TGF-β1 induces the formation of vascular-like structures in embryoid bodies derived from human embryonic stem cells

Establishment of a feeder and serum-free culture system for human embryonic stem cells

Stem cells are an immortal cell population capable of self-renewal; they are essential for human development and ageing and are a major focus of research in regenerative medicine. Despite considerable progress in differentiation of stem cells in vitro, culture conditions require further optimization to maximize the potential for multicellular differentiation during expansion. The aim of this study was to develop a feeder-free, serum-free culture method for human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), to establish optimal conditions for hESC proliferation, and to determine the biological characteristics of the resulting hESCs. The H9 hESC line was cultured using a homemade serum-free, feeder-free culture system, and growth was observed. The expression of pluripotency proteins (OCT4, NANOG, SOX2, LIN28, SSEA-3, SSEA-4, TRA-1-60, and TRA-1-81) in hESCs was determined by immunofluorescence and western blotting. The mRNA expression levels of genes encoding nestin, brachyury and α-fetoprotein in differentiated H9 cells were determined by RT-PCR. The newly developed culture system resulted in classical hESC colonies that were round or elliptical in shape, with clear and neat boundaries. The expression of pluripotency proteins was increased, and the genes encoding nestin, brachyury, and α-fetoprotein were expressed in H9 cells, suggesting that the cells maintained in vitro differentiation capacity. Our culture system containing a unique set of components, with animal-derived substances, maintained the self-renewal potential and pluripotency of H9 cells for eight passages. Further optimization of this system may expand the clinical application of hESCs.

Beyond organoids: In vitro vasculogenesis and angiogenesis using cells from mammals and zebrafish

The ability to culture complex organs is currently an important goal in biomedical research. It is possible to grow organoids (3D organ-like structures) in vitro; however, a major limitation of organoids, and other 3D culture systems, is the lack of a vascular network. Protocols developed for establishing in vitro vascular networks typically use human or rodent cells. A major technical challenge is the culture of functional (perfused) networks. In this rapidly advancing field, some microfluidic devices are now getting close to the goal of an artificially perfused vascular network. Another development is the emergence of the zebrafish as a complementary model to mammals. In this review, we discuss the culture of endothelial cells and vascular networks from mammalian cells, and examine the prospects for using zebrafish cells for this objective. We also look into the future and consider how vascular networks in vitro might be successfully perfused using microfluidic technology.

Modern stem cell therapy: approach to disease

Various types of stem cells exist, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Considering the current available evidence, important preclinical and clinical studies regarding the therapeutic potential of stem cells, stem cell therapy might be the important strategy for tissue repair. The development of stem cell therapy for tissue repair has primarily relied on stem cells, especially mesenchymal stem cells. Multilineage differentiation into all of the described cells are considered as important candidates for a range of diseases like neurological diseases, cardiovascular diseases, gastrointestinal cancer and genetic defects, as well as for acute and chronic wounds healing and pharmaceutical treatment. We review the properties and multipotency of stem cells and their differentiation potential, once cultured under specific growth conditions, for use in cell-based therapies and functional tissue replacement.

Stem cell-derived vasculature: A potent and multidimensional technology for basic research, disease modeling, and tissue engineering

Proper blood vessel networks are necessary for constructing and re-constructing tissues, promoting wound healing, and delivering metabolic necessities throughout the body. Conversely, an understanding of vascular dysfunction has provided insight into the pathogenesis and progression of diseases both common and rare. Recent advances in stem cell-based regenerative medicine - including advances in stem cell technologies and related progress in bioscaffold design and complex tissue engineering - have allowed rapid advances in the field of vascular biology, leading in turn to more advanced modeling of vascular pathophysiology and improved engineering of vascularized tissue constructs. In this review we examine recent advances in the field of stem cell-derived vasculature, providing an overview of stem cell technologies as a source for vascular cell types and then focusing on their use in three primary areas: studies of vascular development and angiogenesis, improved disease modeling, and the engineering of vascularized constructs for tissue-level modeling and cell-based therapies.

Cells and stimuli in small-caliber blood vessel tissue engineering

The absence of successful solutions in treatments of small-caliber vessel diseases led to the Vascular Tissue Engineering approach to develop functional nonimmunogenic tissue engineered blood vessels. In this context, the choice of cells to be seeded and the microenvironment conditioning are pivotal. Biochemical and biomechanical stimuli seem to activate physiological regulatory pathways that induce the production of molecules and proteins stimulating stem cell differentiation toward vascular lineage and reproducing natural cross-talks among vascular cells to improve the maturation of tissue engineered blood vessels. Thus, this review focuses on (1) available cell sources, and (2) biochemical and biomechanical stimuli, with the final aim to obtain the long-term stability of the endothelium and mechanical properties suitable for withstanding physiological load.

Differentiation of embryonic stem cells into cardiomyocytes used to investigate the cardioprotective effect of salvianolic acid B through BNIP3 involved pathway

Cardiovascular diseases are related to many risk factors, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, smoking, and obesity. Myocardial infarction (MI), a cardiovascular disease, is the most common cause of cardiomyocyte death. In MI, hypoxia induces cardiomyocyte apoptosis; in particular, diabetes combined with MI has a synergistic effect that exacerbates cardiomyocyte death. The hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF1α) transcriptional factor and a BH-3 only protein, Bcl-2 adenovirus E1B 19-kDa interacting protein 3 (BNIP3), are known to play fundamental roles in both adaptive and cell death processes in response to hypoxia. In addition, most cardioprotective studies used H9c2 cells that were not beating, so H9c2 cells may not be the best model for testing cardioprotective effects. Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent stem cells that are able to differentiate into several types of cells, including cardiomyocytes. In this study, we reveal a simple method to differentiate ESCs into cardiomyocytes by using poly-d-lysine-coated plates combined with ITS and N2-containing medium and characterized the ESC-derived cardiomyocytes by cardiomyocyte marker staining. The ESC-derived cardiomyocytes were used to investigate the protective effect of salvianolic acid B (Sal-B) in high glucose combined with hypoxic conditions to mimic diabetes patients with ischemia. The results of MTT and TUNEL assays indicate that Sal-B suppresses the apoptotic effect of treatment with high glucose combined with hypoxia in ESC-derived cardiomyocytes. In particular, Sal-B inhibited HIF1α, BNIP3, and cleavage caspase 3 expression levels, thereby suppressing apoptosis. This is the first study to mention the correlation between BNIP3 and Sal-B for cardioprotective effects. In conclusion, we suggest that Sal-B may be suitable for use as a future cardioprotective medicine.