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Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) self-organize into apicobasally polarized cysts, reminiscent of the lumenal epiblast stage, providing a model to explore key morphogenic processes in early human embryos. Here, we show that apical polarization begins on the interior of single hPSCs through the dynamic formation of a highly organized perinuclear apicosome structure. The membrane surrounding the apicosome is enriched in apical markers and displays microvilli and a primary cilium; its lumenal space is rich in Ca 2+ Time-lapse imaging of isolated hPSCs reveals that the apicosome forms de novo in interphase, retains its structure during mitosis, is asymmetrically inherited after mitosis, and relocates to the recently formed cytokinetic plane, where it establishes a fully polarized lumen. In a multicellular aggregate of hPSCs, intracellular apicosomes from multiple cells are trafficked to generate a common lumenal cavity. Thus, the apicosome is a unique preassembled apical structure that can be rapidly used in single or clustered hPSCs to initiate self-organized apical polarization and lumenogenesis., (© 2017 Taniguchi et al.)

We demonstrate that dissociated human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) are intrinsically programmed to form lumens. PSCs form two-cell cysts with a shared apical domain within 20 hr of plating; these cysts collapse to form monolayers after 5 days. Expression of pluripotency markers is maintained throughout this time. In two-cell cysts, an apical domain, marked by EZRIN and atypical PKCζ, is surrounded by apically targeted organelles (early endosomes and Golgi). Molecularly, actin polymerization, regulated by ARP2/3 and mammalian diaphanous-related formin 1 (MDIA), promotes lumen formation, whereas actin contraction, mediated by MYOSIN-II, inhibits this process. Finally, we show that lumenal shape can be manipulated in bioengineered micro-wells. Since lumen formation is an indispensable step in early mammalian development, this system can provide a powerful model for investigation of this process in a controlled environment. Overall, our data establish that lumenogenesis is a fundamental cell biological property of human PSCs., (Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Bipolar disorder (BP) is a chronic psychiatric condition characterized by dynamic, pathological mood fluctuations from mania to depression. To date, a major challenge in studying human neuropsychiatric conditions such as BP has been limited access to viable central nervous system tissue to examine disease progression. Patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) now offer an opportunity to analyze the full compliment of neural tissues and the prospect of identifying novel disease mechanisms. We have examined changes in gene expression as iPSC derived from well-characterized patients differentiate into neurons; there was little difference in the transcriptome of iPSC, but BP neurons were significantly different than controls in their transcriptional profile. Expression of transcripts for membrane bound receptors and ion channels was significantly increased in BP-derived neurons compared with controls, and we found that lithium pretreatment of BP neurons significantly altered their calcium transient and wave amplitude. The expression of transcription factors involved in the specification of telencephalic neuronal identity was also altered. Control neurons expressed transcripts that confer dorsal telencephalic fate, whereas BP neurons expressed genes involved in the differentiation of ventral (medial ganglionic eminence) regions. Cells were responsive to dorsal/ventral patterning cues, as addition of the Hedgehog (ventral) pathway activator purmorphamine or a dorsalizing agent (lithium) stimulated expression of NKX2-1 (ventral identity) or EMX2 (dorsal) in both groups. Cell-based models should have a significant impact on our understanding of the genesis and therefore treatment of BP; the iPSC cell lines themselves provide an important resource for comparison with other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Elucidating the complex combinations of growth factors and signaling molecules that maintain pluripotency or, alternatively, promote the controlled differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) has important implications for the fundamental understanding of human development, devising cell replacement therapies, and cancer cell biology. hESCs are commonly grown on irradiated mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) or in conditioned medium from MEFs. These culture conditions interfere with many experimental conclusions and limit the ability to perform conclusive proteomics studies. The current investigation avoided the use of MEFs or MEF-conditioned medium for hESC culture, allowing global proteomics analysis without these confounding conditions, and elucidated neural cell-specific signaling pathways involved in noggin-induced hESC differentiation. Based on these analyses, we propose the following early markers of hESC neural differentiation: collapsin response mediator proteins 2 and 4 and the nuclear autoantigenic sperm protein as a marker of pluripotent hESCs. We then developed a directed mass spectrometry assay using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) to identify and quantify these markers and in addition the epidermal ectoderm marker cytokeratin-8. Analysis of global proteomics, quantitative RT-PCR, and MRM data led to testing the isoform interference hypothesis where redundant peptides dilute quantification measurements of homologous proteins. These results show that targeted MRM analysis on non-redundant peptides provides more exact quantification of homologous proteins. This study describes the facile transition from discovery proteomics to targeted MRM analysis and allowed us to identify and verify several potential biomarkers for hESCs during noggin-induced neural and BMP4-induced epidermal ectoderm differentiation.

Pluripotent embryonic stem (ES) cells are an important model system to examine gene expression and lineage segregation during differentiation. One powerful approach to target and inhibit gene expression, RNAi, has been applied to ES cells with the goal of teasing out the cascades of gene expression/repression that shape the early embryo. In this chapter, we describe the current understanding of the mechanisms of gene silencing by small hairpin RNAs, as well as controls and caveats to using this approach in ES cells. A consideration of synthetic vs plasmid-based RNAi vectors, design of targeting constructs, transfection of ES cells, and flow sorting of targeted cells is followed by methods for the analysis of phenotype and behavior of targeted cell populations using immunohistochemistry, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, Western blotting, and scanning electron microscopy.

Nine neurodegenerative disorders are caused by CAG/polyglutamine (polyQ) repeat expansions. The molecular mechanisms responsible for disease-specific neurodegeneration remain elusive. We developed an embryonic stem (ES) cell-based model to probe the role of polyQ tract expansion in neuronal degeneration. ES cells containing expanded CAG repeats in the hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (Hprt) gene develop features typical of CAG-mediated neuropathology, exhibit length-dependent decrease in survival, undergo aberrant neuronal differentiation as well as persistent Oct-4 and Repressor element-1 transcription factor/neuron restrictive silencer factor (REST/NRSF) expression. This novel model will allow analysis of the molecular pathogenesis of neuronal degeneration and can be used to rapidly screen therapeutic interventions for these fatal diseases.

Bipolar disorder (BP) is a recurring psychiatric condition characterized by alternating episodes of low energy (depressions) followed by manias (high energy). Cortical network activity produced by GABAergic interneurons may be critical in maintaining the balance in excitatory/inhibitory activity in the brain during development. Initially, GABAergic signaling is excitatory; with maturation, these cells undergo a functional switch that converts GABAA channels from depolarizing (excitatory) to hyperpolarizing (inhibitory), which is controlled by the intracellular concentration of two chloride transporters. The earliest, NKCC1, promotes chloride entry into the cell and depolarization, while the second (KCC2) stimulates movement of chloride from the neuron, hyperpolarizing it. Perturbations in the timing or expression of NKCC1/KCC2 may affect essential morphogenetic events including cell proliferation, migration, synaptogenesis and plasticity, and thereby the structure and function of the cortex. We derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) from BP patients and undiagnosed control (C) individuals, then modified a differentiation protocol to form GABAergic interneurons, harvesting cells at sequential stages of differentiation. qRT-PCR and RNA sequencing indicated that after six weeks of differentiation, controls transiently expressed high levels of NKCC1. Using multi-electrode array (MEA) analysis, we observed that BP neurons exhibit increased firing, network bursting and decreased synchrony compared to C. Understanding GABA signaling in differentiation may identify novel approaches and new targets for treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders such as BP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The establishment of a reliable prenatal source of autologous, transgene-free progenitor cells has enormous potential in the development of regenerative-medicine-based therapies for infants born with devastating birth defects. Here, we show that a largely CD117-negative population of human amniotic fluid mesenchymal stromal cells (AF-MSCs) obtained from fetuses with or without prenatally diagnosed anomalies are readily abundant and have limited baseline differentiation potential when compared with bone-marrow-derived MSCs and other somatic cell types. Nonetheless, the AF-MSCs could be easily reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) using nonintegrating Sendai viral vectors encoding for OCT4, SOX2, KLF4, and cMYC. The iPSCs were virtually indistinguishable from human embryonic stem cells in multiple assays and could be used to generate a relatively homogeneous population of neural progenitors, expressing PAX6, SOX2, SOX3, Musashi-1, and PSA-NCAM, for potential use in neurologic diseases. Further, these neural progenitors showed engraftment potential in vivo and were capable of differentiating into mature neurons and astrocytes in vitro. This study demonstrates the usefulness of AF-MSCs as an excellent source for the generation of human transgene-free iPSCs ideally suited for autologous perinatal regenerative medicine applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]