Stem cells
Abstract
To be of therapeutic use, autologous stem cells derived from patients with inherited genetic disorders require genetic modification via gene repair or insertion. Here, we present proof of principle that, for diseases associated with dominant alleles (gain-of-function or haploinsufficient loss-of-function), disease allele–free ES cells can be derived from afflicted individuals without genome manipulation. This approach capitalizes on the derivation of uniparental cells, such as parthenogenetic (PG) ES cell lines from disease allele–free gametes. Diploid mammalian uniparental embryos with only maternally (oocyte-) or paternally (sperm-)derived genomes fail early in development due to the nonequivalence of parental genomes caused by genomic imprinting. However, these uniparental embryos develop to the blastocyst stage, allowing the derivation of ES cell lines. Using a mouse model for dominant beta-thalassemia, we developed disease allele–free PG ES cell lines from the oocytes of affected animals. Phenotype correction was obtained in donor-genotype recipients after transplantation of in vitro hematopoietic ES cell derivatives. This genetic correction strategy without gene targeting is potentially applicable to any dominant disease. It could also be the sole approach for larger or more complex mutations that cannot be corrected by homologous recombination.
Authors
Sigrid Eckardt, N. Adrian Leu, Ashley Yanchik, Seigo Hatada, Michael Kyba, K. John McLaughlin
Abstract
The mechanisms of BM hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell (HSPC) adhesion, engraftment, and mobilization remain incompletely identified. Here, using WT and transgenic mice, we have shown that membrane-anchored plasminogen activator, urokinase receptor (MuPAR) marks a subset of HSPCs and promotes the preservation of the size of this pool of cells in the BM. Loss or inhibition of MuPAR increased HSPC proliferation and impaired their homing, engraftment, and adhesion to the BM microenvironment. During mobilization, MuPAR was inactivated by plasmin via proteolytic cleavage. Cell-autonomous loss of the gene encoding MuPAR also impaired long-term engraftment and multilineage repopulation in primary and secondary recipient mice. These findings identify MuPAR and plasmin as regulators of the proliferation, marrow pool size, homing, engraftment, and mobilization of HSPCs and possibly also of HSCs.
Authors
Marc Tjwa, Nicolai Sidenius, Rute Moura, Sandra Jansen, Koen Theunissen, Annapaola Andolfo, Maria De Mol, Mieke Dewerchin, Lieve Moons, Francesco Blasi, Catherine Verfaillie, Peter Carmeliet
Abstract
The esophageal epithelium is a prototypical stratified squamous epithelium that exhibits an exquisite equilibrium between proliferation and differentiation. After basal cells proliferate, they migrate outward toward the luminal surface, undergo differentiation, and eventually slough due to apoptosis. The identification and characterization of stem cells responsible for the maintenance of the esophageal epithelium remains elusive. Here, we employed Hoechst dye extrusion and BrdU label–retaining assays to identify in mice a potential esophageal stem cell population that localizes to the basal cell compartment. The self-renewing capacity of this population was characterized using a clonogenic assay and a 3D organotypic culture model. The putative esophageal stem cells were also capable of epithelial reconstitution in vivo in direct esophageal epithelial injury models. In both the 3D organotypic culture and direct mucosal injury models, the putative stem cells gave rise to undifferentiated and differentiated cells. These studies therefore provide a basis for understanding the regenerative capacity and biology of the esophageal epithelium when it is faced with injurious insults.
Authors
Jiri Kalabis, Kenji Oyama, Takaomi Okawa, Hiroshi Nakagawa, Carmen Z. Michaylira, Douglas B. Stairs, Jose-Luiz Figueiredo, Umar Mahmood, J. Alan Diehl, Meenhard Herlyn, Anil K. Rustgi
Abstract
Dopamine (DA) cell replacement therapy in Parkinson disease (PD) can be achieved using human fetal mesencephalic tissue; however, limited tissue availability has hindered further developments. Embryonic stem cells provide a promising alternative, but poor survival and risk of teratoma formation have prevented their clinical application. We present here a method for generating large numbers of DA neurons based on expanding and differentiating ventral midbrain (VM) neural stem cells/progenitors in the presence of key signals necessary for VM DA neuron development. Mouse VM neurospheres (VMNs) expanded with FGF2, differentiated with sonic hedgehog and FGF8, and transfected with Wnt5a (VMN-Wnt5a) generated 10-fold more DA neurons than did conventional FGF2-treated VMNs. VMN-Wnt5a cells exhibited the transcriptional and biochemical profiles and intrinsic electrophysiological properties of midbrain DA cells. Transplantation of these cells into parkinsonian mice resulted in significant cellular and functional recovery. Importantly, no tumors were detected and only a few transplanted grafts contained sporadic nestin-expressing progenitors. Our findings show that Wnt5a improves the differentiation and functional integration of stem cell–derived DA neurons in vivo and define Wnt5a-treated neural stem cells as an efficient and safe source of DA neurons for cell replacement therapy in PD.
Authors
Clare L. Parish, Gonçalo Castelo-Branco, Nina Rawal, Jan Tonnesen, Andreas Toft Sorensen, Carmen Salto, Merab Kokaia, Olle Lindvall, Ernest Arenas
Abstract
Authors
Jeffrey J. Ross, Zhigang Hong, Ben Willenbring, Lepeng Zeng, Brett Isenberg, Eu Han Lee, Morayma Reyes, Susan A. Keirstead, E. Kenneth Weir, Robert T. Tranquillo, Catherine M. Verfaillie
Abstract
Smooth muscle formation and function are critical in development and postnatal life. Hence, studies aimed at better understanding SMC differentiation are of great importance. Here, we report that multipotent adult progenitor cells (MAPCs) isolated from rat, murine, porcine, and human bone marrow demonstrate the potential to differentiate into cells with an SMC-like phenotype and function. TGF-β1 alone or combined with PDGF-BB in serum-free medium induces a temporally correct expression of transcripts and proteins consistent with smooth muscle development. Furthermore, SMCs derived from MAPCs (MAPC-SMCs) demonstrated functional L-type calcium channels. MAPC-SMCs entrapped in fibrin vascular molds became circumferentially aligned and generated force in response to KCl, the L-type channel opener FPL64176, or the SMC agonists 5-HT and ET-1, and exhibited complete relaxation in response to the Rho-kinase inhibitor Y-27632. Cyclic distention (5% circumferential strain) for 3 weeks increased responses by 2- to 3-fold, consistent with what occurred in neonatal SMCs. These results provide evidence that MAPC-SMCs are phenotypically and functionally similar to neonatal SMCs and that the in vitro MAPC-SMC differentiation system may be an ideal model for the study of SMC development. Moreover, MAPC-SMCs may lend themselves to tissue engineering applications.
Authors
Jeffrey J. Ross, Zhigang Hong, Ben Willenbring, Lepeng Zeng, Brett Isenberg, Eu Han Lee, Morayma Reyes, Susan A. Keirstead, E. Kenneth Weir, Robert T. Tranquillo, Catherine M. Verfaillie
Abstract
Vision loss associated with ischemic diseases such as retinopathy of prematurity and diabetic retinopathy are often due to retinal neovascularization. While significant progress has been made in the development of compounds useful for the treatment of abnormal vascular permeability and proliferation, such therapies do not address the underlying hypoxia that stimulates the observed vascular growth. Using a model of oxygen-induced retinopathy, we demonstrate that a population of adult BM–derived myeloid progenitor cells migrated to avascular regions of the retina, differentiated into microglia, and facilitated normalization of the vasculature. Myeloid-specific hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) expression was required for this function, and we also demonstrate that endogenous microglia participated in retinal vascularization. These findings suggest what we believe to be a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of ischemic retinopathies that promotes vascular repair rather than destruction.
Authors
Matthew R. Ritter, Eyal Banin, Stacey K. Moreno, Edith Aguilar, Michael I. Dorrell, Martin Friedlander
Abstract
Tissue regeneration requires the recruitment of adult stem cells and their differentiation into mature committed cells. In this study we describe what we believe to be a novel approach for tendon regeneration based on a specific signalling molecule, Smad8, which mediates the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into tendon-like cells. A biologically active Smad8 variant was transfected into an MSC line that coexpressed the osteogenic gene bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2). The engineered cells demonstrated the morphological characteristics and gene expression profile of tendon cells both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, following implantation in an Achilles tendon partial defect, the engineered cells were capable of inducing tendon regeneration demonstrated by double quantum filtered MRI. The results indicate what we believe to be a novel mechanism in which Smad8 inhibits the osteogenic pathway in MSCs known to be induced by BMP2 while promoting tendon differentiation. These findings may have considerable importance for the therapeutic replacement of tendons or ligaments and for engineering other tissues in which BMP plays a pivotal developmental role.
Authors
Andrea Hoffmann, Gadi Pelled, Gadi Turgeman, Peter Eberle, Yoram Zilberman, Hadassah Shinar, Keren Keinan-Adamsky, Andreas Winkel, Sandra Shahab, Gil Navon, Gerhard Gross, Dan Gazit
Abstract
CD34+ bone marrow–derived progenitor cells contribute to tissue repair by differentiating into endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle cells, hematopoietic cells, and possibly other cell types. However, the mechanisms by which circulating progenitor cells home to remodeling tissues remain unclear. Here we show that integrin α4β1 (VLA-4) promotes the homing of circulating progenitor cells to the α4β1 ligands VCAM and cellular fibronectin, which are expressed on actively remodeling neovasculature. Progenitor cells, which express integrin α4β1, homed to sites of active tumor neovascularization but not to normal nonimmune tissues. Antagonists of integrin α4β1, but not other integrins, blocked the adhesion of these cells to endothelia in vitro and in vivo as well as their homing to neovasculature and outgrowth into differentiated cell types. These studies describe an adhesion event that facilitates the homing of progenitor cells to the neovasculature.
Authors
Hui Jin, Aparna Aiyer, Jingmei Su, Per Borgstrom, Dwayne Stupack, Martin Friedlander, Judy Varner
Abstract
Ischemia causes kidney tubular cell damage and abnormal renal function. The kidney is capable of morphological restoration of tubules and recovery of function. Recently, it has been suggested that cells repopulating the ischemically injured tubule derive from bone marrow stem cells. We studied kidney repair in chimeric mice expressing GFP or bacterial β-gal or harboring the male Y chromosome exclusively in bone marrow-derived cells. In GFP chimeras, some interstitial cells but not tubular cells expressed GFP after ischemic injury. More than 99% of those GFP interstitial cells were leukocytes. In female mice with male bone marrow, occasional tubular cells (0.06%) appeared to be positive for the Y chromosome, but deconvolution microscopy revealed these to be artifactual. In β-gal chimeras, some tubular cells also appeared to express β-gal as assessed by X-gal staining, but following suppression of endogenous (mammalian) β-gal, no tubular cells could be found that stained with X-gal after ischemic injury. Whereas there was an absence of bone marrow–derived tubular cells, many tubular cells expressed proliferating cell nuclear antigen, which is reflective of a high proliferative rate of endogenous surviving tubular cells. Upon i.v. injection of bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells, postischemic functional renal impairment was reduced, but there was no evidence of differentiation of these cells into tubular cells of the kidney. Thus, our data indicate that bone marrow–derived cells do not make a significant contribution to the restoration of epithelial integrity after an ischemic insult. It is likely that intrinsic tubular cell proliferation accounts for functionally significant replenishment of the tubular epithelium after ischemia.
Authors
Jeremy S. Duffield, Kwon Moo Park, Li-Li Hsiao, Vicki R. Kelley, David T. Scadden, Takaharu Ichimura, Joseph V. Bonventre
Copyright © 2020 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)