Multipotent progenitors (MPP) and common dendritic cell progenitors (CDP) were obtained from mouse bone marrow, followed by in vitro culture with a specific cytokine cocktail and FACS sorting (Felker et al., 2010; Ser et al., 2012). Cells were treated with 10 ng/ml recombinant human TGF-1 (R&D Systems, Minneapolis, USA) for 2, 4, 8, 12 and 24 h as described (Felker et al., 2010) or left untreated.
TGF-β stimulation in human and murine cells reveals commonly affected biological processes and pathways at transcription level.
Specimen part
View SamplesEed (embryonic ectoderm development) is a core component of the Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) which catalyzes the methylation of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27). Trimethylated H3K27 (H3K27me3) can act as a signal for PRC1 recruitment in the process of gene silencing and chromatin condensation. Previous studies with Eed KO ESCs revealed a failure to down-regulate a limited list of pluripotency factors in differentiating ESCs. Our aim was to analyze the consequences of Eed KO for ESC differentiation. To this end we first analyzed ESC differentiation in the absence of Eed and employed in silico data to assess pluripotency gene expression and H3K27me3 patterns. We linked these data to expression analyses of wildtype and Eed KO ESCs. We observed that in wildtype ESCs a subset of pluripotency genes including Oct4, Nanog, Sox2 and Oct4 target genes progressively gain H3K27me3 during differentiation. These genes remain expressed in differentiating Eed KO ESCs. This suggests that the deregulation of a limited set of pluripotency factors impedes ESC differentiation. Global analyses of H3K27me3 and Oct4 ChIP-seq data indicate that in ESCs the binding of Oct4 to promoter regions is not a general predictor for PRC2-mediated silencing during differentiation. However, motif analyses suggest a binding of Oct4 together with Sox2 and Nanog at promoters of genes that are PRC2-dependently silenced during differentiation. In summary, our data further characterize Eed function in ESCs by showing that Eed/PRC2 is essential for the onset of ESC differentiation.
Polycomb protein EED is required for silencing of pluripotency genes upon ESC differentiation.
Specimen part, Cell line
View SamplesMouse and human stem cells with features similar to those of embryonic stem cells have been derived from testicular cells. Although pluripotent stem cells have been obtained from defined germline stem cells (GSCs) of mouse neonatal testis, only multipotent stem cells have been obtained so far from defined cells of mouse adult testis. In this study we describe a robust and reproducible protocol for obtaining germline-derived pluripotent stem (gPS) cells from adult unipotent GSCs. Pluripotency of gPS cells was confirmed by in vitro and in vivo differentiation, including germ cell contribution and transmission. As determined by clonal analyses, gPS cells indeed originate from unipotent GSCs. We propose that the conversion process requires a GSC culture microenvironment that depends on the initial number of plated GSCs and the length of culture time.
Induction of pluripotency in adult unipotent germline stem cells.
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View SamplesDendritic cells (DCs) in lymphoid tissue comprise conventional DCs (cDCs) and plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) that develop from common DC progenitors (CDPs). CDPs are Flt3+c-kitintM-CSFR+ and reside in bone marrow. Here we describe a two-step culture system that recapitulates DC development from c-kithiFlt3-/lo multipotent progenitors (MPPs) into CDPs and further into cDC and pDC subsets. MPPs and CDPs are amplified in vitro with Flt3 ligand, stem cell factor, hyper-IL-6 and insulin- like growth factor-1. The four-factor cocktail readily induces self-renewal of MPPs and their progression into CDPs and has no self-renewal activity on CDPs. The amplified CDPs respond to all known DC poietins and generate all lymphoid tissue DCs in vivo and in vitro. Additionally, in vitro CDPs recapitulate the cell surface marker and gene expression profile of in vivo CDPs and possess a DC-primed transcription profile. Transforming growth factor-1 (TGF-1) impacts on CDPs and directs their differentiation towards cDCs. Genome-wide gene expression profiling of TGF-1-induced genes identified transcription factors, such as interferon regulatory factor-4 (IRF-4) and RelB, that are implicated as instructive factors for cDC subset specification. TGF-1 also induced the transcription factor inhibitor of differentiation/DNA binding 2 (Id2) that suppresses pDC development. Thus, TGF-1 directs CDP differentiation into cDC by inducing both cDC instructive factors and pDC inhibitory factors.
TGF-beta1 accelerates dendritic cell differentiation from common dendritic cell progenitors and directs subset specification toward conventional dendritic cells.
Specimen part
View SamplesObjective: Thyroid hormone receptors (TRs) are ligand-dependent transcription factors with a major impact on erythroid cell development. Here we investigated TR activity on red cell gene expression and identified TR target genes. The impact of the TR target gene GAR22 (growth arrest specific 2 [GAS2]-related gene on chromosome 22) on red cell differentiation was determined.
No associated publication
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View SamplesReprogramming of somatic cells is a valuable tool to understand the mechanisms of regaining pluripotency and further opens up the possibility of generating patient-specific pluripotent stem cells. Reprogramming of mouse and human somatic cells into pluripotent stem cells, designated as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, has been possible with the expression of the transcription factor quartet Oct4 (also known as Pou5f1), Sox2, c-Myc, and Klf4. Considering that ectopic expression of c-Myc causes tumourigenicity in offspring and retroviruses themselves can cause insertional mutagenesis, the generation of iPS cells with a minimal number of factors may hasten the clinical application of this approach. Here, we show that adult mouse neural stem cells express higher endogenous levels of Sox2 and c-Myc than embryonic stem cells, and that exogenous Oct4 together with either Klf4 or c-Myc are sufficient to generate iPS cells from neural stem cells. These two-factor (2F) iPS cells are similar to embryonic stem cells at the molecular level, contribute to development of the germ line, and form chimeras. We propose that, in inducing pluripotency, the number of reprogramming factors can be reduced when using somatic cells that endogenously express appropriate levels of complementing factors.
Pluripotent stem cells induced from adult neural stem cells by reprogramming with two factors.
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View SamplesHuman induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) resemble embryonic stem cells and can differentiate into cell derivatives of all three germ layers. However, frequently the differentiation efficiency of iPS cells into some lineages is rather poor. Here, we found that fusion of iPS cells with human hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) enhances iPS cell differentiation. Such iPS hybrids showed a prominent differentiation bias towards hematopoietic lineages but also towards other mesendodermal lineages. Additionally, during differentiation of iPS hybrids expression of early mesendodermal markers - Brachyury (T), MIX1 Homeobox-Like Protein 1 (MIXL1) and Goosecoid (GSC) - appeared with faster kinetics than in parental iPS cells. Following iPS hybrid differentiation there was a prominent induction of NODAL and inhibition of NODAL signaling blunted mesendodermal differentiation. This indicates that NODAL signaling is critically involved in mesendodermal bias of iPS hybrid differentiation. In summary, we demonstrate that iPS cell fusion with HSC prominently enhances iPS differentiation.
Cell fusion enhances mesendodermal differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells.
Specimen part
View SamplesDirect transcription factor-mediated cell fate conversion provides an attractive route for the derivation of patient-specific somatic cells. Here we report on the generation of bona fide induced neural stem cells (iNSCs) from adult peripheral blood and their suitability for modeling late-onset disease. Employing restricted and integration-free expression of the transcription factors SOX2 and c-MYC we generated clonally expandable iNSCs that can proliferate across at least 20 passages, remain highly responsive to regional patterning cues and give rise to functional neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. Interestingly, and in contrast to pluripotent stem cell-derived neural cells, iNSCs exhibit partial preservation of age-related DNA methylation signatures. Employing the polyglutamine disorder Machado-Joseph disease (MJD) as an exemplar, we demonstrate that MJD iNSC-derived neurons show a striking and specific pathological protein aggregation phenotype. Our findings suggest that iNSCs may provide a particularly attractive resource for modeling late-onset neurological disorders.
No associated publication
Sex, Age, Specimen part, Disease stage
View SamplesEmbryonic stem (ES) cells and ES cell-derived progeny characterized by nestin expression (including neural progenitors) were studied (three independent experiments). The mouse ES cell line R1 was cultured on a feeder layer of mouse embryonic fibroblasts (FL). ES cells were differentiated into nestin-positive cells for 4+8 days and 4+11 days according to the differentiation protocol by Rolletschek et al. (Mechanisms of Development 105, 93-104, 2001).
Pluripotency associated genes are reactivated by chromatin-modifying agents in neurosphere cells.
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View SamplesThe four transcription factors Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc can induce pluripotency in mouse and human fibroblasts. We previously described direct reprogramming of adult mouse neural stem cells (NSCs) by Oct4 and either Klf4 or c-Myc. NSCs endogenously express Sox2, c-Myc, and Klf4 as well as several intermediate reprogramming markers. Here we report that exogenous expression of the germline-specific transcription factor Oct4 is sufficient to generate pluripotent stem cells from adult mouse NSCs. These one-factor induced pluripotent stem (1F iPS) cells are similar to embryonic stem cells in vitro and in vivo. Not only can these cells be efficiently differentiated into NSCs, cardiomyocytes and germ cells in vitro, but they are also capable of teratoma formation and germline transmission in vivo. Our results demonstrate that Oct4 is required and sufficient to directly reprogram NSCs to pluripotency.
Oct4-induced pluripotency in adult neural stem cells.
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