| ESC & iPSC News 12.10 March 15, 2017 | |
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TOP STORYVisualizing the Genome: Researchers Create First 3D Structures of Active DNA Researchers used a combination of imaging and up to 100,000 measurements of where different parts of the DNA are close to each other to examine the genome in a mouse embryonic stem cell. [Press release from the University of Cambridge discussing online prepublication in the journal Nature] Press Release | Abstract | Video 1 | Video 2 |
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PUBLICATIONS(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)Using CRISPR/Cas9 technology to engineer precise genetic deletions, the authors demonstrated that poised enhancers are necessary for the induction of major anterior neural regulators. Circularized chromosome conformation capture sequencing showed that poised enhancers already established physical interactions with their target genes in embryonic stem cells in a polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2)-dependent manner. [Cell Stem Cell] Abstract | Graphical Abstract Investigators discovered that the pluripotency-associated pioneer factor OCT4 binds chromatin to shape accessibility, transcription factor co-binding, and regulatory element function in mouse embryonic stem cells. Chromatin accessibility at OCT4-bound sites required the chromatin remodeler BRG1, which was recruited to these sites by OCT4 to support additional transcription factor binding and expression of the pluripotency-associated transcriptome. [Elife] Abstract | Full Article (Download) Scientists synthesized glycosaminoglycans (GAG)-mimicking glycopolymers with or without phospholipid groups and their ability to promote neural differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) was investigated. It was found that the lipid-anchored GAG-mimicking glycopolymers retained on the membrane of mESCs rather than being internalized by cells after one-hour incubation. [ACS Appl Mater Interfaces] Abstract Researchers systematically measured the fusion rates of human pluripotent stem cell spheroids without and with differentiation toward cortical and midbrain dopaminergic neurons and found spheroids’ fusion rates dropped sharply as differentiation progressed. [Biofabrication] Abstract | Full Article Investigators screened the toxicities of four drugs using both human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hESC-CMs) and human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs), combined with an impedance-based bioanalytical method. They showed that both hESC-CMs and hiPSC-CMs could recapitulate cardiotoxicity and identify the effects of well-characterized compounds. [Stem Cell Res Ther] Full Article Efficient Production of Trophoblast Lineage Cells from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Scientists investigated the effect of various BMP4 concentrations on the expression states of trophoblast markers and the optimal conditions for trophoblast induction. A high-fidelity gene expression assay using human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) lines showed that the expression levels of various trophoblast marker genes, such as KRT7, GCM1, CGB, and HLA-G, were upregulated by BMP4 in a dose-dependent manner in all types of hiPSCs used. [Lab Invest] Abstract The authors evaluated modest modifications of the basic protocol for embryonic stem (ES) cell differentiation into cardiomyocytes in order to increase the yield and differentiation status of developed cardiomyocytes. The data showed that ES cell cultivation in the form of non-adherent embryoid bodies for five days compared to eight days significantly improved cardiomyogenic differentiation. [PLoS One] Full Article Scientists report an efficient and robust endothelial cell (EC) differentiation method from human pluripotent stem cell lines based on a 2D monolayer, serum-free culture. They controlled the direction of differentiation from mesoderm to ECs using stage-specific stimulation with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and cAMP combined with the elimination of non-responder cells at early EC stage. This “stimulation-elimination” method robustly achieved very high efficiency and yield of EC differentiation, with no purification of ECs after differentiation. [PLoS One] Full Article The authors used a human embryonic stem cell line as the cell model for studying the effects of hyperglycemia upon differentiation into definitive endoderm (DE), an early stage of the pancreatic lineage. Hyperglycemic conditions significantly down-regulated the expression levels of DE markers SOX17, FOXA2, CXCR4 and EOMES during differentiation. [Cell Tissue Res] Abstract Scientists found that a combination therapy of calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) inhibition and embryonic stem cell transplantation after acute myocardial infarction lead to a dramatic reduction in the infarct size; a significant increase in the maximum rising and falling rate of left ventricular pressure; a significant decrease in left ventricular end-diastolic pressure; a significant decrease in the mRNA expression level of CaSR, Bax, Bcl-2, cleaved caspase-3, cleaved caspase-9, p-ERK, p-JNK and p-P38 protein together with apoptosis indexes in the C and E groups; and a significant decrease in cTnT levels as well as LDH and CK activity. [Mol Cell Biochem] Abstract |
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REVIEWSApplication of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Technology to the Study of Hematological Diseases The direct reprogramming of somatic cells to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) has provided an invaluable tool to study and model a wide range of human diseases. The authors review the transforming potential of such a strategy in research and in therapies applicable to the hematology field. [Cells] Full Article Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the ESC & iPSC research field. |
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SCIENCE NEWSData from BioTime’s OpRegen® Trial in Dry-AMD BioTime, Inc. announced that a poster presentation based on data from its Phase I/IIa clinical trial of OpRegen® in the advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration (dry-AMD) will be presented. [Press release from BioTime, Inc. discussing research presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), Baltimore] Press Release |
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INDUSTRY NEWSBioTime Expands OpRegen® Clinical Trial in Dry-AMD with Opening of First US Sites BioTime, Inc. announced the expansion of its ongoing Phase I/IIa clinical trial for OpRegen® in the advanced dry form age-related macular degeneration (dry-AMD) by naming the first two sites that will treat patients in the U.S. [BioTime, Inc.] Press Release Major Pharmaceutical Companies Collaborate in Groundbreaking NCCN Project The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) Oncology Research Program has funded three studies in its first multi-industry collaborative research project in which Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company are collaborating with NCCN® to study combination therapeutic agents in lung cancer and head and neck cancers. [National Comprehensive Cancer Network] Press Release | |
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POLICY NEWS‘Zombie’ Patent Fights over Mutant Mice Return Like a zombie that keeps on kicking, legal battles over mutant mice used for Alzheimer’s research are haunting the field once again — four years after the last round of lawsuits. In the latest case, the University of South Florida in Tampa has sued the US National Institutes of Health for authorizing the distribution of a particular type of mouse used in the field. [Nature News] Editorial U.K. Scientists Prepare for Impending Break with European Union For months after the United Kingdom (U.K.) voted last June to leave the European Union (EU), many British scientists clung to hopes of a “soft Brexit,” which would not cut them off from EU funding and collaborators. But Prime Minister Theresa May, who is expected to trigger the two-year process of exiting the European Union, has signaled the break will be sharp. U.K. researchers are now facing up to the prospect that they won’t be able to apply for EU funding or easily recruit students and colleagues from the rest of Europe. [ScienceInsider] Editorial
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EVENTSNEW Cell Culture World Congress Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the community.
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JOB OPPORTUNITIESNEW Postdoctoral Fellow – Stem Cell Biology (Northwestern University) Research Associate – Research and Development (STEMCELL Technologies, Inc.) Postdoctoral Research Associate – Epigenetics and Development (Imperial College London) Postdoctoral Fellow – Bone Regeneration and Stem Cell Biology (New York University Medical Center) Senior Scientist – Stem Cell Gene Editing (Universal Cells) Postdoctoral Fellow – Stem Cell Research (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) Postdoctoral Position – RNA, Stem Cell and Cancer Biology (Lund University) Postdoctoral Fellow – Human Genome Editing (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine) Postdoctoral Fellow – Multiple Areas (University of Oklahoma) Assistant or Associate Member – Stem Cell\Gene Therapy (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center) Postdoctoral Fellow – Pluripotent Stem Cell Technology (University of California, Davis) Recruit Top Talent: Reach potential candidates by posting your organization’s career opportunities on the Connexon Creative Job Board at no cost.
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