Targeted genome editing via engineered nucleases is an exciting area of biomedical research and holds potential for clinical applications. Despite rapid advances in the field, in vivo targeted transgene integration is still infeasible because current tools are inefficient1, especially for non-dividing cells, which compose most adult tissues. This poses a barrier for uncovering fundamental biological principles and developing treatments for a broad range of genetic disorders2. Based on clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat/Cas9 (CRISPR/Cas9)3,4 technology, here we devise a homology-independent targeted integration (HITI) strategy, which allows for robust DNA knock-in in both dividing and non-dividing cells in vitro and, more importantly, in vivo (for example, in neurons of postnatal mammals). As a proof of concept of its therapeutic potential, we demonstrate the efficacy of HITI in improving visual function using a rat model of the retinal degeneration condition retinitis pigmentosa. The HITI method presented here establishes new avenues for basic research and targeted gene therapies.

We have previously reported that high concentrations of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) support feeder-independent growth of human embryonic stem (ES) cells, but those conditions included poorly defined serum and matrix components. Here we report feeder-independent human ES cell culture that includes protein components solely derived from recombinant sources or purified from human material. We describe the derivation of two new human ES cell lines in these defined culture conditions.

Metabolism is vital to every aspect of cell function, yet the metabolome of iPSCs remains largely unexplored. Here we report, using an untargeted metabolomics approach, that human iPSCs share a pluripotent metabolomic signature with ESCs that is distinct from their parental cells, and that is characterized by changes in metabolites involved in cellular respiration. Examination of cellular bioenergetics corroborated with our metabolomic analysis, and demonstrated that somatic cells convert from an oxidative state to a glycolytic state in pluripotency. Interestingly, the bioenergetics of various somatic cells correlated with their reprogramming efficiencies. We further identified metabolites that differ between iPSCs and ESCs, which revealed novel metabolic pathways that play a critical role in regulating somatic cell reprogramming. Our findings are the first to globally analyze the metabolome of iPSCs, and provide mechanistic insight into a new layer of regulation involved in inducing pluripotency, and in evaluating iPSC and ESC equivalence.

SUMMARY Interspecies blastocyst complementation enables organ-specific enrichment of xenogenic pluripotent stem cell (PSC) derivatives. Here, we establish a versatile blastocyst complementation platform based on CRISPR-Cas9-mediated zygote genome editing and show enrichment of rat PSC-derivatives in several tissues of gene-edited organogenesis-disabled mice. Besides gaining insights into species evolution, embryogenesis, and human disease, interspecies blastocyst complementation might allow human organ generation in animals whose organ size, anatomy, and physiology are closer to humans. To date, however, whether human PSCs (hPSCs) can contribute to chimera formation in non-rodent species remains unknown. We systematically evaluate the chimeric competency of several types of hPSCs using a more diversified clade of mammals, the ungulates. We find that naïve hPSCs robustly engraft in both pig and cattle pre-implantation blastocysts but show limited contribution to post-implantation pig embryos. Instead, an intermediate hPSC type exhibits higher degree of chimerism and is able to generate differentiated progenies in post-implantation pig embryos.

Embryonic stem cells are able to replicate continuously in the absence of senescence and, therefore, are immortal in culture1,2. While genome stability is central for survival of stem cells; proteome stability may play an equally important role in stem cell identity and function. Additionally, with the asymmetric divisions invoked by stem cells, the passage of damaged proteins to daughter cells could potentially destroy the resulting lineage of cells. We hypothesized that stem cells have an increased proteostasis ability compared to their differentiated counterparts and asked whether proteasome activity differed among human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). Notably, hESC populations exhibit a high proteasome activity that is correlated with increased levels of the 19S proteasome subunit PSMD11/RPN-63–5 and a corresponding increased assembly of the 26S/30S proteasome. Ectopic expression of PSMD11 is sufficient to increase proteasome assembly and activity. Proteasome inhibition affects pluripotency of hESCs inducing differentiation towards specific cell lineages. FOXO4, an insulin/IGF-1 responsive transcription factor associated with long lifespan in invertebrates6,7, regulates proteasome activity by modulating the expression of PSMD11 in hESCs. Our results establish a novel regulation of proteostasis in hESCs that links longevity and stress resistance in invertebrates with hESC function and identity.