SUMMARY Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are a promising source of cells for applications in regenerative medicine. Directed differentiation of hPSCs into specialized cells such as spinal motoneurons1 or midbrain dopamine (DA) neurons2 has been achieved. However, the effective use of hPSCs for cell therapy has lagged behind. While mouse PSC-derived DA neurons have shown efficacy in models of Parkinson’s disease (PD)3, 4, DA neurons from human PSCs generally display poor in vivo performance5. There are also considerable safety concerns for hPSCs related to their potential for teratoma formation or neural overgrowth6, 7 Here we present a novel floor plate-based strategy for the derivation of human DA neurons that efficiently engraft in vivo, suggesting that past failures were due to incomplete specification rather than a specific vulnerability of the cells. Midbrain floor plate precursors are derived from hPSCs in 11 days following exposure to small molecule activators of sonic hedgehog (SHH) and canonical WNT signaling. Engraftable midbrain DA neurons are obtained by day 25 and can be maintained in vitro for several months. Extensive molecular profiling, biochemical and electrophysiological data define developmental progression and confirm identity of hPSC-derived midbrain DA neurons. In vivo survival and function is demonstrated in PD models using three host species. Long-term engraftment in 6-OHDA-lesioned mice and rats demonstrates robust survival of midbrain DA neurons, complete restoration of amphetamine-induced rotation behavior and improvements in tests of forelimb use and akinesia. Finally, scalability is demonstrated by transplantation into Parkinsonian monkeys. Excellent DA neuron survival, function and lack of neural overgrowth in the three animal models indicate promise for the development of cell based therapies in PD.
Summary Reprogramming somatic cells to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), resets their identity back to an embryonic age, and thus presents a significant hurdle for modeling late-onset disorders. In this study, we describe a strategy for inducing aging-related features in human iPSC-derived lineages and apply it to the modeling of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Our approach involves expression of progerin, a truncated form of lamin A associated with premature aging. We found that expression of progerin in iPSC-derived fibroblasts and neurons induces multiple aging-related markers and characteristics, including dopamine-specific phenotypes such as neuromelanin accumulation. Induced aging in PD-iPSC-derived dopamine neurons revealed disease phenotypes that require both aging and genetic susceptibility, such as pronounced dendrite degeneration, progressive loss of tyrosine-hydroxylase (TH) expression and enlarged mitochondria or Lewy body-precursor inclusions. Thus, our study suggests that progerin-induced aging can be used to reveal late-onset age-related disease features in hiPSC-based disease models.
The enteric nervous system (ENS) is the largest component of the autonomic nervous system with neuron numbers surpassing those present in the spinal cord1. The ENS has been called the “second brain”1 given its autonomy, remarkable neurotransmitter diversity and complex cytoarchitecture. Defects in ENS development are responsible for many human disorders including Hirschsprung's disease (HSCR). HSCR is a caused by the developmental failure of ENS progenitors to migrate into the GI tract in particular the distal colon2. Human ENS development remains poorly understood due to the lack of an easily accessible model system.Here we demonstrate the efficient derivation and isolation of ENS progenitors from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) and their further differentiation into functional enteric neurons. In vitro derived ENS precursors are capable of targeted migration in the developing chick embryo and extensive colonization of the adult mouse colon. In vivo engraftment and migration of hPSC-derived ENS precursors rescues disease-related mortality in HSCR mice (EDNRBs-l/s-l), though mechanism of action remains unclear. Finally, EDNRB null mutant ENS precursors enable modeling of HSCR-related migration defects and the identification of Pepstatin A as candidate therapeutics. Our study establishes the first hPSC-based platform for the study of human ENS development and presents cell and drug-based strategies for the treatment of HSCR.
Sensory information from the periphery is integrated and transduced by excitatory and inhibitory interneurons in the dorsal spinal cord. Recent studies have identified a number of postmitotic factors that control the generation of these sensory interneurons. We show that Gsh1/2 and Ascl1 (Mash1), which are expressed in sensory interneuron progenitors, control the choice between excitatory and inhibitory cell fates in the developing mouse spinal cord. During the early phase of neurogenesis, Gsh1/2 and Ascl1 coordinately regulate the expression of Tlx3, which is a critical postmitotic determinant for dorsal glutamatergic sensory interneurons. However, at later developmental times, Ascl1 controls the expression of Ptf1a in dIL(A) progenitors to promote inhibitory neuron differentiation while at the same time upregulating Notch signaling to ensure the proper generation of dIL(B) excitatory neurons. We propose that this switch in Ascl1 function enables the cogeneration of inhibitory and excitatory sensory interneurons from a common pool of dorsal progenitors.
Embryonic stem cells (ESCs IntroductionEmbryonic stem cells (ESCs) represent a potentially unlimited source of cells for applications in regenerative medicine. One promising strategy is the derivation of midbrain dopaminergic (DA) neurons for cell replacement therapy in Parkinson disease (PD). Several protocols have been developed to obtain ESC-derived midbrain DA neurons in vitro, though current technologies are far from perfect and cell preparations often contain contaminating non-DA cell populations and potentially tumorigenic cell types (1, 2). Furthermore, despite more than 40 years of research on developing DA cell replacement paradigms, many fundamental questions critical for effective clinical translation have remained unanswered, such as the stage of DA neuron development most appropriate for transplantation; whether other non-dopamine cell types within the graft, such as glia, are necessary for in vivo DA neuron survival and function; and how closely in vitro-generated cells match the properties of authentic midbrain DA neurons generated in vivo. The use of ESC technology has the potential to address all these questions and presents a virtually unlimited source of fully defined DA neurons.One strategy to obtain highly enriched populations of midbrain DA neurons is the purification of ESC-derived progeny prior to transplantation through the use of fluorescence-activated cell
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