BACKGROUND: The polycomb-group (PcG) proteins function as general regulators of stem cells. We previously reported that retrovirus-mediated overexpression of Bmi1, a gene encoding a core component of polycomb repressive complex (PRC) 1, maintained self-renewing hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) during long-term culture. However, the effects of overexpression of Bmi1 on HSCs in vivo remained to be precisely addressed. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this study, we generated a mouse line where Bmi1 can be conditionally overexpressed under the control of the endogenous Rosa26 promoter in a hematopoietic cell-specific fashion (Tie2-Cre;R26Stop(FL)Bmi1). Although overexpression of Bmi1 did not significantly affect steady state hematopoiesis, it promoted expansion of functional HSCs during ex vivo culture and efficiently protected HSCs against loss of self-renewal capacity during serial transplantation. Overexpression of Bmi1 had no effect on DNA damage response triggered by ionizing radiation. In contrast, Tie2-Cre;R26Stop(FL)Bmi1 HSCs under oxidative stress maintained a multipotent state and generally tolerated oxidative stress better than the control. Unexpectedly, overexpression of Bmi1 had no impact on the level of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings demonstrate that overexpression of Bmi1 confers resistance to stresses, particularly oxidative stress, onto HSCs. This thereby enhances their regenerative capacity and suggests that Bmi1 is located downstream of ROS signaling and negatively regulated by it.

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can be generated by the expression of defined transcription factors not only from normal tissue, but also from malignant cells. Cancer-derived iPSCs are expected to provide a novel experimental opportunity to establish the disease model. We generated iPSCs from imatinib-sensitive chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) patient samples. Remarkably, the CML-iPSCs were resistant to imatinib although they consistently expressed BCR-ABL oncoprotein. In CML-iPSCs, the phosphorylation of ERK1/2, AKT, and JNK, which are essential for the maintenance of both BCR-ABL (+) leukemia cells and iPSCs, were unchanged after imatinib treatment, whereas the phosphorylation of STAT5 and CRKL was significantly decreased. These results suggest that the signaling for iPSCs maintenance compensates for the inhibition of BCR-ABL. CML-iPSC-derived hematopoietic cells recovered the sensitivity to imatinib although CD34(+)38(-)90(+)45(+) immature cells were resistant to imatinib, which recapitulated the pathophysiological feature of the initial CML. CML-iPSCs provide us with a novel platform to investigate CML pathogenesis on the basis of patient-derived samples.

Plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1), an endogenous inhibitor of a major fibrinolytic factor, tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA), can both promote and inhibit angiogenesis. The physiological role and the precise mechanisms underlying the angiogenic effects of PAI-1 remain unclear. Here we report that pharmacological inhibition of PAI-1 promoted angiogenesis and prevented tissue necrosis in a mouse model of hind limb ischemia. Improved tissue regeneration was due to an expansion of circulating and tissue-resident Gr-1(+) neutrophils, and to increased release of the angiogenic factor vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), the hematopoietic growth factor kit ligand, and the granulocyte colony stimulating growth factor (G-CSF). Immunohistochemical analysis indicated increased amounts of fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) in ischemic gastrocnemius muscle tissues of PAI-1 inhibitor-treated animals. Antibody neutralization and genetic knockout studies indicated that both the improved tissue regeneration, and the increase in both circulating and ischemic tissue resident Gr-1(+) neutrophils, depended on the activation of tPA and MMP-9, as well as on VEGF-A and FGF-2. These results suggest that pharmacologic PAI-1 inhibition activates the proangiogenic FGF-2 and VEGF-A pathways, which orchestrates neutrophil-driven angiogenesis and induces cell-driven revascularization, and is thus a potential therapy for ischemic diseases.

BACKGROUND Although hepatocytes can be an option for liver transplantation, the shortage of donor organs continues to worsen. Since the development of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology, it is eagerly anticipated to produce functional elements from pluripotent stem cells. These functional cells differentiated from iPS cells could be used for transplantation, drug screening, and in vitro toxicology. METHODS Human iPS cells are maintained on Mitomycin C-treated mouse embryonic fibroblast layers in DMEM-Ham F12-based medium supplemented with Knockout Serum Replacement, nonessential amino acids, 2-mercaptoethanol, and Glutamax. Differentiation of human iPS cells into a definitive endodermal lineage was induced with PRMI 1640 medium supplemented with B27 and 100 ng/mL human activin A. Two B27 supplements were examined with and without insulin. Furthermore, the PI3 kinase inhibitor LY294002 was used to examine the effect of inhibiting insulin signaling. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION We established efficient induction of definitive endodermal differentiation from iPS cells. Quantitative analysis revealed efficient (93.03 ± 2.74%) differentiation of human iPS cells into definitive endoderm cells using B27 minus insulin. This protocol may contribute as a fundamental technique to promote human iPS studies to develop cellular sources for transplantation.

Recent discovery of a method for derivation and culture of germline-competent rat pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) enables generation of transgenic rats or knock-out rats via genetic modification of such PSCs. This opens the way to use rats, as is routine in mice, for analyses of gene functions or physiological features. In mouse or human, one widely used technique to express a gene of interest stably and ubiquitously is to insert that gene into the Rosa26 locus via gene targeting of PSCs. Rosa26 knock-in mice conditionally expressing a reporter or a toxin gene have contributed to tracing or ablation of specific cell lineages. We successfully identified a rat orthologue of the mouse Rosa26 locus. Insertion of tdTomato, a variant of red fluorescent protein, into the Rosa26 locus of PSCs of various rat strains allows ubiquitous expression of tdTomato. Through germline transmission of one Rosa26-tdTomato knock-in embryonic stem cell line, we also obtained tdTomato knock-in rats. These expressed tdTomato ubiquitously throughout their bodies, which indicates that the rat Rosa26 locus conserves functions of its orthologues in mouse and human. The new tools described here (targeting vectors, knock-in PSCs, rats) should be useful for a variety of research using rats.

Hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) fate decisions are regulated by cell-intrinsic and cell-extrinsic cues. The latter cues are derived from the bone marrow niche. Membrane-type 1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP), which is best known for its proteolytic role in pericellular matrix remodelling, is highly expressed in HSCs and stromal/niche cells. We found that, in MT1-MMP(-/-) mice, in addition to a stem cell defect, the transcription and release of kit ligand (KitL), stromal cell derived factor-1 (SDF-1/CXCL12), erythropoietin (Epo) and interleukin-7 (IL-7) was impaired, resulting in a trilineage hematopoietic differentiation block, while addition of exogenous KitL and SDF-1 restored hematopoiesis. Further mechanistic studies revealed that MT1-MMP activates the hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) pathway via factor inhibiting HIF-1 (FIH1) within niche cells, thereby inducing the transcription of HIF-responsive genes, which induce terminal hematopoietic differentiation. Thus, MT1-MMP in niche cells regulates postnatal hematopoiesis, by modulating hematopoietic HIF-dependent niche factors that are critical for terminal differentiation and migration.

Because a shortage of donor organs has been a major obstacle to the expansion of organ transplantation programs, the generation of transplantable organs is among the ultimate goals of regenerative medicine. However, the complex cellular interactions among and within tissues that are required for organogenesis are difficult to recapitulate in vitro. As an alternative, we used blastocyst complementation to generate pluripotent stem cell (PSC)-derived donor organs in vivo. We hypothesized that if we injected PSCs into blastocysts obtained from mutant mice in which the development of a certain organ was precluded by genetic manipulation, thereby leaving a niche for organ development, the PSC-derived cells would developmentally compensate for the defect and form the missing organ. In our previous work, we showed proof-of-principle findings of pancreas generation by injection of PSCs into pancreas-deficient Pdx1(-/-) mouse blastocysts. In this study, we have extended this technique to kidney generation using Sall1(-/-) mouse blastocysts. As a result, the defective cells were totally replaced, and the kidneys were entirely formed by the injected mouse PSC-derived cells, except for structures not under the influence of Sall1 expression (ie, collecting ducts and microvasculature). These findings indicate that blastocyst complementation can be extended to generate PSC-derived kidneys. This system may therefore provide novel insights into renal organogenesis.

This study was undertaken to generate rat offspring via tetraploid blastocyst complementation with embryonic stem (ES) cells. Tetraploid blastocysts were prepared by electrofusion of blastomeres from 2-cell stage embryos, and subsequent in vivo culture for 4 days. Microinjection into the tetraploid blastocoel of an inner cell mass isolated by immunosurgery resulted in the generation of rat offspring, suggesting the successful contribution of tetraploid blastocysts to their placenta. Tetraploid blastocyst complementation was attempted with a total of 4 ES cell lines (2 lines of female karyotype and 2 lines of male karyotype). In the rESWIv-3i-5 (XX) cell line, normal fetuses in size with heart-beats were harvested on E11.5 (12.1%), E12.5 (9.5%) and E13.5 (9.1%), but no viable fetuses were detected on E14.5. Similarly, use of the rESWIv-3i-1 (XX) cell line resulted in no viable fetus production on E14.5. Using the rESBLK2i-1 (XY) cell line, viable fetuses were harvested not only on E11.5 to E13.5 (2.6 to 5.5%), but also on E14.5 (3.0%). The transfer of a total of 487 tetraploid blastocysts complemented with rESBLK2i-1 cells resulted in 256 implantation sites (52.6%) on E21.5, but no viable offspring was detected. Use of the rESBLK2i-1/huKO (XY) cell line also resulted in no viable offspring production on E21.5. Analyses of the methylation pattern in differentially methylated regions and transcript level of genes that are imprinted in mice (H19, Meg3, Igf2r, Peg5 and Peg10) in the E14.5 conceptuses indicated a marked difference between the ES cell-derived and control normal fetuses, but not between the tetraploid and control diploid placenta. Mol. Reprod. Dev. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The question of whether a single hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) gives rise to all of the B-cell subsets [B-1a, B-1b, B-2, and marginal zone (MZ) B cells] in the mouse has been discussed for many years without resolution. Studies here finally demonstrate that individual HSCs sorted from adult bone marrow and transferred to lethally irradiated recipients clearly give rise to B-2, MZ B, and B-1b, but does not detectably reconstitute B-1a cells. These findings place B-2, MZ, and B-1b in a single adult developmental lineage and place B-1a in a separate lineage derived from HSCs that are rare or missing in adults. We discuss these findings with respect to known developmental heterogeneity in other HSC-derived lymphoid, myeloid, and erythroid lineages, and how HSC developmental heterogeneity conforms to the layered model of the evolution of the immune system that we proposed some years ago. In addition, of importance to contemporary medicine, we consider the implications that HSC developmental heterogeneity may have for selecting HSC sources for human transplantation.

Checkpoints that limit stem cell self-renewal in response to DNA damage can contribute to cancer protection but may also promote tissue aging. Molecular components that control stem cell responses to DNA damage remain to be delineated. Using in vivo RNAi screens, we identified basic leucine zipper transcription factor, ATF-like (BATF) as a major component limiting self-renewal of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in response to telomere dysfunction and γ-irradiation. DNA damage induces BATF in a G-CSF/STAT3-dependent manner resulting in lymphoid differentiation of HSCs. BATF deletion improves HSC self-renewal and function in response to γ-irradiation or telomere shortening but results in accumulation of DNA damage in HSCs. Analysis of bone marrow from patients with myelodysplastic syndrome supports the conclusion that DNA damage-dependent induction of BATF is conserved in human HSCs. Together, these results provide experimental evidence that a BATF-dependent differentiation checkpoint limits self-renewal of HSCs in response to DNA damage.