nonpermissive species, the porcine species undergoes reprogramming into a primed state during the establishment of pluripotent stem cell lines. This work was supported by the BioGreen 21 Program (#20070401034031, PJ0081382011), Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea.


Reproduction ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 132 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Tielens ◽  
B Verhasselt ◽  
J Liu ◽  
M Dhont ◽  
J Van Der Elst ◽  
...  

Embryonic stem (ES) cells are the source of all embryonic germ layer tissues. Oct-4 is essential for their pluripotency. Sincein vitroculture may influence Oct-4 expression, we investigated to what extent blastocysts culturedin vitrofrom the zygote stage are capable of expressing Oct-4 and generating ES cell lines. We comparedin vivowithin vitroderived blastocysts from B6D2 mice with regard to Oct-4 expression in inner cell mass (ICM) outgrowths and blastocysts. ES cells were characterized by immunostaining for alkaline phosphatase (ALP), stage-specific embryonic antigen-1 (SSEA-1) and Oct-4. Embryoid bodies were made to evaluate the ES cells’ differentiation potential. ICM outgrowths were immunostained for Oct-4 after 6 days in culture. A quantitative real-time PCR assay was performed on individual blastocysts. Of thein vitroderived blastocysts, 17% gave rise to ES cells vs 38% of thein vivoblastocysts. Six-day old outgrowths fromin vivodeveloped blastocysts expressed Oct-4 in 55% of the cases vs 31% of thein vitroderived blastocysts. The amount of Oct-4 mRNA was significantly higher for freshly collectedin vivoblastocysts compared toin vitrocultured blastocysts.In vitrocultured mouse blastocysts retain the capacity to express Oct-4 and to generate ES cells, be it to a lower level thanin vivoblastocysts.


Author(s):  
Yajing Meng ◽  
Tianzhe Zhang ◽  
Ran Zheng ◽  
Song Ding ◽  
Jie Yang ◽  
...  

Epigenetic modifications play a crucial role in neurogenesis, learning, and memory, but the study of their role in early neuroectoderm commitment from pluripotent inner cell mass is relatively lacking. Here we utilized the system of directed neuroectoderm differentiation from human embryonic stem cells and identified that KDM6B, an enzyme responsible to erase H3K27me3, was the most upregulated enzyme of histone methylation during neuroectoderm differentiation by transcriptome analysis. We then constructed KDM6B-null embryonic stem cells and found strikingly that the pluripotent stem cells with KDM6B knockout exhibited much higher neuroectoderm induction efficiency. Furthermore, we constructed a series of embryonic stem cell lines knocking out the other H3K27 demethylase KDM6A, and depleting both KDM6A and KDM6B, respectively. These cell lines together confirmed that KDM6 impeded early neuroectoderm commitment. By RNA-seq, we found that the expression levels of a panel of WNT genes were significantly affected upon depletion of KDM6. Importantly, the result that WNT agonist and antagonist could abolish the differential neuroectoderm induction due to manipulating KDM6 further demonstrated that WNT was the major downstream of KDM6 during early neural induction. Moreover, we found that the chemical GSK-J1, an inhibitor of KDM6, could enhance neuroectoderm induction from both embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells. Taken together, our findings not only illustrated the important role of the histone methylation modifier KDM6 in early neurogenesis, providing insights into the precise epigenetic regulation in cell fate determination, but also showed that the inhibitor of KDM6 could facilitate neuroectoderm differentiation from human pluripotent stem cells.


2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginie Mournetas ◽  
Quentin M. Nunes ◽  
Patricia A. Murray ◽  
Christopher M. Sanderson ◽  
David G. Fernig

Background. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are pluripotent cells derived from the inner cell mass of in vitro fertilised blastocysts, which can either be maintained in an undifferentiated state or committed into lineages under determined culture conditions. These cells offer great potential for regenerative medicine, but at present, little is known about the mechanisms that regulate hESC stemness; in particular, the role of cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix interactions remain relatively unexplored. Methods and results. In this study we have performed an in silico analysis of cell-microenvironment interactions to identify novel proteins that may be responsible for the maintenance of hESC stemness. A hESC transcriptome of 8,934 mRNAs was assembled using a meta-analysis approach combining the analysis of microarrays and the use of databases for annotation. The STRING database was utilised to construct a protein-protein interaction network focused on extracellular and transcription factor components contained within the assembled transcriptome. This interactome was structurally studied and filtered to identify a short list of 92 candidate proteins, which may regulate hESC stemness. Conclusion. We hypothesise that this list of proteins, either connecting extracellular components with transcriptional networks, or with hub or bottleneck properties, may contain proteins likely to be involved in determining stemness.


1999 ◽  
Vol 144 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Smyth ◽  
H. Seda Vatansever ◽  
Patricia Murray ◽  
Michael Meyer ◽  
Christian Frie ◽  
...  

The LAMC1 gene coding for the laminin γ1 subunit was targeted by homologous recombination in mouse embryonic stem cells. Mice heterozygous for the mutation had a normal phenotype and were fertile, whereas homozygous mutant embryos did not survive beyond day 5.5 post coitum. These embryos lacked basement membranes and although the blastocysts had expanded, primitive endoderm cells remained in the inner cell mass, and the parietal yolk sac did not develop. Cultured embryonic stem cells appeared normal after targeting both LAMC1 genes, but the embryoid bodies derived from them also lacked basement membranes, having disorganized extracellular deposits of the basement membrane proteins collagen IV and perlecan, and the cells failed to differentiate into stable myotubes. Secretion of the linking protein nidogen and a truncated laminin α1 subunit did occur, but these were not deposited in the extracellular matrix. These results show that the laminin γ1 subunit is necessary for laminin assembly and that laminin is in turn essential for the organization of other basement membrane components in vivo and in vitro. Surprisingly, basement membranes are not necessary for the formation of the first epithelium to develop during embryogenesis, but first become required for extra embryonic endoderm differentiation.


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