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Horer S, Feichtinger M, Rosner M, Hengstschläger M. Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived In Vitro Gametogenesis and Synthetic Embryos-It Is Never Too Early for an Ethical Debate. Stem Cells Transl Med 2023; 12:569-575. [PMID: 37471266 PMCID: PMC10502567 DOI: 10.1093/stcltm/szad042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Recently, 2 branches of the wide area of synthetic biology-in vitro gametogenesis and synthetic embryo development-have gained considerable attention. Rodent induced pluripotent stem cells derived via reprogramming of somatic cells can in vitro be differentiated into gametes to produce fertile offspring. And even synthetic embryos with organ progenitors were generated ex utero entirely from murine pluripotent stem cells. The use of these approaches in basic research, which is rightfully accompanied by an ethical discussion, will allow hitherto unattainable insights into the processes of the beginning of life. There is a broad international consensus that currently the application of these technologies in human-assisted reproduction must be considered to be unsafe and unethical. However, newspaper headlines also addressed the putatively resulting paradigm shift in human reproduction and thereby raised expectations in patients. Due to unsolved biological and technological obstacles, most scientists do not anticipate translation of any of these approaches into human reproductive medicine, if ever, for the next 10 years. Still, whereas the usage of synthetic embryos for reproductive purposes should be banned, in the context of in vitro-derived human gametes it is not too early to initiate the evaluation of the ethical implications, which could still remain assuming all technological hurdles can ever be cleared.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie Horer
- Institute of Medical Genetics, Center of Pathobiochemistry and Genetics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Margit Rosner
- Institute of Medical Genetics, Center of Pathobiochemistry and Genetics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Markus Hengstschläger
- Institute of Medical Genetics, Center of Pathobiochemistry and Genetics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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Sukhbaatar N, Schöller M, Fritsch SD, Linke M, Horer S, Träger M, Mazić M, Forisch S, Gonzales K, Kahler JP, Binder C, Lassnig C, Strobl B, Müller M, Scheiber-Mojdehkar B, Gundacker C, Dabsch S, Kain R, Hengstschläger M, Verhelst SHL, Weiss G, Theurl I, Weichhart T. Duodenal macrophages control dietary iron absorption via local degradation of transferrin. Blood 2023; 141:2878-2890. [PMID: 37018657 PMCID: PMC10646810 DOI: 10.1182/blood.2022016632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2022] [Revised: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 02/15/2023] [Indexed: 04/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Iron is an essential cellular metal that is important for many physiological functions including erythropoiesis and host defense. It is absorbed from the diet in the duodenum and loaded onto transferrin (Tf), the main iron transport protein. Inefficient dietary iron uptake promotes many diseases, but mechanisms regulating iron absorption remain poorly understood. By assessing mice that harbor a macrophage-specific deletion of the tuberous sclerosis complex 2 (Tsc2), a negative regulator of mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1), we found that these mice possessed various defects in iron metabolism, including defective steady-state erythropoiesis and a reduced saturation of Tf with iron. This iron deficiency phenotype was associated with an iron import block from the duodenal epithelial cells into the circulation. Activation of mTORC1 in villous duodenal CD68+ macrophages induced serine protease expression and promoted local degradation of Tf, whereas the depletion of macrophages in mice increased Tf levels. Inhibition of mTORC1 with everolimus or serine protease activity with nafamostat restored Tf levels and Tf saturation in the Tsc2-deficient mice. Physiologically, Tf levels were regulated in the duodenum during the prandial process and Citrobacter rodentium infection. These data suggest that duodenal macrophages determine iron transfer to the circulation by controlling Tf availability in the lamina propria villi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nyamdelger Sukhbaatar
- Center of Pathobiochemistry and Genetics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Maria Schöller
- Center of Pathobiochemistry and Genetics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Monika Linke
- Center of Pathobiochemistry and Genetics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Stefanie Horer
- Center of Pathobiochemistry and Genetics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Manuela Träger
- Center of Pathobiochemistry and Genetics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Mario Mazić
- Center of Pathobiochemistry and Genetics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Stephan Forisch
- Center of Pathobiochemistry and Genetics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Karine Gonzales
- Center of Pathobiochemistry and Genetics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Jan Pascal Kahler
- Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Carina Binder
- Department of Pathology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Caroline Lassnig
- Biomodels Austria and Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Birgit Strobl
- Biomodels Austria and Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Mathias Müller
- Biomodels Austria and Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Claudia Gundacker
- Center of Pathobiochemistry and Genetics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Stefanie Dabsch
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine III, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Renate Kain
- Department of Pathology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Markus Hengstschläger
- Center of Pathobiochemistry and Genetics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Steven H. L. Verhelst
- Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Günter Weiss
- Department of Internal Medicine II, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Igor Theurl
- Department of Internal Medicine II, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Thomas Weichhart
- Center of Pathobiochemistry and Genetics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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Rosner M, Horer S, Feichtinger M, Hengstschläger M. Multipotent fetal stem cells in reproductive biology research. Stem Cell Res Ther 2023; 14:157. [PMID: 37287077 DOI: 10.1186/s13287-023-03379-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Due to the limited accessibility of the in vivo situation, the scarcity of the human tissue, legal constraints, and ethical considerations, the underlying molecular mechanisms of disorders, such as preeclampsia, the pathological consequences of fetomaternal microchimerism, or infertility, are still not fully understood. And although substantial progress has already been made, the therapeutic strategies for reproductive system diseases are still facing limitations. In the recent years, it became more and more evident that stem cells are powerful tools for basic research in human reproduction and stem cell-based approaches moved into the center of endeavors to establish new clinical concepts. Multipotent fetal stem cells derived from the amniotic fluid, amniotic membrane, chorion leave, Wharton´s jelly, or placenta came to the fore because they are easy to acquire, are not associated with ethical concerns or covered by strict legal restrictions, and can be banked for autologous utilization later in life. Compared to adult stem cells, they exhibit a significantly higher differentiation potential and are much easier to propagate in vitro. Compared to pluripotent stem cells, they harbor less mutations, are not tumorigenic, and exhibit low immunogenicity. Studies on multipotent fetal stem cells can be invaluable to gain knowledge on the development of dysfunctional fetal cell types, to characterize the fetal stem cells migrating into the body of a pregnant woman in the context of fetomaternal microchimerism, and to obtain a more comprehensive picture of germ cell development in the course of in vitro differentiation experiments. The in vivo transplantation of fetal stem cells or their paracrine factors can mediate therapeutic effects in preeclampsia and can restore reproductive organ functions. Together with the use of fetal stem cell-derived gametes, such strategies could once help individuals, who do not develop functional gametes, to conceive genetically related children. Although there is still a long way to go, these developments regarding the usage of multipotent fetal stem cells in the clinic should continuously be accompanied by a wide and detailed ethical discussion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margit Rosner
- Institute of Medical Genetics, Center for Pathobiochemistry and Genetics, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Strasse 10, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Stefanie Horer
- Institute of Medical Genetics, Center for Pathobiochemistry and Genetics, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Strasse 10, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Markus Hengstschläger
- Institute of Medical Genetics, Center for Pathobiochemistry and Genetics, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Strasse 10, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
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