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Magro-Lopez E, Vazquez-Alejo E, Espinar-Buitrago MDLS, Muñoz-Fernández MÁ. Optimizing Nodal, Wnt and BMP signaling pathways for robust and efficient differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells to intermediate mesoderm cells. Front Cell Dev Biol 2024; 12:1395723. [PMID: 38887514 PMCID: PMC11182123 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2024.1395723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2024] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Several differentiation protocols have enabled the generation of intermediate mesoderm (IM)-derived cells from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC). However, the substantial variability between existing protocols for generating IM cells compromises their efficiency, reproducibility, and overall success, potentially hindering the utility of urogenital system organoids. Here, we examined the role of high levels of Nodal signaling and BMP activity, as well as WNT signaling in the specification of IM cells derived from a UCSD167i-99-1 human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) line. We demonstrate that precise modulation of WNT and BMP signaling significantly enhances IM differentiation efficiency. Treatment of hPSC with 3 μM CHIR99021 induced TBXT+/MIXL1+ mesoderm progenitor (MP) cells after 48 h of differentiation. Further treatment with a combination of 3 μM CHIR99021 and 4 ng/mL BMP4 resulted in the generation of OSR1+/GATA3+/PAX2+ IM cells within a subsequent 48 h period. Molecular characterization of differentiated cells was confirmed through immunofluorescence staining and RT-qPCR. Hence, this study establishes a consistent and reproducible protocol for differentiating hiPSC into IM cells that faithfully recapitulates the molecular signatures of IM development. This protocol holds promise for improving the success of protocols designed to generate urogenital system organoids in vitro, with potential applications in regenerative medicine, drug discovery, and disease modeling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esmeralda Magro-Lopez
- Molecular Immuno-Biology Laboratory, Immunology Section, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón (HGUGM), Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón (IiSGM), Madrid, Spain
- Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
| | - Elena Vazquez-Alejo
- Molecular Immuno-Biology Laboratory, Immunology Section, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón (HGUGM), Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón (IiSGM), Madrid, Spain
- Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
| | - María de la Sierra Espinar-Buitrago
- Molecular Immuno-Biology Laboratory, Immunology Section, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón (HGUGM), Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón (IiSGM), Madrid, Spain
- Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
| | - María Ángeles Muñoz-Fernández
- Molecular Immuno-Biology Laboratory, Immunology Section, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón (HGUGM), Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón (IiSGM), Madrid, Spain
- Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
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Atwell S, Waibel DJE, Boushehri SS, Wiedenmann S, Marr C, Meier M. Label-free imaging of 3D pluripotent stem cell differentiation dynamics on chip. CELL REPORTS METHODS 2023; 3:100523. [PMID: 37533640 PMCID: PMC10391578 DOI: 10.1016/j.crmeth.2023.100523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Revised: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
Massive, parallelized 3D stem cell cultures for engineering in vitro human cell types require imaging methods with high time and spatial resolution to fully exploit technological advances in cell culture technologies. Here, we introduce a large-scale integrated microfluidic chip platform for automated 3D stem cell differentiation. To fully enable dynamic high-content imaging on the chip platform, we developed a label-free deep learning method called Bright2Nuc to predict in silico nuclear staining in 3D from confocal microscopy bright-field images. Bright2Nuc was trained and applied to hundreds of 3D human induced pluripotent stem cell cultures differentiating toward definitive endoderm on a microfluidic platform. Combined with existing image analysis tools, Bright2Nuc segmented individual nuclei from bright-field images, quantified their morphological properties, predicted stem cell differentiation state, and tracked the cells over time. Our methods are available in an open-source pipeline, enabling researchers to upscale image acquisition and phenotyping of 3D cell culture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott Atwell
- Helmholtz Pioneer Campus, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Dominik Jens Elias Waibel
- Institute of AI for Health, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
- TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Weihenstephan, Germany
| | - Sayedali Shetab Boushehri
- Institute of AI for Health, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
- Department of Mathematics, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Data & Analytics, Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Munich (RICM), Penzberg, Germany
| | - Sandra Wiedenmann
- Helmholtz Pioneer Campus, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Carsten Marr
- Institute of AI for Health, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Matthias Meier
- Helmholtz Pioneer Campus, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
- Center for Biotechnology and Biomedicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
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Shi Y, Deng J, Sang X, Wang Y, He F, Chen X, Xu A, Wu F. Generation of Hepatocytes and Nonparenchymal Cell Codifferentiation System from Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells. Stem Cells Int 2022; 2022:3222427. [PMID: 36467281 PMCID: PMC9709383 DOI: 10.1155/2022/3222427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2022] [Revised: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2024] Open
Abstract
To date, hepatocytes derived from human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) provide a potentially unlimited resource for clinical application and drug development. However, most hiPSC-derived hepatocyte-like cells initiated differentiation from highly purified definitive endoderm, which are insufficient to accurately replicate the complex regulation of signals among multiple cells and tissues during liver organogenesis, thereby displaying an immature phenotypic and short survival time in vitro. Here, we described a protocol to achieve codifferentiation of endoderm-derived hepatocytes and mesoderm-derived nonparenchymal cells by the inclusion of BMP4 into hepatic differentiation medium, which has a beneficial effect on the hepatocyte maturation and lifespan in vitro. Our codifferentiation system suggests the important role of nonparenchymal cells in liver organogenesis. Hopefully, these hepatocytes described here provide a promising approach in the therapy of liver diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Functional Genes, College of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jiali Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Functional Genes, College of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaopu Sang
- School of Life Sciences, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Yihang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Functional Genes, College of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Fei He
- Department of Central Laboratory, Shenzhen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xiaoni Chen
- Department of Central Laboratory, Shenzhen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen, China
| | - Anlong Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Functional Genes, College of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
- School of Life Sciences, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Fenfang Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Functional Genes, College of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
- Department of Central Laboratory, Shenzhen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen, China
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4
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Liu Y, Bertels S, Reischl M, Peravali R, Bastmeyer M, Popova AA, Levkin PA. Droplet Microarray Based Screening Identifies Proteins for Maintaining Pluripotency of hiPSCs. Adv Healthc Mater 2022; 11:e2200718. [PMID: 35799451 PMCID: PMC11468593 DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202200718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Revised: 06/10/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) are crucial for disease modeling, drug discovery, and personalized medicine. Animal-derived materials hinderapplications of hiPSCs in medical fields. Thus, novel and well-defined substrate coatings capable of maintaining hiPSC pluripotency are important for advancing biomedical applications of hiPSCs. Here a miniaturized droplet microarray (DMA) platform to investigate 11 well-defined proteins, their 55 binary and 165 ternary combinations for their ability to maintainpluripotency of hiPSCs when applied as a surface coating, is used. Using this screening approach, ten protein group coatings are identified, which promote significantly higher NANOG expression of hiPSCs in comparison with Matrigel coating. With two of the identified coatings, long-term pluripotency maintenance of hiPSCs and subsequent differentiation into three germ layers are achieved. Compared with conventional high-throughput screening (HTS) in 96-well plates, the DMA platform uses only 83 µL of protein solution (0.83 µg total protein) and only ≈2.8 × 105 cells, decreasing the amount of proteins and cells ≈860 and 25-fold, respectively. The identified proteins will be essential for research and applications using hiPSCs, while the DMA platform demonstrates great potential for miniaturized HTS of scarce cells or expensive materials such as recombinant proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanxi Liu
- Institute of Biological and Chemical Systems – Functional Molecular SystemsKarlsruhe Institute of TechnologyHermann‐von‐Helmholtz‐Platz 176344Eggenstein‐LeopoldshafenGermany
| | - Sarah Bertels
- Zoological InstituteCell‐ and NeurobiologyKarlsruhe Institute of TechnologyFritz‐Haber‐Weg 476131KarlsruheGermany
| | - Markus Reischl
- Institute for Automation and Applied InformaticsKarlsruhe Institute of TechnologyHermann‐von Helmholtz‐Platz 176344Eggenstein‐LeopoldshafenGermany
| | - Ravindra Peravali
- Institute of Biological and Chemical Systems – Biological Information ProcessingKarlsruhe Institute of TechnologyHermann‐von‐Helmholtz‐Platz 176344Eggenstein‐LeopoldshafenGermany
| | - Martin Bastmeyer
- Zoological InstituteCell‐ and NeurobiologyKarlsruhe Institute of TechnologyFritz‐Haber‐Weg 476131KarlsruheGermany
- Institute of Biological and Chemical Systems – Biological Information ProcessingKarlsruhe Institute of TechnologyHermann‐von‐Helmholtz‐Platz 176344Eggenstein‐LeopoldshafenGermany
| | - Anna A. Popova
- Institute of Biological and Chemical Systems – Functional Molecular SystemsKarlsruhe Institute of TechnologyHermann‐von‐Helmholtz‐Platz 176344Eggenstein‐LeopoldshafenGermany
| | - Pavel A. Levkin
- Institute of Biological and Chemical Systems – Functional Molecular SystemsKarlsruhe Institute of TechnologyHermann‐von‐Helmholtz‐Platz 176344Eggenstein‐LeopoldshafenGermany
- Institute of Organic ChemistryKarlsruhe Institute of TechnologyKaiserstraße 1276131KarlsruheGermany
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Compera N, Atwell S, Wirth J, von Törne C, Hauck SM, Meier M. Adipose microtissue-on-chip: a 3D cell culture platform for differentiation, stimulation, and proteomic analysis of human adipocytes. LAB ON A CHIP 2022; 22:3172-3186. [PMID: 35875914 PMCID: PMC9400584 DOI: 10.1039/d2lc00245k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/16/2022] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Human fat tissue has evolved to serve as a major energy reserve. An imbalance between energy intake and expenditure leads to an expansion of adipose tissue. Maintenance of this energy imbalance over long periods leads to obesity and metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes, for which a clinical cure is not yet available. In this study, we developed a microfluidic large-scale integration chip platform to automate the formation, long-term culture, and retrieval of 3D adipose microtissues to enable longitudinal studies of adipose tissue in vitro. The chip was produced from soft-lithography molds generated by 3D-printing, which allowed scaling of pneumatic membrane valves for parallel fluid routing and thus incorporated microchannels with variable dimensions to handle 3D cell cultures with diameters of several hundred micrometers. In 32 individual fluidically accessible cell culture chambers, designed to enable the self-aggregation process of three microtissues, human adipose stem cells differentiated into mature adipocytes over a period of two weeks. Coupling mass spectrometry to the cell culture platform, we determined the minimum cell numbers required to obtain robust and complex proteomes with over 1800 identified proteins. The adipose microtissues on the chip platform were then used to periodically simulate food intake by alternating the glucose level in the cell-feeding media every 6 h over the course of one week. The proteomes of adipocytes under low/high glucose conditions exhibited unique protein profiles, confirming the technical functionality and applicability of the chip platform. Thus, our adipose tissue-on-chip in vitro model may prove useful for elucidating the molecular and functional mechanisms of adipose tissue in normal and pathological conditions, such as obesity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina Compera
- Helmholtz Pioneer Campus, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany.
| | - Scott Atwell
- Helmholtz Pioneer Campus, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany.
| | - Johannes Wirth
- Helmholtz Pioneer Campus, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany.
| | - Christine von Törne
- Metabolomics and Proteomics Core, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany
| | - Stefanie M Hauck
- Metabolomics and Proteomics Core, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany
| | - Matthias Meier
- Helmholtz Pioneer Campus, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany.
- TUM School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
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