Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells have been generated from bone marrow (BM) hematopoietic progenitor cells by ectopic expression of Sox-2, Oct-4, and Klf-4 with the hope that they may differentiate more efficiently than embryonic stem (ES) cells in vitro into hematopoietic cell lineages because of their epigenetic memory. An in vitro culture system has been standardized to allow a quantitative assessment of the capacities of different ES, BM-derived iPS, and fibroblast-derived iPS cell lines developing to erythroid, myeloid, and lymphoid cell lineages. Surprisingly, the efficiency to differentiate BM-derived iPS cells to hematopoietic cells in vitro is severely reduced compared with ES cells and fibroblast-derived iPS cells. Undifferentiated as well as differentiated stages of the BM-derived iPS lines express elevated mRNA levels of the transcription factors Sox-2, Oct-4, and Klf-4 with which the iPS cells have been transduced. Overexpression of the transcription factors inhibits development of Flk-1(+) mesodermal to CD45(+) hematopoietic progenitors. The overexpression of Sox-2 appears to be inversely related to hematogenic potency. These results suggest that iPS cell generation with the aim of developing hematopoietic cells should be controlled and selected for low levels of transduced Sox-2, Oct-4, and Kfl-4 expression.

Pro-inflammatory activity and cell-mediated immune responses have been widely observed in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Besides their well-known function as antibody-producers, B cells play a key role in inflammatory responses by secreting pro- and anti-inflammatory factors. However, homeostasis of specific B cell subsets has not been comprehensively investigated in MDD. In this study, we characterized circulating B cells of distinct developmental steps including transitional, naïve-mature, antigen-experienced switched, and non-switched memory cells, plasmablasts and regulatory B cells by multi-parameter flow cytometry. In a 6-weeks follow-up, circulating B cells were monitored in a small group of therapy responders and non-responders. Frequencies of naïve lgDCD27 B cells, but not lgDCD27 memory B cells, were reduced in severely depressed patients as compared to healthy donors (HD) or mildly to moderately depressed patients. Specifically, B cells with immune-regulatory capacities such as CD1dCD5 B cells and CD24CD38 transitional B cells were reduced in MDD. Also Bm1-Bm5 classification in MDD revealed reduced Bm2' cells comprising germinal center founder cells as well as transitional B cells. We further found that reduced CD5 surface expression on transitional B cells was associated with severe depression and normalized exclusively in clinical responders. This study demonstrates a compromised peripheral B cell compartment in MDD with a reduction in B cells exhibiting a regulatory phenotype. Recovery of CD5 surface expression on transitional B cells in clinical response, a molecule involved in activation and down-regulation of B cell responses, further points towards a B cell-dependent process in the pathogenesis of MDD.

We review here our experiences with the in vitro reprogramming of somatic cells to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) and subsequent in vitro development of hematopoietic cells from these iPSC and from embryonic stem cells (ESC). While, in principle, the in vitro reprogramming and subsequent differentiation can generate hematopoietic cell from any somatic cells, it is evident that many of the steps in this process need to be significantly improved before it can be applied to human cells and used in clinical settings of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantations.

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The transcription factors SCL/Tal-1 and AML1/Runx1 control the generation of pluripotent hematopoietic stem cells (pHSC) and, thereby, primitive and definitive hematopoiesis, during embryonic development of the mouse from mesoderm. Thus, Runx1-deficient mice generate primitive, but not definitive hematopoiesis, while Tal-1-deficient mice are completely defective. Primitive as well as definitive hematopoiesis can be developed “in vitro” from embryonic stem cells (ESC). We show that wild type, as well as Tal-1−/− and Runx1−/− ESCs, induced to differentiation, all expand within 5 days to comparable numbers of Flk1+ mesodermal cells. While wild type ESCs further differentiate to primitive and definitive erythrocytes, to c-fms+Gr1+Mac1+ myeloid cells, and to B220+CD19+ B- and CD4+/CD8+ T-lymphoid cells, Runx1−/− ESCs, as expected, only develop primitive erythrocytes, and Tal-1−/− ESCs do not generate any hematopoietic cells. Retroviral transduction with Runx1 of Runx1−/− ESCs, differentiated for 4 days to mesoderm, rescues definitive erythropoiesis, myelopoiesis and lymphopoiesis, though only with 1–10% of the efficiencies of wild type ESC hematopoiesis. Surprisingly, Tal-1−/− ESCs can also be rescued at comparably low efficiencies to primitive and definitive erythropoiesis, and to myelopoiesis and lymphopoiesis by retroviral transduction with Runx1. These results suggest that Tal-1 expression is needed to express Runx1 in mesoderm, and that ectopic expression of Runx1 in mesoderm is sufficient to induce primitive as well as definitive hematopoiesis in the absence of Tal-1. Retroviral transduction of “in vitro” differentiating Tal-1−/− and Runx1−/− ESCs should be a useful experimental tool to probe selected genes for activities in the generation of hematopoietic progenitors “in vitro”, and to assess the potential transforming activities in hematopoiesis of mutant forms of Tal-1 and Runx1 from acute myeloid leukemia and related tumors.

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