CD90 Marks a Mesenchymal Program in Human Thymic Epithelial Cells In Vitro and In Vivo

Mesenchymal stem cells reverse thymus aging by reprogramming the DNA methylation of thymic epithelial cells

Background

A decrease in the number and activity of thymic epithelial cells (TECs) is an important factor in thymic degeneration. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) treating thymic ageing is a promising strategy, but the DNA methylation modification mechanism in TECs remains unclear.

Methods

Aged rhesus monkeys were treated with MSCs to establish a thymic senescence model, and hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, immunofluorescence staining, and ELISA were performed to observe the structure and function of the thymus. TEC aging model and MSCs co-culture system were established to detect DNA methylation modification and transcriptomic changes, correlation analysis between transcription factor methylation and mRNA expression, and q-PCR, immunofluorescence staining, and Western blot were used to identified key genes.

Results

MSCs improved the structure and function of thymus in elderly macaque monkeys; reduced the expression levels of β-Gal, P16, and P21; and increased the activity of aging TECs. There were 501 genes with increased methylation in the promoter region in the treated group compared with the untreated group, among which 23 genes were involved in the negative regulation of cell growth, proliferation and apoptosis, while 591 genes had decreased methylation, among which 37 genes were associated with promoting cell growth and proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis. Furthermore, 66 genes showed a negative correlation between promoter methylation levels and gene transcription; specifically, PDE5A, DUOX2, LAMP1 and SVIL were downregulated with increased methylation, inhibiting growth and development, while POLR3G, PGF, CHTF18, KRT17, FOXJ1, NGF, DYRK3, LRP8, CDT1, PRELID1, F2R, KNTC1 and TRIM3 were upregulated with decreased methylation, promoting cell growth.

Conclusion

MSCs improve the structure and function of aged thymus, which involves the regulation of DNA methylation profiles and a decrease in the methylation level of the transcription factor NGF to specifically upregulate KRT17 and FOXJ1 to promote the proliferation of TECs.

HOXA3 functions as the on-off switch to regulate the development of hESC-derived third pharyngeal pouch endoderm through EPHB2-mediated Wnt pathway

Objectives

Normal commitment of the endoderm of the third pharyngeal pouch (3PP) is essential for the development and differentiation of the thymus. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of transcription factor HOXA3 in the development and differentiation of 3PP endoderm (3PPE) from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs).

Methods

The 3PPE was differentiated from hESC-derived definitive endoderm (DE) by mimicking developmental queues with Activin A, WNT3A, retinoic acid and BMP4. The function of 3PPE was assessed by further differentiating into functional thymic epithelial cells (TECs). The effect of HOXA3 inhibition on cells of 3PPE was subsequently investigated.

Results

A highly efficient approach for differentiating 3PPE cells was developed and these cells expressed 3PPE related genes HOXA3, SIX1, PAX9 as well as EpCAM. 3PPE cells had a strong potential to develop into TECs which expressed both cortical TEC markers K8 and CD205, and medullary TEC markers K5 and AIRE, and also promoted the development and maturation of T cells. More importantly, transcription factor HOXA3 not only regulated the differentiation of 3PPE, but also had a crucial role for the proliferation and migration of 3PPE cells. Our further investigation revealed that HOXA3 controlled the commitment and function of 3PPE through the regulation of Wnt signaling pathway by activating EPHB2.

Conclusion

Our results demonstrated that HOXA3 functioned as the on-off switch to regulate the development of hESC-derived 3PPE through EPHB2-mediated Wnt pathway, and our findings will provide new insights into studying the development of 3PP and thymic organ in vitro and in vivo.

Biomedical Application of Decellularized Scaffolds

Tissue loss and end-stage organ failure are serious health problems across the world. Natural and synthetic polymer scaffold material based artificial organs play an important role in the field of tissue engineering and organ regeneration, but they are not from the body and may cause side effects such as rejection. In recent years, the biomimetic decellularized scaffold based materials have drawn great attention in the tissue engineering field for their good biocompatibility, easy modification, and excellent organism adaptability. Therefore, in this review, we comprehensively summarize the application of decellularized scaffolds in tissue engineering and biomedicine in recent years. The preparation methods, modification strategies, construction of artificial tissues, and application in biomedical applications are discussed. We hope that this review will provide a useful reference for research on decellularized scaffolds and promote their application tissue engineering.

Generation and molecular characterization of human pluripotent stem cell-derived pharyngeal foregut endoderm

Approaches to study human pharyngeal foregut endoderm-a developmental intermediate that is linked to various human syndromes involving pharynx development and organogenesis of tissues such as thymus, parathyroid, and thyroid-have been hampered by scarcity of tissue access and cellular models. We present an efficient stepwise differentiation method to generate human pharyngeal foregut endoderm from pluripotent stem cells. We determine dose and temporal requirements of signaling pathway engagement for optimized differentiation and characterize the differentiation products on cellular and integrated molecular level. We present a computational classification tool, "CellMatch," and transcriptomic classification of differentiation products on an integrated mouse scRNA-seq developmental roadmap confirms cellular maturation. Integrated transcriptomic and chromatin analyses infer differentiation stage-specific gene regulatory networks. Our work provides the method and integrated multiomic resource for the investigation of disease-relevant loci and gene regulatory networks and their role in developmental defects affecting the pharyngeal endoderm and its derivatives.

Human pluripotent stem cell-derived macrophages host Mycobacterium abscessus infection

Human macrophages are a natural host of many mycobacterium species, including Mycobacterium abscessus (M. abscessus), an emerging pathogen affecting immunocompromised and cystic fibrosis patients with few available treatments. The search for an effective treatment is hindered by the lack of a tractable in vitro intracellular infection model. Here, we established a reliable model for M. abscessus infection using human pluripotent stem cell-derived macrophages (hPSC-macrophages). hPSC differentiation permitted reproducible generation of functional macrophages that were highly susceptible to M. abscessus infection. Electron microscopy demonstrated that M. abscessus was present in the hPSC-macrophage vacuoles. RNA sequencing analysis revealed a time-dependent host cell response, with differing gene and protein expression patterns post-infection. Engineered tdTOMATO-expressing hPSC-macrophages with GFP-expressing mycobacteria enabled rapid image-based high-throughput analysis of intracellular infection and quantitative assessment of antibiotic efficacy. Our study describes the first to our knowledge hPSC-based model for M. abscessus infection, representing a novel and accessible system for studying pathogen-host interaction and drug discovery.

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A simplified chemically defined and serum-free protocol for the generation of functional macrophages from hPSCs

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An efficient human model recapitulating intracellular infection of Mycobacterium abscessus in hPSC-macrophages

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A high-throughput system testing antibiotic sensitivity with fluorescent hPSC-macrophages and M. abscessus