scholarly journals Generating Diverse Spinal Motor Neuron Subtypes from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rickie Patani
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Motor Neuron ◽  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽  
Muscular Atrophy ◽  
Human Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽  
Disease Models ◽  
Differential Vulnerability ◽  
Neuronal Diversification

Resolving the mechanisms underlying human neuronal diversification remains a major challenge in developmental and applied neurobiology. Motor neurons (MNs) represent a diverse pool of neuronal subtypes exhibiting differential vulnerability in different human neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). The ability to predictably manipulate MN subtype lineage restriction from human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) will form the essential basis to establishing accurate, clinically relevantin vitrodisease models. I first overview motor neuron developmental biology to provide some context for reviewing recent studies interrogating pathways that influence the generation of MN diversity. I conclude that motor neurogenesis from PSCs provides a powerful reductionist model system to gain insight into the developmental logic of MN subtype diversification and serves more broadly as a leading exemplar of potential strategies to resolve the molecular basis of neuronal subclass differentiation within the nervous system. These studies will in turn permit greater mechanistic understanding of differential MN subtype vulnerability usingin vitrohuman disease models.

scholarly journals A Monolayer System for the Efficient Generation of Motor Neuron Progenitors and Functional Motor Neurons from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 1127
Author(s):  
Alessandro Cutarelli ◽  
Vladimir A. Martínez-Rojas ◽  
Alice Tata ◽  
Ingrid Battistella ◽  
Daniela Rossi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Motor Neuron ◽  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽  
Disease Modelling ◽  
Disease Phenotypes ◽  
In Vitro Systems ◽  
Induced Pluripotent

Methods for the conversion of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) into motor neurons (MNs) have opened to the generation of patient-derived in vitro systems that can be exploited for MN disease modelling. However, the lack of simplified and consistent protocols and the fact that hiPSC-derived MNs are often functionally immature yet limit the opportunity to fully take advantage of this technology, especially in research aimed at revealing the disease phenotypes that are manifested in functionally mature cells. In this study, we present a robust, optimized monolayer procedure to rapidly convert hiPSCs into enriched populations of motor neuron progenitor cells (MNPCs) that can be further amplified to produce a large number of cells to cover many experimental needs. These MNPCs can be efficiently differentiated towards mature MNs exhibiting functional electrical and pharmacological neuronal properties. Finally, we report that MN cultures can be long-term maintained, thus offering the opportunity to study degenerative phenomena associated with pathologies involving MNs and their functional, networked activity. These results indicate that our optimized procedure enables the efficient and robust generation of large quantities of MNPCs and functional MNs, providing a valid tool for MNs disease modelling and for drug discovery applications.

Mini Review; Differentiation of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells into Oocytes

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 301-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaifang Wang ◽  
Maryam Farzaneh
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Human Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽  
Human Oocyte ◽  
Differentiation Potential ◽  
Cell Lineages ◽  
Cell Based Therapy ◽  
Induced Pluripotent

Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (POI) is one of the main diseases causing female infertility that occurs in about 1% of women between 30-40 years of age. There are few effective methods for the treatment of women with POI. In the past few years, stem cell-based therapy as one of the most highly investigated new therapies has emerged as a promising strategy for the treatment of POI. Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) can self-renew indefinitely and differentiate into any type of cell. Human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESCs) as a type of pluripotent stem cells are the most powerful candidate for the treatment of POI. Human-induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (hiPSCs) are derived from adult somatic cells by the treatment with exogenous defined factors to create an embryonic-like pluripotent state. Both hiPSCs and hESCs can proliferate and give rise to ectodermal, mesodermal, endodermal, and germ cell lineages. After ovarian stimulation, the number of available oocytes is limited and the yield of total oocytes with high quality is low. Therefore, a robust and reproducible in-vitro culture system that supports the differentiation of human oocytes from PSCs is necessary. Very few studies have focused on the derivation of oocyte-like cells from hiPSCs and the details of hPSCs differentiation into oocytes have not been fully investigated. Therefore, in this review, we focus on the differentiation potential of hPSCs into human oocyte-like cells.

scholarly journals Global transcriptome profile of the developmental principles of in vitro iPSC-to-motor neuron differentiation

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilia Solomon ◽  
Katie Davis-Anderson ◽  
Blake Hovde ◽  
Sofiya Micheva-Viteva ◽  
Jennifer Foster Harris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Neural Stem Cells ◽  
Motor Neuron ◽  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Acetylcholine Receptors ◽  
Gene Networks ◽  
Spinal Cord Injuries ◽  
Regulatory Gene ◽  
Transcriptome Profile

Abstract Background Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) have opened new avenues for regenerative medicine. Consequently, iPSC-derived motor neurons have emerged as potentially viable therapies for spinal cord injuries and neurodegenerative disorders including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. However, direct clinical application of iPSC bears in itself the risk of tumorigenesis and other unforeseeable genetic or epigenetic abnormalities. Results Employing RNA-seq technology, we identified and characterized gene regulatory networks triggered by in vitro chemical reprogramming of iPSC into cells with the molecular features of motor neurons (MNs) whose function in vivo is to innervate effector organs. We present meta-transcriptome signatures of 5 cell types: iPSCs, neural stem cells, motor neuron progenitors, early motor neurons, and mature motor neurons. In strict response to the chemical stimuli, along the MN differentiation axis we observed temporal downregulation of tumor growth factor-β signaling pathway and consistent activation of sonic hedgehog, Wnt/β-catenin, and Notch signaling. Together with gene networks defining neuronal differentiation (neurogenin 2, microtubule-associated protein 2, Pax6, and neuropilin-1), we observed steady accumulation of motor neuron-specific regulatory genes, including Islet-1 and homeobox protein HB9. Interestingly, transcriptome profiling of the differentiation process showed that Ca2+ signaling through cAMP and LPC was downregulated during the conversion of the iPSC to neural stem cells and key regulatory gene activity of the pathway remained inhibited until later stages of motor neuron formation. Pathways shaping the neuronal development and function were well-represented in the early motor neuron cells including, neuroactive ligand-receptor interactions, axon guidance, and the cholinergic synapse formation. A notable hallmark of our in vitro motor neuron maturation in monoculture was the activation of genes encoding G-coupled muscarinic acetylcholine receptors and downregulation of the ionotropic nicotinic acetylcholine receptors expression. We observed the formation of functional neuronal networks as spontaneous oscillations in the extracellular action potentials recorded on multi-electrode array chip after 20 days of differentiation. Conclusions Detailed transcriptome profile of each developmental step from iPSC to motor neuron driven by chemical induction provides the guidelines to novel therapeutic approaches in the re-construction efforts of muscle innervation.

scholarly journals Establishing a deeper understanding of the osteogenic differentiation of monolayer cultured human pluripotent stem cells using novel and detailed analyses

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ping Zhou ◽  
Jia-Min Shi ◽  
Jing-E Song ◽  
Yu Han ◽  
Hong-Jiao Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Osteogenic Differentiation ◽  
Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Telomerase Activity ◽  
Human Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽  
Cell Counting ◽  
Cell Type ◽  
Alizarin Red

Abstract Background Derivation of osteoblast-like cells from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) is a popular topic in bone tissue engineering. Although many improvements have been achieved, the low induction efficiency because of spontaneous differentiation hampers their applications. To solve this problem, a detailed understanding of the osteogenic differentiation process of hPSCs is urgently needed. Methods Monolayer cultured human embryonic stem cells and human-induced pluripotent stem cells were differentiated in commonly applied serum-containing osteogenic medium for 35 days. In addition to traditional assays such as cell viability detection, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, immunofluorescence, and alizarin red staining, we also applied studies of cell counting, cell telomerase activity, and flow cytometry as essential indicators to analyse the cell type changes in each week. Results The population of differentiated cells was quite heterogeneous throughout the 35 days of induction. Then, cell telomerase activity and cell cycle analyses have value in evaluating the cell type and tumourigenicity of the obtained cells. Finally, a dynamic map was made to integrate the analysis of these results during osteogenic differentiation of hPSCs, and the cell types at defined stages were concluded. Conclusions Our results lay the foundation to improve the in vitro osteogenic differentiation efficiency of hPSCs by supplementing with functional compounds at the desired stage, and then establishing a stepwise induction system in the future.

scholarly journals Hematopoietic specification from human pluripotent stem cells: current advances and challenges toward de novo generation of hematopoietic stem cells

Blood ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 122 (25) ◽  
pp. 4035-4046 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor I. Slukvin
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Hematopoietic Stem Cells ◽  
Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Human Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽  
Cellular Reprogramming ◽  
Hematopoietic Stem ◽  
Hematopoietic Development ◽  
Cellular Pathways

Abstract Significant advances in cellular reprogramming technologies and hematopoietic differentiation from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) have already enabled the routine production of multiple lineages of blood cells in vitro and opened novel opportunities to study hematopoietic development, model genetic blood diseases, and manufacture immunologically matched cells for transfusion and cancer immunotherapy. However, the generation of hematopoietic cells with robust and sustained multilineage engraftment has not been achieved. Here, we highlight the recent advances in understanding the molecular and cellular pathways leading to blood development from hPSCs and discuss potential approaches that can be taken to facilitate the development of technologies for de novo production of hematopoietic stem cells.

scholarly journals Modulating cell state to enhance suspension expansion of human pluripotent stem cells

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (25) ◽  
pp. 6369-6374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yonatan Y. Lipsitz ◽  
Curtis Woodford ◽  
Ting Yin ◽  
Jacob H. Hanna ◽  
Peter W. Zandstra
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Human Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽  
The Body ◽  
Altered Expression ◽  
Pancreatic Progenitors ◽  
Erk Inhibition

The development of cell-based therapies to replace missing or damaged tissues within the body or generate cells with a unique biological activity requires a reliable and accessible source of cells. Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC) have emerged as a strong candidate cell source capable of extended propagation in vitro and differentiation to clinically relevant cell types. However, the application of hPSC in cell-based therapies requires overcoming yield limitations in large-scale hPSC manufacturing. We explored methods to convert hPSC to alternative states of pluripotency with advantageous bioprocessing properties, identifying a suspension-based small-molecule and cytokine combination that supports increased single-cell survival efficiency, faster growth rates, higher densities, and greater expansion than control hPSC cultures. ERK inhibition was found to be essential for conversion to this altered state, but once converted, ERK inhibition led to a loss of pluripotent phenotype in suspension. The resulting suspension medium formulation enabled hPSC suspension yields 5.7 ± 0.2-fold greater than conventional hPSC in 6 d, for at least five passages. Treated cells remained pluripotent, karyotypically normal, and capable of differentiating into all germ layers. Treated cells could also be integrated into directed differentiated strategies as demonstrated by the generation of pancreatic progenitors (NKX6.1+/PDX1+ cells). Enhanced suspension-yield hPSC displayed higher oxidative metabolism and altered expression of adhesion-related genes. The enhanced bioprocess properties of this alternative pluripotent state provide a strategy to overcome cell manufacturing limitations of hPSC.

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