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Cell banking, disease modeling, and cell therapy applications have placed increasing demands on hiPSC technology. Specifically, the high-throughput derivation of footprint-free hiPSCs and their expansion in systems that allow scaled production remains technically challenging. Here, we describe a platform for the rapid, parallel generation, selection, and expansion of hiPSCs using small molecule pathway inhibitors in stage-specific media compositions. The platform supported efficient and expedited episomal reprogramming using just OCT4/SOX2/SV40LT combination (0.5%-4.0%, between days 12 and 16) in a completely feeder-free environment. The resulting hiPSCs are transgene-free, readily cultured, and expanded as single cells while maintaining a homogeneous and genomically stable pluripotent population. hiPSCs generated or maintained in the media compositions described exhibit properties associated with the ground state of pluripotency. The simplicity and robustness of the system allow for the high-throughput generation and rapid expansion of a uniform hiPSC product that is applicable to industrial and clinical-grade use.

Pluripotent stem cells are characterized by the capacity to self-renew and to differentiate into all the cell types of the body. To identify novel regulators of pluripotency, we screened cDNA libraries (>30,000 clones) in P19 embryonal carcinoma cells for factors that modulate the expression of a luciferase reporter driven by the promoter of the pluripotency master regulator Nanog. Ninety confirmed hits activated the reporter and 14 confirmed hits inhibited the reporter by more than two-fold. The identified hits were evaluated by gain- and loss-of-functions approaches. The reporter-activating hits Timp2, Hig2, and Mki67ip promoted embryonic stem (ES) cell self-renewal when episomally overexpressed in ES cells, whereas the reporter-inhibiting hits PU.1/Spi1, Prkaca, and Jun induced differentiation of ES cells. Conversely, the knockdown of the activating hits Timp2, Mki67ip, Esrrg, and Dusp7 in ES cells induced differentiation, whereas the knockdown of the reporter-inhibiting hit PU.1/Spi1 led to inhibition of differentiation. One of the novel hits, the RNA-binding protein Mki67ip was further characterized, and found to be overexpressed in ES cells and in early development and downregulated during differentiation. The knockdown of Mki67ip led to the differentiation of ES cells, decreased growth rate, reduction in pluripotency markers, and induction of lineage-specific markers. In addition, colocalization and coimmunoprecipitation experiments suggest that Mki67ip promotes ES cell self-renewal via a mechanism involving nucleophosmin, a multifunctional nucleolar protein upregulated in stem cells and cancer.

Yes-associated protein (YAP) is a potent transcription coactivator acting via binding to the TEAD transcription factor, and plays a critical role in organ size regulation. YAP is phosphorylated and inhibited by the Lats kinase, a key component of the Hippo tumor suppressor pathway. Elevated YAP protein levels and gene amplification have been implicated in human cancer. In this study, we report that YAP is inactivated during embryonic stem (ES) cell differentiation, as indicated by decreased protein levels and increased phosphorylation. Consistently, YAP is elevated during induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell reprogramming. YAP knockdown leads to a loss of ES cell pluripotency, while ectopic expression of YAP prevents ES cell differentiation in vitro and maintains stem cell phenotypes even under differentiation conditions. Moreover, YAP binds directly to promoters of a large number of genes known to be important for stem cells and stimulates their expression. Our observations establish a critical role of YAP in maintaining stem cell pluripotency.

The slow kinetics and low efficiency of reprogramming methods to generate human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) impose major limitations on their utility in biomedical applications. Here we describe a chemical approach that dramatically improves (200-fold) the efficiency of iPSC generation from human fibroblasts, within seven days of treatment. This will provide a basis for developing safer, more efficient, nonviral methods for reprogramming human somatic cells.