Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yong-Jin Kim, Amin Tamadon, Yoon-Young Kim, Byeong-Cheol Kang, Seung-Yup Ku
Summary: This review focuses on the current knowledge of epigenetic regulation of cardiomyocyte proliferation and differentiation from embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells through histone modification and microRNAs, the maintenance of pluripotency, and its alteration during cardiac lineage differentiation.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Review
Cell Biology
Muhammad Shahid Javaid, Tracie Tan, Naomi Dvir, Alison Anderson, Terence J. O'Brien, Patrick Kwan, Ana Antonic-Baker
Summary: This review reports the current information and progress in using induced pluripotent stem cells to generate patient-specific models of epilepsy, which can be used to study the pathological mechanisms of epilepsy and drug development.
Article
Developmental Biology
Andrea L. Bredemeyer, Junedh M. Amrute, Andrew L. Koenig, Rachel A. Idol, Li He, Stephanie A. Luff, Carissa Dege, Jamison M. Leid, Joel D. Schilling, J. Travis Hinson, Mary C. Dinauer, Christopher M. Sturgeon, Kory J. Lavine
Summary: Tissue-resident macrophages play a crucial role in organ homeostasis, tissue repair, remodeling, and regeneration. Researchers have developed a system to generate macrophages that resemble tissue-resident or monocyte-derived subsets, allowing for the study of their function and potential applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yahong Wu, Weiwei Zhang
Summary: Pluripotent stem cells, including ESCs and iPSCs, are crucial for studying early development and treating diseases, with ubiquitination playing a key role in pluripotency regulation, particularly through the actions of E3 ligases.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Ying Zhang, Jun Wei, Jiani Cao, Kehua Zhang, Yaojin Peng, Hongkui Deng, Jiuhong Kang, Guangjin Pan, Yong Zhang, Boqiang Fu, Shijun Hu, Jie Na, Yan Liu, Lei Wang, Lingmin Liang, Huanxin Zhu, Yu Zhang, Zi-Bing Jin, Jie Hao, Aijin Ma, Tongbiao Zhao, Junying Yu
Summary: "Requirements for Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells" is the first set of guidelines in China on human-induced pluripotent stem cells. It provides detailed technical requirements and aims to promote international standardization.
CELL PROLIFERATION
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Karlijn A. L. Hasaart, Freek Manders, Joske Ubels, Mark Verheul, Markus J. van Roosmalen, Niels M. Groenen, Rurika Oka, Ewart Kuijk, Susana M. Chuva de Sousa Lopes, Ruben van Boxtel
Summary: This study compares the mutation burden between cultured iPSCs and their isogenic embryonic cells, finding that iPSCs maintain genomic integrity during culture at a similar degree as pluripotent cells in vivo.
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Gyunggyu Lee, Hyemin Kim, Ji Young Park, Gyeongmin Kim, Jiyou Han, Seok Chung, Ji Hun Yang, Jang Su Jeon, Dong-Hun Woo, Choongseong Han, Sang Kyum Kim, Han-Jin Park, Jong-Hoon Kim
Summary: Advances in pluripotent stem cell technology have led to the efficient and reproducible generation of hepatocyte-like cell spheroids in various sizes using microwell culture platforms. These spheroids show high expressions of hepatic marker genes, enhanced drug-metabolizing activity, and increased sensitivity to hepatotoxicants compared to traditional hepatocytes. This imaging-based toxicity screening system holds promise for predicting drug-induced hepatotoxicity in the early stages of drug discovery.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Julia Vallverdu, Raquel A. Martinez Garcia de la Torre, Inge Mannaerts, Stefaan Verhulst, Ayla Smout, Mar Coll, Silvia Arino, Teresa Rubio-Tomas, Beatriz Aguilar-Bravo, Celia Martinez-Sanchez, Delia Blaya, Catherine M. Verfaillie, Leo A. van Grunsven, Pau Sancho-Bru
Summary: Human iPSCs are differentiated into HSCs with growth factors for in vitro modeling. The protocol yields iPSC-HSCs with phenotypic and functional characteristics of primary HSCs, suitable for high-throughput in vitro studies. Coculturing iPSC-HSCs with hepatocytes allows for the formation of 3D hepatic spheroids, enabling modeling and drug screening studies.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Arina A. Nikitina, Alexandria Van Grouw, Tanya Roysam, Danning Huang, Facundo M. Fernandez, Melissa L. Kemp
Summary: Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have potential in regenerative medicine, but there is a lack of quality control algorithms for early differentiation stages. In this research, we studied changes in iPSC lipid profiles during initial loss of pluripotency using confocal microscopy and MALDI mass spectrometry imaging. We identified informative phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylinositol (PI) species that can reveal iPSC lineage bifurcation metabolically. Machine learning analysis showed that PI species emerged as early metabolic markers of pluripotency loss, preceding changes in the Oct4 transcription factor. Manipulation of phospholipids and inhibition of phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase affected colony organization and pluripotency maintenance.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Review
Cell Biology
Xue Jiang, Yihuan Chen, Xiaofeng Liu, Lingqun Ye, Miao Yu, Zhenya Shen, Wei Lei, Shijun Hu
Summary: Researchers have discovered the contribution of genetic defects to the pathogenesis of primary cardiomyopathy and tried to explain the pathogenesis of these diseases by establishing various disease models. The advent of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) provides an unprecedented opportunity to further investigate the pathogenic mechanisms of inherited cardiomyopathies in vitro using patient-specific hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes. The development of defects in genetically modified animal models differs notably from human diseases at the molecular level.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Stefanie Fuchs, Ruben W. J. van Helden, Maury Wiendels, Mees N. S. de Graaf, Valeria V. Orlova, Christine L. Mummery, Berend J. van Meer, Torsten Mayr
Summary: Recent advances in microfluidic engineering have enabled the cultivation of human cells under more realistic physiological conditions. By integrating oxygen and pH sensors into microfluidic devices, cellular physiology can be controlled and monitored in real time. Using highly metabolic human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) as a model, monitoring the extracellular environment allowed for rapid optimization of the seeding protocol and assessment of cell metabolism with the same precision as conventional cell culture methods.
MATERIALS TODAY BIO
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Taiki Satoh, Marcelo A. S. Toledo, Janik Boehnke, Kathrin Olschok, Niclas Flosdorf, Katrin Goetz, Caroline Kuestermann, Stephanie Sontag, Kristin Sere, Steffen Koschmieder, Tim H. Bruemmendorf, Nicolas Chatain, Yoh-ichi Tagawa, Martin Zenke
Summary: Dendritic cells (DC) are professional antigen-presenting cells that can be divided into different subsets, with the DC3 subset having proinflammatory properties. Human iPS cell-derived DC3 exhibit similar characteristics to blood DC3 in vitro. The JAK2 V617F mutation enhances DC3 production and biases towards erythrocytes and megakaryocytes.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Jiaxing Wang, Ping Long, Shengnan Tian, Weihua Zu, Jing Liu, Bangyong Wu, Jilong Mao, Dan Li, Yanlin Ma, Yuanhua Huang
Summary: Extravillous trophoblast (EVT) cells are crucial for maternal-fetal interaction, and their abnormal development and function are associated with severe pregnancy disorders. This study established a cell model by differentiating human-induced pluripotent stem cells and human embryonic stem cells into EVT cells and investigated the effects of the immunosuppressant Cyclosporin A (CsA) on the invasion and migration of these cells. The results suggest that CsA promotes the invasion and migration of EVT cells, providing insights into the mechanism of pregnancy-related disorders and offering a potential treatment option.
STEM CELLS AND DEVELOPMENT
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Alexandra Neaverson, Malin H. L. Andersson, Osama A. Arshad, Luke Foulser, Mary Goodwin-Trotman, Adam Hunter, Ben Newman, Minal Patel, Charlotte Roth, Tristan Thwaites, Helena Kilpinen, Matthew E. Hurles, Andrew Day, Sebastian S. Gerety
Summary: Efficient and effective methods for converting human induced pluripotent stem cells into differentiated derivatives are critical for performing robust, large-scale studies of development and disease modelling, and for providing a source of cells for regenerative medicine. Here, we describe a 14-day neural differentiation protocol which allows for the scalable, simultaneous differentiation of multiple iPSC lines into cortical neural stem cells.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Hyejoong Jeong, Wijin Kim, Daheui Choi, Jiwoong Heo, Uiyoung Han, Se Yong Jung, Hee Ho Park, Sung-Tae Hong, Ju Hyun Park, Jinkee Hong
Summary: The study found that NPs can be internalized into cells within a short period of time, leading to significant growth inhibition of hiPSCs. However, the accumulated NPs did not have adverse effects on cell differentiation.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Anna B. Meier, Sarala Raj Murthi, Hilansi Rawat, Christopher N. Toepfer, Gianluca Santamaria, Manuel Schmid, Elisa Mastantuono, Thomas Schwarzmayr, Riccardo Berutti, Julie Cleuziou, Peter Ewert, Agnes Gorlach, Karin Klingel, Karl-Ludwig Laugwitz, Christine E. Seidman, Jonathan G. Seidman, Alessandra Moretti, Cordula M. Wolf
Summary: The cardiomyopathy associated with Noonan syndrome (NS-CM) and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy caused by mutations in sarcomeric proteins (HCM) exhibit distinct disease phenotypes and potential different pathophysiology.
Article
Cell Biology
Christine M. Poch, Kylie S. Foo, Maria Teresa De Angelis, Karin Jennbacken, Gianluca Santamaria, Andrea Baehr, Qing-Dong Wang, Franziska Reiter, Nadja Hornaschewitz, Dorota Zawada, Tarik Bozoglu, Ilaria My, Anna Meier, Tatjana Dorn, Simon Hege, Miia L. Lehtinen, Yat Long Tsoi, Daniel Hovdal, Johan Hyllner, Sascha Schwarz, Stefanie Sudhop, Victoria Jurisch, Marcella Sini, Mick D. Fellows, Matthew Cummings, Jonathan Clarke, Ricardo Baptista, Elif Eroglu, Eckhard Wolf, Nikolai Klymiuk, Kun Lu, Roland Tomasi, Andreas Dendorfer, Marco Gaspari, Elvira Parrotta, Giovanni Cuda, Markus Krane, Daniel Sinnecker, Petra Hoppmann, Christian Kupatt, Regina Fritsche-Danielson, Alessandra Moretti, Kenneth R. Chien, Karl-Ludwig Laugwitz
Summary: This study reveals that pluripotent stem cell-derived ventricular progenitors can target myocardial loss and fibrotic scarring to promote heart regeneration, offering new potential therapeutic strategies for heart injury.
NATURE CELL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Cell Biology
Tania Limongi, Francesco Guzzi, Elvira Parrotta, Patrizio Candeloro, Stefania Scalise, Valeria Lucchino, Francesco Gentile, Luca Tirinato, Maria Laura Coluccio, Bruno Torre, Marco Allione, Monica Marini, Francesca Susa, Enzo Di Fabrizio, Giovanni Cuda, Gerardo Perozziello
Summary: The necessity to improve in vitro cell screening assays is increasingly important, as pharmaceutical companies, research laboratories, and hospitals require technologies that can speed up conventional screening and produce more data in a realistic and reliable manner. However, there are limited correlations between in vitro and in vivo data, and traditional 2D cell screening assays have limitations in mimicking the real morphologies and physiology of native tissues. Microfluidic devices offer potential solutions to overcome these limitations.
Review
Cell Biology
Erika Olivo, Marina La Chimia, Jessica Ceramella, Alessia Catalano, Ferdinando Chiaradonna, Maria Stefania Sinicropi, Giovanni Cuda, Domenico Iacopetta, Domenica Scumaci
Summary: DJ-1, also known as PARK7, is a protein that is highly expressed in neurodegenerative diseases and various types of cancer. It plays a role in regulating key pathways involved in cancer development and progression. DJ-1 is involved in maintaining the transformed phenotype, survival, drug resistance, metastasis formation, and differentiation in cancer cells. It also plays a role in controlling the redox status and attenuating reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent cell death, as well as mediating ferroptosis.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Manola Moretti, Tania Limongi, Claudia Testi, Edoardo Milanetti, Maria Teresa De Angelis, Elvira I. Parrotta, Stefania Scalise, Gianluca Santamaria, Marco Allione, Sergei Lopatin, Bruno Torre, Peng Zhang, Monica Marini, Gerardo Perozziello, Patrizio Candeloro, Candido Fabrizio Pirri, Giancarlo Ruocco, Giovanni Cuda, Enzo Di Fabrizio
Summary: This study combines transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy to gather structural and chemical information of complex molecular systems, such as ion channels, in their original plasma membrane. It identifies the channels using two different approaches and allows a series of complementary investigations on the same sample.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Stefania Scalise, Clara Zannino, Valeria Lucchino, Michela Lo Conte, Luana Scaramuzzino, Pierangelo Cifelli, Tiziano D'Andrea, Katiuscia Martinello, Sergio Fucile, Eleonora Palma, Antonio Gambardella, Gabriele Ruffolo, Giovanni Cuda, Elvira Immacolata Parrotta
Summary: This study investigates the effects of a SCN1A gene mutation on neuronal maturation and excitability using induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons. The results provide evidence for intrinsic cellular immaturity and support the importance of mutant Na(V)1.1 in the development of febrile seizures. The findings also suggest that diseased neurons can be a powerful tool for personalized therapy and drug screening for epileptic disorders.
Article
Virology
Claudia Veneziano, Nadia Marascio, Carmela De Marco, Barbara Quaresima, Flavia Biamonte, Enrico Maria Trecarichi, Gianluca Santamaria, Angela Quirino, Daniele Torella, Aldo Quattrone, Giovanni Matera, Carlo Torti, Caterina De Filippo, Francesco Saverio Costanzo, Giuseppe Viglietto
Summary: We investigated the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 spread in Calabria, Southern Italy, in 2022. Analysis of Omicron variants in Calabria revealed the prevalence of 10 different sub-lineages. In addition, Calabria Omicron presented non-canonical mutations in the S protein and non-structural proteins.
Article
Oncology
Claudia De Vitis, Anna Martina Battaglia, Matteo Pallocca, Gianluca Santamaria, Maria Chiara Mimmi, Alessandro Sacco, Francesca De Nicola, Marco Gaspari, Valentina Salvati, Francesca Ascenzi, Sara Bruschini, Antonella Esposito, Giulia Ricci, Eleonora Sperandio, Alice Massacci, Licia Elvira Prestagiacomo, Andrea Vecchione, Alberto Ricci, Salvatore Sciacchitano, Gerardo Salerno, Deborah French, Ilenia Aversa, Cristina Cereda, Maurizio Fanciulli, Ferdinando Chiaradonna, Egle Solito, Giovanni Cuda, Francesco Costanzo, Gennaro Ciliberto, Rita Mancini, Flavia Biamonte
Summary: This study reveals that the transition from 2D to 3D culture in lung adenocarcinoma and breast cancer cells leads to significant metabolic reprogramming, including increased lactate production and enhanced glucose consumption. Transfection with siRNA against specific genes reduces lactate production, viability, and size of 3D tumor spheroids.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL & CLINICAL CANCER RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Anna B. Meier, Dorota Zawada, Maria Teresa De Angelis, Laura D. Martens, Gianluca Santamaria, Sophie Zengerle, Monika Nowak-Imialek, Jessica Kornherr, Fangfang Zhang, Qinghai Tian, Cordula M. Wolf, Christian Kupatt, Makoto Sahara, Peter Lipp, Fabian J. Theis, Julien Gagneur, Alexander Goedel, Karl-Ludwig Laugwitz, Tatjana Dorn, Alessandra Moretti
Summary: The lineage of human epicardium was studied through time course single-cell analysis of epicardioids. The mesothelial envelope of the vertebrate heart, known as the epicardium, serves as the source of multiple cardiac cell lineages during embryonic development and is essential for myocardial growth and repair. Using self-organizing human pluripotent stem cell-derived epicardioids, researchers were able to observe the morphological, molecular, and functional patterning of the epicardium and myocardium, similar to the left ventricular wall. This study provides insights into the specification and differentiation process of different cell lineages in epicardioids, as well as the functional cross-talk between different cardiac cell types.
NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Dorota Zawada, Jessica Kornherr, Anna B. B. Meier, Gianluca Santamaria, Tatjana Dorn, Monika Nowak-Imialek, Daniel Ortmann, Fangfang Zhang, Mark Lachmann, Martina Dressen, Mariaestela Ortiz, Victoria L. L. Mascetti, Stephen C. C. Harmer, Muriel Nobles, Andrew Tinker, Maria Teresa De Angelis, Roger A. A. Pedersen, Phillip Grote, Karl-Ludwig Laugwitz, Alessandra Moretti, Alexander Goedel
Summary: Cardiogenesis depends on the coordination of multiple progenitor populations. Modulating retinoic acid signaling instructs human pluripotent stem cells to form heart field-specific progenitors with distinct fate potentials, which can be used for studying human cardiac development and disease. Dysregulation in specific transcriptional profiles of heart field progenitors derived from stem cells of patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome suggests the suitability of the in vitro differentiation platform for disease modeling.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Review
Cell Biology
Luca Parrillo, Rosa Spinelli, Michele Longo, Federica Zatterale, Gianluca Santamaria, Alessia Leone, Michele Campitelli, Gregory Alexander Raciti, Francesco Beguinot
Summary: HOXA5 gene plays a critical role in normal physiological activities and pathological activities in cancer cells. Recent evidence shows its involvement in metabolic diseases, especially obesity and type 2 diabetes. The gene regulates adipocyte function and adipose tissue remodeling, and its expression is influenced by DNA methylation. Inappropriate HOXA5 gene expression may be a mechanism causing impaired adipose tissue function in obesity.
