We previously showed that Wnt3a could stimulate human embryonic stem （hES） cell proliferation and affect cell fate determination. In the absence of feeder cell--derived factors, hES cells cultured under a feeder-fre...We previously showed that Wnt3a could stimulate human embryonic stem （hES） cell proliferation and affect cell fate determination. In the absence of feeder cell--derived factors, hES cells cultured under a feeder-free condition survived and proliferated poorly. Adding recombinant Wnt3a in the absence of feeder cell derived-factors stimulated hES cell proliferation but also differentiation. In the present study, we further extended our analysis to other Wnt ligands such as Wntl and Wnt5a. While Wntl displayed a similar effect on hES cells as Wnt3a, Wnt5a had little effect in this system. Wnt3a and Wntl enhanced proliferation of undifferentiated hES cells when feeder-derived self-renewal factors and bFGF are also present. To explore the possibility to promote the proliferation of undifferentiated hES cells by activating the Wnt signaling, we overexpressed Wnt3a or Wntl gene in immortalized human adult fibroblast （HAFi） cells that are superior in supporting long-term growth of undifferentiated hES cells than primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts. HAFi cells with or without a Wnt tmnsgene can be propagated indefinitely. Over-expression of the Wnt3a gene significantly enhanced the ability of HAFi feeder cells to support the undifferentiated growth of 3 different hES cell lines we tested. Co-expression of three commonly-used drug selection genes in Wnt3a-overpressing HAFi cells further enabled us to select rare hES clones after stable transfection or transduction. These immortalized engineered feeder cells （W3R） that co-express growth-promoting genes such as Wnt3a and three drug selection genes should empower us to efficiently make genetic modified hES cell lines for basic and translational research.展开更多
Regenerative medicine, including cell-replacement strategies, may have an important role in the treatment of type 1 diabetes which is associated with decreased islet cell mass. To date, significant progress has been m...Regenerative medicine, including cell-replacement strategies, may have an important role in the treatment of type 1 diabetes which is associated with decreased islet cell mass. To date, significant progress has been made in generating insulin-secreting 13 cells from pluripotent mouse embryonic stem cells （ESCs）.The aim of this study is to explore the potential of regulating the differentiation of ESCs into pancreatic endocrine cells capable of synthesizing the pancreatic hormones including insulin, glucagon, somatostatin and pancreatic polypeptide under proper conditions. Undifferentiated ES cell line was stably transfected with mouse RIP-YFP plasmid construction in serum-free medium using LipofectamineTM 2000 Reagents. We tested pancreatic specific gene expression and characterized these ESC-derived pancreatic endocrine cells. Most of these insulin-secreting cells co-expressed many of the phenotypic markers characteristic of 13 cells such as insulinl, insulin2, Isletl, MafA, insulinoma-associated antigen 1 （IA1） and so on, indicating a similar gene expression pattern to adult islet 13 cells in vivo. Characterization of this population revealed that it consisted predominantly of pancreatic endocrine cells that were able to undergo pancreatic specification under the appropriate conditions. We also demonstrated that zinc supplementation mediated up-regulation of insulin-secreting cells as an effective inducer promoted the development of ESC-derived diabetes therapy. In conclusion, this work not only established an efficient pancreatic differentiation strategy from ESCs to pancreatic endocrine lineage in vitro, but also leaded to the development of new strategies to derive transplantable islet-replacement 13 cells from embryonic stem cells for the future applications of a stem cell based therapy of diabetes.展开更多
文摘We previously showed that Wnt3a could stimulate human embryonic stem （hES） cell proliferation and affect cell fate determination. In the absence of feeder cell--derived factors, hES cells cultured under a feeder-free condition survived and proliferated poorly. Adding recombinant Wnt3a in the absence of feeder cell derived-factors stimulated hES cell proliferation but also differentiation. In the present study, we further extended our analysis to other Wnt ligands such as Wntl and Wnt5a. While Wntl displayed a similar effect on hES cells as Wnt3a, Wnt5a had little effect in this system. Wnt3a and Wntl enhanced proliferation of undifferentiated hES cells when feeder-derived self-renewal factors and bFGF are also present. To explore the possibility to promote the proliferation of undifferentiated hES cells by activating the Wnt signaling, we overexpressed Wnt3a or Wntl gene in immortalized human adult fibroblast （HAFi） cells that are superior in supporting long-term growth of undifferentiated hES cells than primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts. HAFi cells with or without a Wnt tmnsgene can be propagated indefinitely. Over-expression of the Wnt3a gene significantly enhanced the ability of HAFi feeder cells to support the undifferentiated growth of 3 different hES cell lines we tested. Co-expression of three commonly-used drug selection genes in Wnt3a-overpressing HAFi cells further enabled us to select rare hES clones after stable transfection or transduction. These immortalized engineered feeder cells （W3R） that co-express growth-promoting genes such as Wnt3a and three drug selection genes should empower us to efficiently make genetic modified hES cell lines for basic and translational research.
文摘Regenerative medicine, including cell-replacement strategies, may have an important role in the treatment of type 1 diabetes which is associated with decreased islet cell mass. To date, significant progress has been made in generating insulin-secreting 13 cells from pluripotent mouse embryonic stem cells （ESCs）.The aim of this study is to explore the potential of regulating the differentiation of ESCs into pancreatic endocrine cells capable of synthesizing the pancreatic hormones including insulin, glucagon, somatostatin and pancreatic polypeptide under proper conditions. Undifferentiated ES cell line was stably transfected with mouse RIP-YFP plasmid construction in serum-free medium using LipofectamineTM 2000 Reagents. We tested pancreatic specific gene expression and characterized these ESC-derived pancreatic endocrine cells. Most of these insulin-secreting cells co-expressed many of the phenotypic markers characteristic of 13 cells such as insulinl, insulin2, Isletl, MafA, insulinoma-associated antigen 1 （IA1） and so on, indicating a similar gene expression pattern to adult islet 13 cells in vivo. Characterization of this population revealed that it consisted predominantly of pancreatic endocrine cells that were able to undergo pancreatic specification under the appropriate conditions. We also demonstrated that zinc supplementation mediated up-regulation of insulin-secreting cells as an effective inducer promoted the development of ESC-derived diabetes therapy. In conclusion, this work not only established an efficient pancreatic differentiation strategy from ESCs to pancreatic endocrine lineage in vitro, but also leaded to the development of new strategies to derive transplantable islet-replacement 13 cells from embryonic stem cells for the future applications of a stem cell based therapy of diabetes.
