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Valerio LSA, Sugaya K. Xeno- and transgene-free reprogramming of mesenchymal stem cells toward the cells expressing neural markers using exosome treatments. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0240469. [PMID: 33048978 PMCID: PMC7553345 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0240469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2020] [Accepted: 09/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Neural stem cells (NSCs), capable of self-renew and differentiate into neural cells, hold promise for use in studies and treatments for neurological diseases. However, current approaches to obtain NSCs from a live brain are risky and invasive, since NSCs reside in the subventricular zone and the in the hippocampus dentate gyrus. Alternatively, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) could be a more available cell source due to their abundance in tissues and easier to access. However, MSCs are committed to producing mesenchymal tissue and are not capable of spontaneously differentiating into neural cells. Thus, the process of reprogramming of MSCs into neural cells to use in clinical and scientific settings has significantly impacted the advancement of regenerative medicine. Previously, our laboratory reported trans-differentiation of MSCs to neural cells through the induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells state, which was produced by overexpression of the embryonic stem cell gene NANOG. In the current study, we demonstrate that treatment with exosomes derived from NSCs makes MSCs capable of expressing neural cell markers bypassing the generation of iPS cells. An epigenetic modifier, decitabine (5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine), enhanced the process. This novel Xeno and transgene-free trans-differentiation technology eliminates the issues associated with iPS cells, such as tumorigenesis. Thus, it may accelerate the development of neurodegenerative therapies and in vitro neurological disorder models for personalized medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Sebástian Alexis Valerio
- Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, United States of America
- Institute for Scientific Research and Technology Services (INDICASAT), Panama City, Republic of Panama
- Department of Biotechnology, Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur, India
| | - Kiminobu Sugaya
- Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, United States of America
- Institute for Scientific Research and Technology Services (INDICASAT), Panama City, Republic of Panama
- * E-mail:
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Abstract
Destruction and death of neurons can lead to neurodegenerative diseases. One possible way to treat neurodegenerative diseases and damage of the nervous system is replacing damaged and dead neurons by cell transplantation. If new neurons can replace the lost neurons, patients may be able to regain the lost functions of memory, motor, and so on. Therefore, acquiring neurons conveniently and efficiently is vital to treat neurological diseases. In recent years, studies on reprogramming human fibroblasts into neurons have emerged one after another, and this paper summarizes all these studies. Scientists find small molecules and transcription factors playing a crucial role in reprogramming and inducing neuron production. At the same time, both the physiological microenvironment in vivo and the physical and chemical factors in vitro play an essential role in the induction of neurons. Therefore, this paper summarized and analyzed these relevant factors. In addition, due to the unique advantages of physical factors in the process of reprogramming human fibroblasts into neurons, such as safe and minimally invasive, it has a more promising application prospect. Therefore, this paper also summarizes some successful physical mechanisms of utilizing fibroblasts to acquire neurons, which will provide new ideas for somatic cell reprogramming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziran Xu
- The Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021 People's Republic of China
| | - Shengnan Su
- The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Jilin, Changchun, 130041 China
| | - Siyan Zhou
- Department of Stomatology, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, 130021 People's Republic of China
| | - Wentao Yang
- Norman Bethune College of Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021 People's Republic of China
| | - Xin Deng
- Norman Bethune College of Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021 People's Republic of China
| | - Yingying Sun
- The Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021 People's Republic of China.,Department of Stomatology, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, 130021 People's Republic of China
| | - Lisha Li
- The Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021 People's Republic of China
| | - Yulin Li
- The Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021 People's Republic of China
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Pan Z, Oh J, Huang L, Zeng Z, Duan P, Li Z, Yun Y, Kim J, Ha Y, Cao K. The combination of forskolin and VPA increases gene expression efficiency to the hypoxia/neuron-specific system. Ann Transl Med 2020; 8:933. [PMID: 32953733 PMCID: PMC7475429 DOI: 10.21037/atm-20-3871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Background Spinal cord injury (SCI) tends to damage neural tissue and generate a hypoxic environment. Studies have confirmed that single therapy with gene or stem cells is inefficient, but research into combining stem cells and gene therapy in treating tissue damage has been undertaken to overcome the related limitations, which include low gene delivery efficiency and therapeutic outcome. Thus, a combination of stem cells, gene therapy, and a hypoxia-specific system may be useful for the reconstruction of SCI. Methods To synergistically treat SCI, a combined platform using a hypoxia/neuron-inducible gene expression system (HNIS) and human induced-neural stem cells (hiNSCs) produced by direct reprogramming was designed. Sox2- or nestin-positive hiNSCs were differentiated to Tuj1-, MAP2-, or NeuN-positive neurons. Results HNIS showed consistent hypoxia/neuron-specific gene expression in hiNSCs cultured under hypoxia. In particular, the HNIS-hiNSC combined platform revealed a complex pattern with higher gene expression compared with a single platform. In addition, we found that an optimal combination of small molecules, such as CHIR99021, valproic acid (VPA), glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK3β), and histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors, could significantly enhance gene expression with HNIS-hiNSCs in the hypoxic environment. Conclusions This experiment demonstrated that HNIS-hiNSCs combined with GSK3 and HDAC inhibitors may present another promising strategy in the treatment of SCI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhimin Pan
- Spine Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.,Department of Neurosurgery, Spine and Spinal Cord Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.,Department of Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Jinsoo Oh
- Department of Neurosurgery, Spine and Spinal Cord Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.,Brain Korea 21 PLUS Project for Medical Science, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Lu Huang
- Department of Child Health and Care, Jiangxi Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Nanchang, China
| | - Zhaoxun Zeng
- Department of Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Pingguo Duan
- Department of Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Zhiyun Li
- Department of Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Yeomin Yun
- Department of Neurosurgery, Spine and Spinal Cord Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.,Brain Korea 21 PLUS Project for Medical Science, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Janghwan Kim
- Stem Cell Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Yoon Ha
- Department of Neurosurgery, Spine and Spinal Cord Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.,Brain Korea 21 PLUS Project for Medical Science, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Kai Cao
- Spine Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
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Capetian P, Müller L, Volkmann J, Heckmann M, Ergün S, Wagner N. Visualizing the Synaptic and Cellular Ultrastructure in Neurons Differentiated from Human Induced Neural Stem Cells-An Optimized Protocol. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:E1708. [PMID: 32131546 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21051708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2019] [Revised: 02/23/2020] [Accepted: 02/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The size of the synaptic subcomponents falls below the limits of visible light microscopy. Despite new developments in advanced microscopy techniques, the resolution of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) remains unsurpassed. The requirements of tissue preservation are very high, and human post mortem material often does not offer adequate quality. However, new reprogramming techniques that generate human neurons in vitro provide samples that can easily fulfill these requirements. The objective of this study was to identify the culture technique with the best ultrastructural preservation in combination with the best embedding and contrasting technique for visualizing neuronal elements. Two induced neural stem cell lines derived from healthy control subjects underwent differentiation either adherent on glass coverslips, embedded in a droplet of highly concentrated Matrigel, or as a compact neurosphere. Afterward, they were fixed using a combination of glutaraldehyde (GA) and paraformaldehyde (PFA) followed by three approaches (standard stain, Ruthenium red stain, high contrast en-bloc stain) using different combinations of membrane enhancing and contrasting steps before ultrathin sectioning and imaging by TEM. The compact free-floating neurospheres exhibited the best ultrastructural preservation. High-contrast en-bloc stain offered particularly sharp staining of membrane structures and the highest quality visualization of neuronal structures. In conclusion, compact neurospheres growing under free-floating conditions in combination with a high contrast en-bloc staining protocol, offer the optimal preservation and contrast with a particular focus on visualizing membrane structures as required for analyzing synaptic structures.
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