Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Donghe Yang, Juliana Gomez-Garcia, Shunsuke Funakoshi, Thinh Tran, Ian Fernandes, Gary D. Bader, Michael A. Laflamme, Gordon M. Keller
Summary: This study models human heart development using human pluripotent stem cells, revealing the differentiation and progression of different cardiac lineages. The findings demonstrate the conservation of cardiac lineage development between humans and mice, providing important resources for establishing disease models and developing new therapies.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zachary T. Olmsted, Janet L. Paluh
Summary: Researchers have successfully studied the co-development of the central and peripheral nervous systems with trunk mesendoderm in elongating multi-lineage organized (EMLO) gastruloids. They identified NCCs that differentiate to form peripheral neurons integrated with an upstream spinal cord region after day 8.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Pyry Gronroos, Tanja Ilmarinen, Heli Skottman
Summary: This study successfully generated CEnC-like cells from human pluripotent stem cells using a defined differentiation method involving small molecule induction and retinoic acid. The induced cells exhibited morphological characteristics and expression of CEnC markers, demonstrating the potential of this method for regenerative medicine applications in corneal endothelial cells.
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Baoqi Sun, Timur Bikkuzin, Xuran Li, Yan Shi, Hong Zhang
Summary: CE dysfunction can be treated through corneal transplantation, but issues such as global cornea shortage and graft failure still exist, highlighting the need for finding an alternative to CE.
STEM CELLS AND DEVELOPMENT
(2021)
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Zeya Zhang, Nuo Si, Bo Pan, Haiyue Jiang
Summary: In this study, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from a 33-year-old TCS patient with a heterozygous TCOF1 mutation were reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) named PSHi002-A. These iPSCs expressed pluripotent markers, had a normal karyotype, and could be differentiated into the three germ layers in vivo.
STEM CELL RESEARCH
(2021)
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
Timothy Hua, Sonia Kiran, Yan Li, Qing-Xiang Amy Sang
Summary: This study explores the adverse effects of polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) on the human brain, showing that their exposure can affect embryonic brain-like tissue development and gene expression.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Xingchi Chen, Chang Liu, Matthew Wadsworth, Eric Z. Zeng, Tristan Driscoll, Changchun Zeng, Yan Li
Summary: This study investigates the differentiation capacity of human induced pluripotent stem cells on different auxetic polyurethane foams with different characteristics, and finds that the properties of the foams affect cell adhesion density and differentiation capacity.
ADVANCED HEALTHCARE MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Hyun-Mun Kim, Hye Bin Noh, Sang-Hyuk Lee, Kun-Gu Lee, Bomi Chang, Eunji Cheong, Charles Justin Lee, Dong-Youn Hwang
Summary: By fine-tuning BMP signaling without the need for WNT activation, a large number of neural crest stem cells (NCSCs) were successfully generated, revealing two distinct cell populations with different global gene expression profiles and differentiation abilities.
CELL PROLIFERATION
(2021)
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Qunzhou Zhang, Phuong Nguyen, Justin C. Burrell, Jincheng Zeng, Shihong Shi, Rabie M. Shanti, Grace Kulischak, D. Kacy Cullen, Anh D. Le
Summary: This study identified a rapid biofabrication approach for functionalized NGCs by directing GMSCs conversion into GiSCs in 3D collagen hydrogel. The implantation of functionalized NGCs laden with GiSCs significantly improved functional recovery and axonal regeneration in a segmental facial nerve defect model in rats.
NPJ REGENERATIVE MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Yajie Gong, Haoyun Duan, Xin Wang, Can Zhao, Wenjing Li, Chunxiao Dong, Zongyi Li, Qingjun Zhou
Summary: Transplantation of hiPSC-derived NCCs can rapidly restore rabbit corneal thickness and clarity, but long-term recovery efficacy may be impaired by factors such as improper maturation, senescence, and endothelial-mesenchymal transition of the transplanted cells.
STEM CELL RESEARCH & THERAPY
(2021)
Review
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Juan Ignacio Burgos, Ludovic Vallier, Santiago A. Rodriguez-Segui
Summary: Modeling monogenic diabetes using human pluripotent stem cells allows for detailed analysis of disease-associated gene regulatory mechanisms and has revealed new insights into the disease. This approach has the potential to improve understanding of monogenic diabetes pathogenesis and therapeutic strategies.
FRONTIERS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Genetics & Heredity
Bozena Anna Marszalek-Kruk, Piotr Wojcicki, Krzysztof Dowgierd, Robert Smigiel
Summary: Treacher Collins syndrome is a rare genetic disorder characterized by facial abnormalities such as microtia, slanting palpebral fissures, and micrognathia, with a frequency of 1 in 50,000 live births. Pathogenic variants in genes like TCOF1 are associated with the syndrome.
Article
Medical Laboratory Technology
Chuan Zhang, Lisha An, Huiqin Xue, Shengju Hao, Yousheng Yan, Qinghua Zhang, Xiaohua Jin, Qian Li, Bingbo Zhou, Xuan Feng, Panpan Ma, Xing Wang, Xue Chen, Cuixia Chen, Zongfu Cao, Xu Ma
Summary: Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS) is a rare genetic disorder with diverse symptoms. Using targeted next-generation sequencing can identify gene mutations in TCS patients, offering new diagnostic and genetic research insights. Interventional surgery can help improve hearing and facial deformities in TCS patients.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL LABORATORY ANALYSIS
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Michal E. Mor, Alexandra Harvey, Mary Familari, Mitchell St Clair-Glover, Serena Viventi, Robb U. de Iongh, Fergus J. Cameron, Mirella Dottori
Summary: A new hPSC neural differentiation medium with physiological concentrations of glucose and reduced insulin levels was established in this study, supporting hPSC neural induction and formation of cortical NSPs. This revised medium may offer an improved platform for studying brain development and investigating neural differentiation signalling pathways impacted by abnormal glucose and insulin levels.
BRAIN RESEARCH BULLETIN
(2021)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Casey A. Rimland, Samantha G. Tilson, Carola M. Morell, Rute A. Tomaz, Wei-Yu Lu, Simone E. Adams, Nikitas Georgakopoulos, Francisco Otaizo-Carrasquero, Timothy G. Myers, John R. Ferdinand, Richard L. Gieseck, Fotios Sampaziotis, Olivia C. Tysoe, Alexander Ross, Judith M. Kraiczy, Brandon Wesley, Daniele Muraro, Matthias Zilbauer, Gabriel C. Oniscu, Nicholas R. F. Hannan, Stuart J. Forbes, Kourosh Saeb-Parsy, Thomas A. Wynn, Ludovic Vallier
Summary: Researchers successfully established organoids derived from human gallbladder, common bile duct, pancreatic duct, and IHBDs, expressing stem/progenitor and ductal markers, but conserving only limited regional-specific markers, with differences in response and expression of cell markers between IHBD and EHBD organoids.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Fotios Sampaziotis, Daniele Muraro, Olivia C. Tysoe, Stephen Sawiak, Timothy E. Beach, Edmund M. Godfrey, Sara S. Upponi, Teresa Brevini, Brandon T. Wesley, Jose Garcia-Bernardo, Krishnaa Mahbubani, Giovanni Canu, Richard Gieseck, Natalie L. Berntsen, Victoria L. Mulcahy, Keziah Crick, Corrina Fear, Sharayne Robinson, Lisa Swift, Laure Gambardella, Johannes Bargehr, Daniel Ortmann, Stephanie E. Brown, Anna Osnato, Michael P. Murphy, Gareth Corbett, William T. H. Gelson, George F. Mells, Peter Humphreys, Susan E. Davies, Irum Amin, Paul Gibbs, Sanjay Sinha, Sarah A. Teichmann, Andrew J. Butler, Teik Choon See, Espen Melum, Christopher J. E. Watson, Kourosh Saeb-Parsy, Ludovic Vallier
Summary: The study demonstrates the potential of cholangiocyte organoids to repair human biliary epithelium, despite the loss of transcriptional diversity during organoid culture, they remain plastic and have regenerative capabilities.
Article
Developmental Biology
Toby G. R. Andrews, Wolfram Ponisch, Ewa K. Paluch, Benjamin J. Steventon, Elia Benito-Gutierrez
Summary: This study used a quantitative approach to investigate the dynamic relationship between cell shape and growth in the process of notochord morphogenesis in amphioxus, revealing significant variations in developmental timing and trajectory topology in different regions.
Article
Developmental Biology
Susannah B. P. McLaren, Benjamin J. Steventon
Summary: The internal pressure of the notochord increases its elongation and stiffening, playing a key role in elongating the somitic compartment. Anterior expansion generates a force that displaces notochord cells posteriorly, contributing to the elongation of segmented tissue during posttailbud stages.
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Floris J. M. Roos, Gilles S. van Tienderen, Haoyu Wu, Ignacio Bordeu, Dina Vinke, Laura Munoz Albarinos, Kathryn Monfils, Sabrah Niesten, Ron Smits, Jorke Willemse, Oskar Rosmark, Gunilla Westergren-Thorsson, Daniel J. Kunz, Maurice de Wit, Pim J. French, Ludovic Vallier, Jan N. M. IJzermans, Richard Bartfai, Hendrik Marks, Ben D. Simons, Martin E. van Royen, Monique M. A. Verstegen, Luc J. W. van der Laan
Summary: Researchers have successfully established human branching cholangiocyte organoids, which can self-organize into complex tubular structures resembling intrahepatic bile ducts. These organoids show high similarity to primary cholangiocytes, and the branching growth process is dependent on JAG1/NOTCH2 signaling. When applied to cholangiocarcinoma tumor organoids, the branching cholangiocarcinoma organoids exhibit morphology and transcriptomic profile closer to primary tumors and increased chemoresistance.
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Timothy Fulton, Berta Verd, Benjamin Steventon
Summary: This study examines the relationship between cell movement and pattern formation during development, aiming to propose research methods that can address both morphogenesis and pattern formation. By reviewing current approaches to studying pattern formation in static and motile cellular environments, the study explores how cell movement can contribute to the generation of patterns.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biology
Rute A. Tomaz, Ekaterini D. Zacharis, Fabian Bachinger, Annabelle Wurmser, Daniel Yamamoto, Sandra Petrus-Reurer, Carola M. Morell, Dominika Dziedzicka, Brandon T. Wesley, Imbisaat Geti, Charis-Patricia Segeritz, Miguel C. de Brito, Mariya Chhatriwala, Daniel Ortmann, Kourosh Saeb-Parsy, Ludovic Vallier
Summary: Directed differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into hepatocyte-like cells is a major challenge. Forward programming offers a versatile alternative to overcome the limitations and generate functional hepatocytes rapidly.
Article
Cell Biology
Brandon T. Wesley, Alexander D. B. Ross, Daniele Muraro, Zhichao Miao, Sarah Saxton, Rute A. Tomaz, Carola M. Morell, Katherine Ridley, Ekaterini D. Zacharis, Sandra Petrus-Reurer, Judith Kraiczy, Krishnaa T. Mahbubani, Stephanie Brown, Jose Garcia-Bernardo, Clara Alsinet, Daniel Gaffney, Dave Horsfall, Olivia C. Tysoe, Rachel A. Botting, Emily Stephenson, Dorin-Mirel Popescu, Sonya MacParland, Gary Bader, Ian D. McGilvray, Daniel Ortmann, Fotios Sampaziotis, Kourosh Saeb-Parsy, Muzlifah Haniffa, Kelly R. Stevens, Matthias Zilbauer, Sarah A. Teichmann, Ludovic Vallier
Summary: In this study, the developmental trajectories of human fetal liver cell types were described at single-cell resolution, and bipotential hepatoblast organoids were generated. This provides a platform for investigating human liver development and producing cell types for clinical applications.
NATURE CELL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Anna M. Speicher, Lisanne Korn, Julia Csatari, Laura Gonzalez-Cano, Michael Heming, Christian Thomas, Christina B. Schroeter, David Schafflick, Xiaolin Li, Lukas Gola, Alexander Engler, Thilo Kaehne, Ludovic Vallier, Sven G. Meuth, Gerd Meyer zu Horste, Stjepana Kovac, Heinz Wiendl, Hans R. Scholer, Matthias Pawlowski
Summary: This study presents a forward programming protocol for generating microglia-like cells from human pluripotent stem cells. The generated cells exhibit similar characteristics to native microglia on a morphological, transcriptional, and functional level. The protocol can be used for reductionist studies and complex coculture systems, including 3D brain organoids, to investigate cellular interactions in healthy and diseased environments.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kane Toh, Dillan Saunders, Berta Verd, Benjamin Steventon
Summary: This study supports the existence of the transition state model of cell differentiation by observing gene expression variability in zebrafish neuromesodermal progenitors. The results show that there is a transient window of gene expression stochasticity before entry into a differentiated state, and cell population heterogeneity peaks during this period.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Teresa Brevini, Mailis Maes, Gwilym J. Webb, Binu John, Claudia D. Fuchs, Gustav Buescher, Lu Wang, Chelsea Griffiths, Marnie L. Brown, William E. Scott, Pehuen Pereyra-Gerber, William T. H. Gelson, Stephanie Brown, Scott Dillon, Daniele Muraro, Jo Sharp, Megan Neary, Helen Box, Lee Tatham, James Stewart, Paul Curley, Henry Pertinez, Sally Forrest, Petra Mlcochova, Sagar S. Varankar, Mahnaz Darvish-Damavandi, Victoria L. Mulcahy, Rhoda E. Kuc, Thomas L. Williams, James A. Heslop, Davide Rossetti, Olivia C. Tysoe, Vasileios Galanakis, Marta Vila-Gonzalez, Thomas W. M. Crozier, Johannes Bargehr, Sanjay Sinha, Sara S. Upponi, Corrina Fear, Lisa Swift, Kourosh Saeb-Parsy, Susan E. Davies, Axel Wester, Hannes Hagstrom, Espen Melum, Darran Clements, Peter Humphreys, Jo Herriott, Edyta Kijak, Helen Cox, Chloe Bramwell, Anthony Valentijn, Christopher J. R. Illingworth, Bassam Dahman, Dustin R. Bastaich, Raphaella D. Ferreira, Thomas Marjot, Eleanor Barnes, Andrew M. Moon, Alfred S. Barritt, Ravindra K. Gupta, Stephen Baker, Anthony P. Davenport, Gareth Corbett, Vassilis G. Gorgoulis, Simon J. A. Buczacki, Joo-Hyeon Lee, Nicholas J. Matheson, Michael Trauner, Andrew J. Fisher, Paul Gibbs, Andrew J. Butler, Christopher J. E. Watson, George F. Mells, Gordon Dougan, Andrew Owen, Ansgar W. Lohse, Ludovic Vallier, Fotios Sampaziotis
Summary: Modulating the expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) through farnesoid X receptor (FXR) can reduce susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection, as shown in various tissues and organoids in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo. The use of z-guggulsterone and ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) can downregulate ACE2 and decrease viral infection, including in the nasal epithelium. Clinical data also indicate positive outcomes with UDCA treatment in SARS-CoV-2 infection. These findings suggest that targeting the FXR-ACE2 pathway could be a potential strategy for preventing COVID-19.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Shota Nakanoh, Juned Kadiwala, Laetitia Pinte, Carola Maria Morell, An-Sofie Lenaerts, Ludovic Vallier
Summary: This study reveals the roles of RB proteins in maintaining and acquiring cell identities during early development, as well as their necessity in generating advanced derivatives after the formation of primary germ layers. The generated human embryonic stem cells lacking RB family proteins provide a useful tool to investigate the detailed molecular roles of RB family proteins in various cell types accessible from human pluripotent stem cells.
Article
Cell Biology
Walid Al-Akkad, Pilar Acedo, Maria-Giovanna Vilia, Luca Frenguelli, Alexander Ney, Irene Rodriguez-Hernandez, Peter L. Labib, Domenico Tamburrino, Gabriele Spoletini, Andrew R. Hall, Simone Canestrari, Anna Osnato, Jose Garcia-Bernardo, Leinal Sejour, Vessela Vassileva, Ioannis S. Vlachos, Giuseppe Fusai, Tu Vinh Luong, Steven R. Whittaker, Stephen P. Pereira, Ludovic Vallier, Massimo Pinzani, Krista Rombouts, Giuseppe Mazza
Summary: The tissue-matched human extracellular matrix (ECM) has a significant impact on driving the development of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and promoting chemotherapy resistance, as revealed by this study. The 3D models provide a more reliable in vitro cell culture for primary and metastatic PDAC cells.
Review
Developmental Biology
Lara Busby, Dillan Saunders, Guillermo Serrano Najera, Benjamin Steventon
Summary: Experimental embryology, as a classical approach in developmental biology, provides essential methods for exploring the reaction of cells and tissues in development. It helps uncover important principles such as pattern regulation, scaling, and self-organisation.
JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Biology
Lara Busby, Benjamin Steventon
Summary: Development involves coordination of timing across different levels of organization, including gene regulation, cell movement, cell signaling, and morphogenesis. Tissue tectonics plays a crucial role in integrating timing by driving tissue shape changes and coordinating developmental events across scales.