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Agostinho de Sousa J, Wong CW, Dunkel I, Owens T, Voigt P, Hodgson A, Baker D, Schulz EG, Reik W, Smith A, Rostovskaya M, von Meyenn F. Epigenetic dynamics during capacitation of naïve human pluripotent stem cells. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadg1936. [PMID: 37774033 PMCID: PMC10541016 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg1936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/01/2023]
Abstract
Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are of fundamental relevance in regenerative medicine. Naïve hPSCs hold promise to overcome some of the limitations of conventional (primed) hPSCs, including recurrent epigenetic anomalies. Naïve-to-primed transition (capacitation) follows transcriptional dynamics of human embryonic epiblast and is necessary for somatic differentiation from naïve hPSCs. We found that capacitated hPSCs are transcriptionally closer to postimplantation epiblast than conventional hPSCs. This prompted us to comprehensively study epigenetic and related transcriptional changes during capacitation. Our results show that CpG islands, gene regulatory elements, and retrotransposons are hotspots of epigenetic dynamics during capacitation and indicate possible distinct roles of specific epigenetic modifications in gene expression control between naïve and primed hPSCs. Unexpectedly, PRC2 activity appeared to be dispensable for the capacitation. We find that capacitated hPSCs acquire an epigenetic state similar to conventional hPSCs. Significantly, however, the X chromosome erosion frequently observed in conventional female hPSCs is reversed by resetting and subsequent capacitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- João Agostinho de Sousa
- Laboratory of Nutrition and Metabolic Epigenetics, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, 8603 Schwerzenbach, Switzerland
| | - Chee-Wai Wong
- Laboratory of Nutrition and Metabolic Epigenetics, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, 8603 Schwerzenbach, Switzerland
| | - Ilona Dunkel
- Systems Epigenetics, Otto Warburg Laboratories, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Thomas Owens
- Epigenetics Programme, The Babraham Institute, Cambridge CB22 3AT, UK
| | - Philipp Voigt
- Epigenetics Programme, The Babraham Institute, Cambridge CB22 3AT, UK
| | - Adam Hodgson
- School of Biosciences, The Julia Garnham Centre, University of Sheffield, S10 2TN Sheffield, UK
| | - Duncan Baker
- Sheffield Diagnostic Genetics Services, Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, S5 7AU Sheffield, UK
| | - Edda G. Schulz
- Systems Epigenetics, Otto Warburg Laboratories, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Wolf Reik
- Epigenetics Programme, The Babraham Institute, Cambridge CB22 3AT, UK
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1QR, UK
- Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0AW, UK
- Centre for Trophoblast Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EG, UK
- Altos Labs Cambridge Institute of Science, Cambridge CB21 6GP, UK
| | - Austin Smith
- Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0AW, UK
- Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter, EX4 4QD Exeter, UK
| | - Maria Rostovskaya
- Epigenetics Programme, The Babraham Institute, Cambridge CB22 3AT, UK
| | - Ferdinand von Meyenn
- Laboratory of Nutrition and Metabolic Epigenetics, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, 8603 Schwerzenbach, Switzerland
- Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, King’s College London, Guy’s Hospital, SE1 9RT London, UK
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Heidari Khoei H, Javali A, Kagawa H, Sommer TM, Sestini G, David L, Slovakova J, Novatchkova M, Scholte Op Reimer Y, Rivron N. Generating human blastoids modeling blastocyst-stage embryos and implantation. Nat Protoc 2023; 18:1584-1620. [PMID: 36792779 DOI: 10.1038/s41596-023-00802-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 02/17/2023]
Abstract
Human early development sets the stage for embryonic and adult life but remains difficult to investigate. A solution came from the ability of stem cells to organize into structures resembling preimplantation embryos-blastocysts-that we termed blastoids. This embryo model is available in unlimited numbers and could thus support scientific and medical advances. However, its predictive power depends on how faithfully it recapitulates the blastocyst. Here, we describe how we formed human blastoids that (1) efficiently achieve the morphology of the blastocyst and (2) form lineages according to the pace and sequence of blastocyst development, (3) ultimately forming cells that transcriptionally reflect the blastocyst (preimplantation stage). We employ three different commercially available 96- and 24-well microwell plates with results similar to our custom-made ones, and show that blastoids form in clinical in vitro fertilization medium and can be cryopreserved for shipping. Finally, we explain how blastoids replicate the directional process of implantation into endometrial organoids, specifically when these are hormonally stimulated. It takes 4 d for human blastoids to form and 10 d to prepare the endometrial implantation assay, and we have cultured blastoids up to 6 d (time-equivalent of day 13). On the basis of our experience, we anticipate that a person with ~1 year of human pluripotent stem cell culture experience and of organoid culture should be able to perform the protocol. Altogether, blastoids offer an opportunity to establish scientific and biomedical discovery programs for early pregnancy, and an ethical alternative to the use of embryos.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heidar Heidari Khoei
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria
| | - Alok Javali
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria
| | - Harunobu Kagawa
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria
| | - Theresa Maria Sommer
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria
| | - Giovanni Sestini
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria
| | - Laurent David
- Université de Nantes, CHU Nantes, Inserm, CR2TI, UMR 1064, Nantes, France.,Université de Nantes, CHU Nantes, Inserm, CNRS, BioCore, Nantes, France
| | - Jana Slovakova
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Science (IMBA), IMBA Stem Cell Core Facility (ISCCF), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria
| | - Maria Novatchkova
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria.,Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna Biocenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria
| | - Yvonne Scholte Op Reimer
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria
| | - Nicolas Rivron
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria.
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Epigenetics as "conductor" in "orchestra" of pluripotent states. Cell Tissue Res 2022; 390:141-172. [PMID: 35838826 DOI: 10.1007/s00441-022-03667-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Pluripotent character is described as the potency of cells to differentiate into all three germ layers. The best example to reinstate the term lies in the context of embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Pluripotent ESC describes the in vitro status of those cells that originate during the complex process of embryogenesis. Pre-implantation to post-implantation development of embryo embrace cells with different levels of stemness. Currently, four states of pluripotency have been recognized, in the progressing order of "naïve," "poised," "formative," and "primed." Epigenetics act as the "conductor" in this "orchestra" of transition in pluripotent states. With a distinguishable gene expression profile, these four states associate with different epigenetic signatures, sometimes distinct while otherwise overlapping. The present review focuses on how epigenetic factors, including DNA methylation, bivalent chromatin, chromatin remodelers, chromatin/nuclear architecture, and microRNA, could dictate pluripotent states and their transition among themselves.
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