Editorial Material
Chemistry, Physical
Li Tao, Shuangyin Wang
Summary: The researchers discovered a process for selectively extracting precious metals from waste products and ore using simple photo-catalytic oxidation without the use of strong acids or toxic cyanide.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Anish Hiresha Verma, Swarna Ganesh, Krishnan Venkatakrishnan, Bo Tan
Summary: This study used ultra-small gold nanoparticles as a nanoscale probe to demethylate the genomic DNA of cancer stem cells, leading to their reprogramming into cancer cells. The results showed a significant decrease in genetic and phenotypic stemness as well as cell cycle quiescence of lung cancer stem cells. This research opens up new avenues for effective anti-cancer treatments and precision nanomedicine.
APPLIED MATERIALS TODAY
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Xiaoqian Deng, Ryan Lee, Sin Yee Lim, Zheng Zhong, Jing Wang, Yizhi Liu, Guoping Fan
Summary: In this study, human fetal retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells were successfully reprogrammed into photoreceptor-like cells through the use of small molecules, providing a potential cell source for cell replacement therapy in retinal degenerative diseases. The suppression of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and activation of glutamate receptors were found to be important mechanisms in the conversion process.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nicole Prodan, Faheem Ershad, Arfaxad Reyes-Alcaraz, Luge Li, Brandon Mistretta, Lei Gonzalez, Zhoulyu Rao, Cunjiang Yu, Preethi H. Gunaratne, Na Li, Robert J. Schwartz, Bradley K. McConnell
Summary: This study presents an effective protocol for directly reprogramming human cardiomyocytes into cardiac Purkinje-like cells using small molecules. The generated cells exhibit genetic and functional similarities to native cardiac Purkinje cells, showing expression of key cardiac Purkinje genes and increased velocity of electrical signal conduction. This research has significant implications for the development of optimized cell therapies for heart regeneration.
Review
Neurosciences
Amrita A. Iyer, Andrew K. Groves
Summary: Non-mammalian vertebrates can naturally restore their auditory and vestibular hair cells by triggering the regeneration of adjacent supporting cells. A key regulator in this process is the transcription factor ATOH1. While ATOH1 has shown the ability to reprogram cochlear non-sensory tissue into hair cell-like cells in young animals, this reprogramming ability diminishes with age.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Miles H. Linde, Amy C. Fan, Thomas Koehnke, Aaron C. Trotman-Grant, Sarah F. Gurev, Paul Phan, Feifei Zhao, Naomi L. Haddock, Kevin A. Nuno, Eric J. Gars, Melissa Stafford, Payton L. Marshall, Christopher G. Dove, Ian L. Linde, Niklas Landberg, Lindsay P. Miller, Robbie G. Majzner, Tian Yi Zhang, Ravindra Majeti
Summary: Therapeutic cancer vaccination aims to activate tumor-reactive T cells for recognizing tumor-associated antigens (TAA) and eliminating malignant cells. The study proposes a cancer vaccination approach using myeloid-lineage reprogramming to convert cancer cells into tumor-reprogrammed antigen-presenting cells (TR-APC). The results demonstrate the effectiveness of TR-APCs in inducing clonal expansion of cancer-specific T cells, establishing immune memory, and promoting leukemia eradication.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yuliya Markitantova, Alexander Fokin, Dmitry Boguslavsky, Vladimir Simirskii, Aleksey Kulikov
Summary: This study examined the changes in the transcriptome during the initial stages of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cell reprogramming in adult newts. The findings revealed the upregulation of early response genes, chaperones and co-chaperones, and the downregulation of ribosomal and translation-associated genes during RPE reprogramming.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Guoyu Yu, Pengfei Shen, Yu-Chen Lee, Jing Pan, Jian H. Song, Tianhong Pan, Song-Chang Lin, Xin Liang, Guocan Wang, Theocharis Panaretakis, Christopher J. Logothetis, Gary E. Gallick, Li-Yuan Yu-Lee, Sue-Hwa Lin
Summary: This study elucidated the signaling pathways and key molecules involved in prostate cancer-induced cell type transition in bone metastasis, providing potential targets for therapeutic intervention.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jingyang Guan, Guan Wang, Jinlin Wang, Zhengyuan Zhang, Yao Fu, Lin Cheng, Gaofan Meng, Yulin Lyu, Jialiang Zhu, Yanqin Li, Yanglu Wang, Shijia Liuyang, Bei Liu, Zirun Yang, Huanjing He, Xinxing Zhong, Qijing Chen, Xu Zhang, Shicheng Sun, Weifeng Lai, Yan Shi, Lulu Liu, Lipeng Wang, Cheng Li, Shichun Lu, Hongkui Deng
Summary: This study demonstrates the chemical reprogramming of human somatic cells to human chemically induced pluripotent stem cells, which exhibit key features of embryonic stem cells. The induction of an intermediate plastic state and inhibition of the JNK pathway are crucial for successful chemical reprogramming.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Meihan Li, Lingzhi Zhang, Jing Li, Qing Zhu
Summary: In this study, osteoblasts from subchondral bone were successfully reprogrammed into chondrocytes, and different combinations of transcription factors were found to guide the reprogramming towards different subpopulations of chondrocytes. These findings have important implications for developing new strategies to treat full-thickness cartilage defects.
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Kiichiro Tomoda, Haiming Hu, Yoshiki Sahara, Hashimita Sanyal, Minoru Takasato, Cody Kime
Summary: A new wave of synthetic embryo systems has been established from cultured cells for efficient and ethical embryonic development research, generating numerous blastocyst-like hemispheres with features of pluripotent and extraembryonic cells. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis revealed induction of multiple cell populations resembling pluripotent epiblast, primitive endoderm, and trophectoderm, enriching specific gene-regulatory networks and zygotic genome activation-related genes. This analysis confirms the induction of extraembryonic cell populations during epiblast stem cell reprogramming, with potential to uncover new facets of cell potency and advance biomedicine.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Xian Zhang, Shun Li, Isha Malik, Mytrang H. Do, Liangliang Ji, Chun Chou, Wei Shi, Kristelle J. Capistrano, Jing Zhang, Ting-Wei Hsu, Briana G. Nixon, Ke Xu, Xinxin Wang, Andrea Ballabio, Laura S. Schmidt, W. Marston Linehan, Ming O. O. Li
Summary: In metazoan organisms, cell competition functions as a mechanism to eliminate unfit cells and promote the survival of more robust cells. However, little is known about how environmental factors affect cancer cell competition. This study reveals that tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) can be reprogrammed through diet or genes to outcompete MYC-overexpressing cancer cells. This discovery highlights a novel innate immune tumour suppression pathway that could be targeted for cancer therapy.
Review
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Matthias Rombaut, Joost Boeckmans, Robim M. Rodrigues, Leo A. van Grunsven, Tamara Vanhaecke, Joery De Kock
Summary: The unmet need for functional primary human hepatocytes has led to the discovery that somatic cells can be directly converted into induced hepatocytes, bypassing the need for an intermediate stem cell state. However, understanding and controlling the processes that give rise to functional induced hepatocytes remains challenging.
JOURNAL OF HEPATOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biology
Marta Fontcuberta-PiSunyer, Ainhoa Garcia-Alaman, Elia Prades, Noelia Tellez, Hugo Alves-Figueiredo, Mireia Ramos-Rodriguez, Carlos Enrich, Rebeca Fernandez-Ruiz, Sara Cervantes, Laura Clua, Javier Ramon-Azcon, Christophe Broca, Anne Wojtusciszyn, Nuria Montserrat, Lorenzo Pasquali, Anna Novials, Joan-Marc Servitja, Josep Vidal, Ramon Gomis, Rosa Gasa
Summary: In this study, human foreskin fibroblasts were directly reprogrammed into insulin-producing cells using 5 pancreatic transcription factors, without pluripotency induction. The reprogrammed cells exhibited beta-cell features and showed glucose-induced insulin secretion, demonstrating the feasibility of generating insulin-producing cells from human fibroblasts via transcription factor-mediated direct reprogramming.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Deogil Kim, Byung-Hyun Cha, Jinsung Ahn, Yoshie Arai, Bogyu Choi, Soo-Hong Lee
Summary: Understanding the biophysical relationships between stem cells and applied biomaterials is crucial in controlling stem cell functions. This study highlights the significant role of 3D microenvironment, particularly methacrylated hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel, in improving cellular reprogramming into iPSCs. The incorporation of cues from the 3D microenvironment accelerates the reprogramming process, offering potential advantages for translational applications.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2021)