Stem cells
Citation Information: JCI Insight. 2017;2(11):e85742. https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.85742.
Abstract
Memory Th2 cell responses underlie the development and perpetuation of allergic diseases. Because these states result from immune dysregulation, established Th2 cell responses represent a significant challenge for conventional immunotherapies. New approaches that overcome the detrimental effects of immune dysregulation are required. We tested whether memory Th2 cell responses were silenced using a therapeutic approach where allergen expression in DCs is transferred to sensitized recipients using BM cells as a vector for therapeutic gene transfer. Development of allergen-specific Th2 responses and allergen-induced airway inflammation was blocked by expression of allergen in DCs. Adoptive transfer studies showed that Th2 responses were inactivated by a combination of deletion and induction of T cell unresponsiveness. Transfer of BM encoding allergen expression targeted to DCs terminated, in an allergen-specific manner, Th2 responses in sensitized recipients. Importantly, when preexisting airway inflammation was present, there was effective silencing of Th2 cell responses, airway inflammation was alleviated, and airway hyperreactivity was reversed. The effectiveness of DC-targeted allergen expression to terminate established Th2 responses in sensitized animals indicates that exploiting cell-intrinsic T cell tolerance pathways could lead to development of highly effective immunotherapies.
Authors
Jane AL-Kouba, Andrew N. Wilkinson, Malcolm R. Starkey, Rajeev Rudraraju, Rhiannon B. Werder, Xiao Liu, Soi-Cheng Law, Jay C. Horvat, Jeremy F. Brooks, Geoffrey R. Hill, Janet M. Davies, Simon Phipps, Philip M. Hansbro, Raymond J. Steptoe
Citation Information: JCI Insight. 2017;2(10):e90019. https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.90019.
Abstract
Metabolic dysregulation promotes cancer growth through not only energy production, but also epigenetic reprogramming. Here, we report that a critical node in methyl donor metabolism, nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT), ranked among the most consistently overexpressed metabolism genes in glioblastoma relative to normal brain. NNMT was preferentially expressed by mesenchymal glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs). NNMT depletes S-adenosyl methionine (SAM), a methyl donor generated from methionine. GSCs contained lower levels of methionine, SAM, and nicotinamide, but they contained higher levels of oxidized nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) than differentiated tumor cells. In concordance with the poor prognosis associated with DNA hypomethylation in glioblastoma, depletion of methionine, a key upstream methyl group donor, shifted tumors toward a mesenchymal phenotype and accelerated tumor growth. Targeting NNMT expression reduced cellular proliferation, self-renewal, and in vivo tumor growth of mesenchymal GSCs. Supporting a mechanistic link between NNMT and DNA methylation, targeting NNMT reduced methyl donor availability, methionine levels, and unmethylated cytosine, with increased levels of DNA methyltransferases, DNMT1 and DNMT3A. Supporting the clinical significance of these findings, NNMT portended poor prognosis for glioblastoma patients. Collectively, our findings support NNMT as a GSC-specific therapeutic target in glioblastoma by disrupting oncogenic DNA hypomethylation.
Authors
Jinkyu Jung, Leo J.Y. Kim, Xiuxing Wang, Qiulian Wu, Tanwarat Sanvoranart, Christopher G. Hubert, Briana C. Prager, Lisa C. Wallace, Xun Jin, Stephen C. Mack, Jeremy N. Rich
Citation Information: JCI Insight. 2017;2(2):e89906. https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.89906.
Abstract
Vascular abnormalities are a common component of eye diseases that often lead to vision loss. Vaso-obliteration is associated with inherited retinal degenerations, since photoreceptor atrophy lowers local metabolic demands and vascular support to those regions is no longer required. Given the degree of neurovascular crosstalk in the retina, it may be possible to use one cell type to rescue another cell type in the face of severe stress, such as hypoxia or genetically encoded cell-specific degenerations. Here, we show that intravitreally injected human endothelial colony-forming cells (ECFCs) that can be isolated and differentiated from cord blood in xeno-free media collect in the vitreous cavity and rescue vaso-obliteration and neurodegeneration in animal models of retinal disease. Furthermore, we determined that a subset of the ECFCs was more effective at anatomically and functionally preventing retinopathy; these cells expressed high levels of CD44, the hyaluronic acid receptor, and IGFBPs (insulin-like growth factor–binding proteins). Injection of cultured media from ECFCs or only recombinant human IGFBPs also rescued the ischemia phenotype. These results help us to understand the mechanism of ECFC-based therapies for ischemic insults and retinal neurodegenerative diseases.
Authors
Susumu Sakimoto, Valentina Marchetti, Edith Aguilar, Kelsey Lee, Yoshihiko Usui, Salome Murinello, Felicitas Bucher, Jennifer K. Trombley, Regis Fallon, Ravenska Wagey, Carrie Peters, Elizabeth L. Scheppke, Peter D. Westenskow, Martin Friedlander
Citation Information: JCI Insight. 2017;2(1):e86492. https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.86492.
Abstract
Functional intestines are composed of cell types from all 3 primary germ layers and are generated through a highly orchestrated and serial developmental process. Directed differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) has been shown to yield gut-specific cell types; however, these structures do not reproduce critical functional interactions between cell types of different germ layers. Here, we developed a simple protocol for the generation of mature functional intestinal organoids from hPSCs under xenogeneic-free conditions. The stem cell–derived gut organoids produced here were found to contain distinct types of intestinal cells, including enterocytes, goblet cells, Paneth cells, and enteroendocrine cells, that were derived from all 3 germ layers; moreover, they demonstrated intestinal functions, including peptide absorption, and showed innervated bowel movements in response to stimulation with histamine and anticholinergic drugs. Importantly, the gut organoids obtained using this xenogeneic-free system could be stably maintained in culture for prolonged periods and were successfully engrafted in vivo. Our xenogeneic-free approach for generating gut organoids from hPSCs provides a platform for studying human intestinal diseases and for pharmacological testing.
Authors
Hajime Uchida, Masakazu Machida, Takumi Miura, Tomoyuki Kawasaki, Takuya Okazaki, Kengo Sasaki, Seisuke Sakamoto, Noriaki Ohuchi, Mureo Kasahara, Akihiro Umezawa, Hidenori Akutsu
Citation Information: JCI Insight. 2016;1(19):e88632. https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.88632.
Abstract
The creation of a humanized chimeric mouse nervous system permits the study of human neural development and disease pathogenesis using human cells in vivo. Humanized glial chimeric mice with the brain and spinal cord being colonized by human glial cells have been successfully generated. However, generation of humanized chimeric mouse brains repopulated by human neurons to possess a high degree of chimerism have not been well studied. Here we created humanized neuronal chimeric mouse brains by neonatally engrafting the distinct and highly neurogenic human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)–derived rosette-type primitive neural progenitors. These neural progenitors predominantly differentiate to neurons, which disperse widely throughout the mouse brain with infiltration of the cerebral cortex and hippocampus at 6 and 13 months after transplantation. Building upon the hiPSC technology, we propose that this potentially unique humanized neuronal chimeric mouse model will provide profound opportunities to define the structure, function, and plasticity of neural networks containing human neurons derived from a broad variety of neurological disorders.
Authors
Chen Chen, Woo-Yang Kim, Peng Jiang
Abstract
Cardiovascular progenitor cells (CPCs) expressing the ISL1-LIM–homeodomain transcription factor contribute developmentally to cardiomyocytes in all 4 chambers of the heart. Here, we show that ISL1-CPCs can be applied to myocardial regeneration following injury. We used a rapid 3D methylcellulose approach to form murine and human ISL1-CPC spheroids that engrafted after myocardial infarction in murine hearts, where they differentiated into cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells, integrating into the myocardium and forming new blood vessels. ISL1-CPC spheroid–treated mice exhibited reduced infarct area and increased blood vessel formation compared with control animals. Moreover, left ventricular (LV) contractile function was significantly better in mice transplanted with ISL1-CPCs 4 weeks after injury than that in control animals. These results provide proof-of-concept of a cardiac repair strategy employing ISL1-CPCs that, based on our previous lineage-tracing studies, are committed to forming heart tissue, in combination with a robust methylcellulose spheroid–based delivery approach.
Authors
Oscar Bartulos, Zhen Wu Zhuang, Yan Huang, Nicole Mikush, Carol Suh, Alda Bregasi, Lin Wang, William Chang, Diane S. Krause, Lawrence H. Young, Jordan S. Pober, Yibing Qyang
Citation Information: JCI Insight. 2016;1(8):e85558. https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.85558.
Abstract
Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can be derived from various types of somatic cells by transient overexpression of 4 Yamanaka factors (OCT4, SOX2, C-MYC, and KLF4). Patient-specific iPSC derivatives (e.g., neuronal, cardiac, hepatic, muscular, and endothelial cells [ECs]) hold great promise in drug discovery and regenerative medicine. In this study, we aimed to evaluate whether the cellular origin can affect the differentiation, in vivo behavior, and single-cell gene expression signatures of human iPSC–derived ECs. We derived human iPSCs from 3 types of somatic cells of the same individuals: fibroblasts (FB-iPSCs), ECs (EC-iPSCs), and cardiac progenitor cells (CPC-iPSCs). We then differentiated them into ECs by sequential administration of Activin, BMP4, bFGF, and VEGF. EC-iPSCs at early passage (10 < P < 20) showed higher EC differentiation propensity and gene expression of EC-specific markers (PECAM1 and NOS3) than FB-iPSCs and CPC-iPSCs. In vivo transplanted EC-iPSC–ECs were recovered with a higher percentage of CD31+ population and expressed higher EC-specific gene expression markers (PECAM1, KDR, and ICAM) as revealed by microfluidic single-cell quantitative PCR (qPCR). In vitro EC-iPSC–ECs maintained a higher CD31+ population than FB-iPSC–ECs and CPC-iPSC–ECs with long-term culturing and passaging. These results indicate that cellular origin may influence lineage differentiation propensity of human iPSCs; hence, the somatic memory carried by early passage iPSCs should be carefully considered before clinical translation.
Authors
Shijun Hu, Ming-Tao Zhao, Fereshteh Jahanbani, Ning-Yi Shao, Won Hee Lee, Haodong Chen, Michael P. Snyder, Joseph C. Wu
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