The events regulating human preimplantation development are still largely unknown owing to a scarcity of material, ethical and legal limitations and a lack of reliable techniques to faithfully ...amplify the transcriptome of a single cell. Nonetheless, human embryology is gathering renewed interest due to its close relationship with both stem cell biology and epigenetic reprogramming to pluripotency and their importance in regenerative medicine. Carefully timed genome-wide transcript analyses of single oocytes and embryos uncovered a series of successive waves of embryonic transcriptional initiation that start as early as the 2-cell stage. In addition, we identified the hierarchical activation of genes involved in the regulation of pluripotency. Finally, we developed HumER, a database of human preimplantation gene expression, to serve the scientific community. Importantly, our work links early transcription in the human embryo with the correct execution of the pluripotency program later in development and paves the way for the identification of factors to improve epigenetic reprogramming.
•Availability of human pluripotent stem cells.•Research complying with ethical and legal principles.•Generation of lines from patients is useful to be used as disease models.
The Spanish National ...Stem Cell Bank (Banco Nacional de Líneas Celulares, BNLC) was established in 2006 thanks to a change in the legislative framework in Spain. The Law 14/2006 updated the previous Assisted Reproduction Techniques Law (Law 45/2003) allowing the use of the surplus frozen embryos following IVF for research. The BNLC has a network structure with 3 nodes: the Regenerative Medicine Program (IDIBELL), the Principe Felipe Research Center (CIPF) in Valencia and the Andalusian Public Health System Biobank (SSPA Biobank) in Granada. The aim of the BNLC is to guarantee throughout the national territory the availability of human stem cell lines for biomedical research. At present time, there are 40 human embryonic stem cell lines (hESC) and 171 human induced pluripotent stem cell lines (hiPSC) registered in the BNLC. These lines are fully characterized and available in the context of research projects approved by the Technical Committee of the BNLC.
Background: The aim of this study was to test the feasibility and safety of subretinal transplantation of human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells ...into the healthy margins and within areas of degenerative retina in a swine model of geographic atrophy (GA). Methods: Well-delimited selective outer retinal damage was induced by subretinal injection of NaIO3 into one eye in minipigs (n = 10). Thirty days later, a suspension of hiPSC-derived RPE cells expressing green fluorescent protein was injected into the subretinal space, into the healthy margins, and within areas of degenerative retina. In vivo follow-up was performed by multimodal imaging. Post-mortem retinas were analyzed by immunohistochemistry and histology. Results: In vitro differentiated hiPSC-RPE cells showed a typical epithelial morphology, expressed RPE-related genes, and had phagocytic ability. Engrafted hiPSC-RPE cells were detected in 60% of the eyes, forming mature epithelium in healthy retina extending towards the border of the atrophy. Histological analysis revealed RPE interaction with host photoreceptors in the healthy retina. Engrafted cells in the atrophic zone were found in a patchy distribution but failed to form an epithelial-like layer. Conclusions: These results might support the use of hiPSC-RPE cells to treat atrophic GA by providing a housekeeping function to aid the overwhelmed remnant RPE, which might improve its survival and therefore slow down the progression of GA.
Tissue-specific cells differentiated from patient-derived human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) are a relevant cellular model to study several diseases. We obtained a hiPSC line from skin ...fibroblasts of a patient affected by familial atrial fibrillation by nucleofection of non-integrating episomal vectors. The resulting hiPSC line displays a normal karyotype, expresses pluripotency surface markers and pluripotency genes, and differentiates into cells of the 3 germ layers. Therefore, it represents a reliable model to study the disease in a physiologically relevant cellular environment.
EBCOG position statement: ethics of stem cell research Veiga, Anna; Aran, Begoña; Raya, Angel ...
European journal of obstetrics & gynecology and reproductive biology,
April 2020, 2020-Apr, 2020-04-00, 20200401, Letnik:
247
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Over the past 10 years’ significant research developments have taken place on human pluripotent stem cells and human embryonic stem cells to exploit the future potential in gene therapy and other ...focused treatments. There remains concerns around ethics of research and the fate of the human embryo used in such studies. European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology urge upon all scientists and the research bodies to adhere to the highest ethical principles of confidentiality and their actions should meet the criteria as set out by the international society for stem cell research.
Patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) are a valuable approach to model cardiovascular diseases. We nucleofected non-integrating episomal vectors in skin fibroblasts of three family ...members carrying a single nucleotide variant (SNV) in SCN5A, which encodes the cardiac-type sodium channel, and of a related healthy control. The SNV SCN5A_c.4573G > A had been previously identified in a Brugada Syndrome patient. The resulting iPS cell lines differentiate into cells of the 3 germ layers, display normal karyotypes and express pluripotency surface markers and genes. Thus, they are a reliable source to study the effect of the identified mutation in a physiologically relevant environment.
The value of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC) in regenerative medicine has yet to reach its full potential. The road from basic research tool to clinically validated PSC-derived cell therapy ...products is a long and winding one, leading researchers, clinicians, industry and regulators alike into undiscovered territory. All stakeholders must work together to ensure the development of safe and effective cell therapies. Similarly, utilization of hPSC in meaningful and controlled disease modeling and drug screening applications requires information on the quality and suitability of the applied cell lines. Central to these common goals is the complete documentation of hPSC data, including the ethical provenance of the source material, the hPSC line derivation, culture conditions and genetic constitution of the lines. Data surrounding hPSC is scattered amongst diverse sources, including publications, supplemental data, researcher lab books, accredited lab reports, certificates of analyses and public data repositories. Not all of these data sources are publicly accessible nor associated with metadata nor stored in a standard manner, such that data can be easily found and retrieved. The Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Registry (hPSCreg; https://hpscreg.eu/) was started in 2007 to impart provenance and transparency towards hPSC research by registering and collecting standard properties of hPSC lines. In this chapter, we present a short primer on the history of stem cell-based products, summarize the ethical and regulatory issues introduced in the course of working with hPSC-derived products and their associated data, and finally present the Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Registry as a valuable resource for all stakeholders in therapies and disease modeling based on hPSC-derived cells.
The effects of genetic mutations on protein function can be studied in a physiologically relevant environment using tissue-specific cells differentiated from patient-derived induced pluripotent stem ...cells (iPSC). However, it is crucial to use iPSC derived from healthy individuals as control. We generated an iPS cell line from skin fibroblasts of a healthy Caucasian male by nucleofection of non-integrating episomal vectors. This cell line has normal karyotype, expresses pluripotency surface markers and pluripotency genes, and successfully differentiates into cells of the 3 germ layers. Therefore, it can be used as control for any disease of interest that is modelled using iPSC.
Skin biopsies were obtained from two male patients with X-linked Alport syndrome (XLAS) with hemizygous COL4A5 mutations in exon 41 or exon 46. Dermal fibroblasts were extracted and reprogrammed by ...nucleofection with episomal plasmids carrying OCT3/4, SOX2, KLF4 LIN28, L-MYC and p53 shRNA. The generated induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPSC) lines AS-FiPS2-Ep6F-28 and AS-FiPS3-Ep6F-9 were free of genomically integrated reprogramming genes, had the specific mutations, a stable karyotype, expressed pluripotency markers and generated embryoid bodies which were differentiated towards the three germ layers in vitro. These iPSC lines offer a useful resource to study Alport syndrome pathomechanisms and drug testing.