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PubMed1998

Developmental complexity of early mammalian pluripotent cell populations in vivo and in vitro.

Early mammalian embryogenesis is characterised by the coordinated proliferation, differentiation, migration and apoptosis of a pluripotent cell pool that is able to give rise to extraembryonic lineages and all the cell types of the embryo proper. These cells retain pluripotent differentiation capability, defined in this paper as the ability to form all cell types of the embryo and adult, until differentiation into the three embryonic germ layers at gastrulation. Our understanding of pluripotent cell biology and molecular regulation has been hampered by the difficulties associated with experimental manipulation of these cells in vivo. However, a more detailed understanding of pluripotent cell behaviour is emerging from the application of molecular technologies to early mouse embryogenesis. The construction of mouse mutants by gene targeting, mapping of gene expression in vivo, and modelling of cell decisions in vitro are providing insight into the cellular origin, identity and action of key developmental regulators, and the nature of pluripotent cells themselves. In this review we discuss the properties of early embryonic pluripotent cells in vitro and in vivo, focusing on progression from inner cell mass (ICM) cells in the blastocyst to the onset of gastrulation.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Maintenance of pluripotential embryonic stem cells by stem cell selection.

As gastrulation proceeds, pluripotential stem cells with the capacity to contribute to all primary germ layers disappear from the mammalian embryo. The extinction of pluripotency also occurs during the formation of embryoid bodies from embryonic stem (ES) cells. In this report we show that if the initial differentiated progeny are removed from ES cell aggregates, further differentiation does not proceed and the stem cell population persists and expands. Significantly, the presence of even minor populations of differentiated cells lead to the complete loss of stem cells from the cultures. This finding implies that the normal elimination of pluripotent cells is dictated by inductive signals provided by differentiated progeny. We have exploited this observation to develop a strategy for the isolation of pluripotential cells. This approach, termed stem cell selection, may have widespread applicability to the derivation and propagation of stem cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Enrichment of blood from embryonic stem cells in vitro.

Murine embryonic stem (ES) cells are pluripotent. When injected into blastocysts they can give rise to every cell type of a derived chimeric mouse including germ cells. Embryonic stem cells also possess remarkable in vitro differentiation potential. When removed from stromal support and leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF), ES cells differentiate into structures known as embryoid bodies (EBs), in which all three germ layers develop and interact. As ES cells from humans become available there is increasing interest in the potential for EBs to provide an unlimited supply of stem cells for somatic transplantation therapies. Realisation of this potential will require greater understanding of the molecular determinants of cell fate within EBs. Also, culture techniques for selective expansion of cell lineages of interest will reduce the risks associated with transplantation of EB-derived cells. In this paper the kinetics of expression of mRNA and protein for early mesoderm markers within EBs is reported. In addition, a three-step culture system incorporating co-cultivation on the bone marrow derived stromal cell line, MC3T3-G2/PA6 (PA6), is explored as a way to select for haematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) and against undifferentiated ES cells. A system like this could enhance purification of haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) from ES cells for bone marrow transplantation.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Expression of Pax4 in embryonic stem cells promotes differentiation of nestin-positive progenitor and insulin-producing cells.

Mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells differentiate into cells of all three primary germ layers including endodermal cells that produce insulin in vitro. We show that constitutive expression of Pax4 (Pax4(+)), and to a lesser extent Pdx1 (Pdx1(+)), affects the differentiation of ES cells and significantly promote the development of insulin-producing cells. In Pax4 overexpressing R1 ES cells, isl-1, ngn3, insulin, islet amyloid polypeptide, and glucose transporter 2 (Glut-2) mRNA levels increase significantly. The number of nestin-expressing (nestin+) cells also increases. Constitutive Pax4 expression combined with selection of nestin+ cells and histotypic culture conditions give rise to spheroids containing insulin-positive granules typical of embryonal and adult beta cells. In response to glucose, Pax4(+) and wild-type ES-derived cells release insulin. Transplantation of these cells into streptozotocin-treated diabetic mice results in a normalization of blood glucose levels. We conclude that constitutive expression of Pax4 in combination with histotypic cultivation facilitates ES cell differentiation into the pancreatic lineage, which leads to the formation of islet-like spheroid structures that produce increased levels of insulin.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Tissue morphogenesis and vascular stability require the Frem2 protein, product of the mouse myelencephalic blebs gene.

Adhesive properties of cells undergoing morphogenetic rearrangements can be regulated either at the cellular level or by altering the environment in which rearrangements occur. Here, we describe the identification of a mutation (my(F11)) in the mouse extracellular matrix component Frem2, and provide evidence that suggests Frem2 expression creates an environment conducive to morphogenetic events. Loss of Frem2 function results in defects in developmental events associated with morphogenetic rearrangements of the vasculature and of tissues arising from all germ layers. The Frem2 transcript is restricted both spatially and temporally and appears in advance of cell rearrangement events. Thus, expression of Frem2 may dynamically alter the extracellular matrix to provide a substrate for cell migration and rearrangements during embryogenesis.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Mesodermal cell displacements during avian gastrulation are due to both individual cell-autonomous and convective tissue movements.

Gastrulation is a fundamental process in early development that results in the formation of three primary germ layers. During avian gastrulation, presumptive mesodermal cells in the dorsal epiblast ingress through a furrow called the primitive streak (PS), and subsequently move away from the PS and form adult tissues. The biophysical mechanisms driving mesodermal cell movements during gastrulation in amniotes, notably warm-blooded embryos, are not understood. Until now, a major challenge has been distinguishing local individual cell-autonomous (active) displacements from convective displacements caused by large-scale (bulk) morphogenetic tissue movements. To address this problem, we used multiscale, time-lapse microscopy and a particle image velocimetry method for computing tissue displacement fields. Immunolabeled fibronectin was used as an in situ marker for quantifying tissue displacements. By imaging fluorescently labeled mesodermal cells and surrounding extracellular matrix simultaneously, we were able to separate directly the active and passive components of cell displacement during gastrulation. Our results reveal the following: (i) Convective tissue motion contributes significantly to total cell displacement and must be subtracted to measure true cell-autonomous displacement; (ii) Cell-autonomous displacement decreases gradually after regression from the PS; and (iii) There is an increasing cranial-to-caudal (head-to-tail) cell-autonomous motility gradient, with caudal cells actively moving away from the PS faster than cranial cells. These studies show that, in some regions of the embryo, total mesodermal cell displacements are mostly due to convective tissue movements; thus, the data have profound implications for understanding cell guidance mechanisms and tissue morphogenesis in warm-blooded embryos.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Distinct hox protein sequences determine specificity in different tissues.

Hox genes encode evolutionarily conserved transcription factors that control the morphological diversification along the anteroposterior (A/P) body axis. Expressed in precise locations in the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm, Hox proteins have distinct regulatory activities in different tissues. How Hox proteins achieve tissue-specific functions and why cells lying at equivalent A/P positions but in different germ layers have distinctive responses to the same Hox protein remains to be determined. Here, we examine this question by identifying parts of Hox proteins necessary for Hox function in different tissues. Available genetic markers allow the regulatory effects of two Hox proteins, Abdominal-A (AbdA) and Ultrabithorax (Ubx), to be distinguished in the Drosophila embryonic epidermis and visceral mesoderm (VM). Chimeric Ubx/AbdA proteins were tested in both tissues and used to identify protein sequences that endow AbdA with a different target gene specificity from Ubx. We found that distinct protein sequences define AbdA, as opposed to Ubx, function in the epidermis vs. the VM. These sequences lie mostly outside the homeodomain (HD), emphasizing the importance of non-HD residues for specific Hox activities. Hox tissue specificity is therefore achieved by sensing distinct Hox protein structures in different tissues.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Characterization of the expression of MHC proteins in human embryonic stem cells.

Human embryonic stem (ES) cells are pluripotent cells that may be used in transplantation medicine. These cells can be induced to differentiate into cells from the three embryonic germ layers both in vivo and in vitro. To determine whether human ES cells might be rejected after transplantation, we examined cell surface expression of the MHC proteins in these cells. Our results show very low expression levels of MHC class I (MHC-I) proteins on the surface of human ES cells that moderately increase on in vitro or in vivo differentiation. A dramatic induction of MHC-I proteins was observed when the cells were treated with IFN-gamma but not with IFN-alpha or -beta. However, all three IFNs induced expression of MHC-I proteins in differentiated human ES cells. MHC-II proteins and HLA-G were not expressed on the surface of undifferentiated or differentiated cells. Ligands for natural killer cell receptors were either absent or expressed in very low levels in human ES cells and in their differentiated derivatives. In accordance, natural killer cytotoxic assays demonstrated only limited lysis of both undifferentiated and differentiated cells. To initiate a histocompatibility databank of human ES cells, we have isotyped several of the published ES cell lines for their human leukocyte antigens. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that human ES cells can express high levels of MHC-I proteins and thus may be rejected on transplantation.

Cell Differentiation↗
PubMed2002

Oxytocin induces differentiation of P19 embryonic stem cells to cardiomyocytes.

We recently discovered the existence of the oxytocin/oxytocin receptor (OT/OTR) system in the heart. Activation of cardiac OTR stimulates the release of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), which is involved in regulation of blood pressure and cell growth. Having observed elevated OT levels in the fetal and newborn heart at a stage of intense cardiomyocyte hyperplasia, we hypothesized a role for OT in cardiomyocyte differentiation. We used mouse P19 embryonic stem cells to substantiate this potential role. P19 cells give rise to the formation of cell derivatives of all germ layers. Treatment of P19 cell aggregates with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) induces differentiation to cardiomyocytes. In this work, P19 cells were allowed to aggregate from day 0 to day 4 in the presence of 0.5% DMSO, 10(-7) M OT and/or 10(-7) M OT antagonist (OTA), and then cultured in the absence of these factors until day 14. OT alone stimulated the production of beating cell colonies in all 24 independently growing cultures by day 8 of the differentiation protocol, whereas the same result was obtained in cells induced by DMSO only after 12 days. Cells induced with OT exhibited increased ANP mRNA, had abundant mitochondria (i.e., they strongly absorbed rhodamine 123), and expressed sarcomeric myosin heavy chain and dihydropyridine receptor-alpha 1, confirming a cardiomyocyte phenotype. In addition, OT as well as DMSO increased OTR protein and OTR mRNA, and OTA completely inhibited the formation of cardiomyocytes in OT- and DMSO-supplemented cultures. These results suggest that the OT/OTR system plays an important role in cardiogenesis by promoting cardiomyocyte differentiation.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Nonhuman primate parthenogenetic stem cells.

Parthenogenesis is the biological phenomenon by which embryonic development is initiated without male contribution. Whereas parthenogenesis is a common mode of reproduction in lower organisms, the mammalian parthenote fails to produce a successful pregnancy. We herein describe in vitro parthenogenetic development of monkey (Macaca fascicularis) eggs to the blastocyst stage, and their use to create a pluripotent line of stem cells. These monkey stem cells (Cyno-1 cells) are positive for telomerase activity and are immunoreactive for alkaline phosphatase, octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (Oct-4), stage-specific embryonic antigen 4 (SSEA-4), tumor rejection antigen 1-60 (TRA 1-60), and tumor rejection antigen 1-81 (TRA 1-81) (traditional markers of human embryonic stem cells). They have a normal chromosome karyotype (40 + 2) and can be maintained in vitro in an undifferentiated state for extended periods of time. Cyno-1 cells can be differentiated in vitro into dopaminergic and serotonergic neurons, contractile cardiomyocyte-like cells, smooth muscle, ciliated epithelia, and adipocytes. When Cyno-1 cells were injected into severe combined immunodeficient mice, teratomas with derivatives from all three embryonic germ layers were obtained. When grown on fibronectin/laminin-coated plates and in neural progenitor medium, Cyno-1 cells assume a neural precursor phenotype (immunoreactive for nestin). However, these cells remain proliferative and express no functional ion channels. When transferred to differentiation conditions, the nestin-positive precursors assume neuronal and epithelial morphologies. Over time, these cells acquire electrophysiological characteristics of functional neurons (appearance of tetrodotoxin-sensitive, voltage-dependent sodium channels). These results suggest that stem cells derived from the parthenogenetically activated nonhuman primate egg provide a potential source for autologous cell therapy in the female and bypass the need for creating a competent embryo.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Totipotency and normal differentiation of single teratocarcinoma cells cloned by injection into blastocysts.

A definitive test for developmental totipotency of mouse malignant teratocarcinoma cells was conducted by cloning singly injected cells in genetically marked blastocysts. Totipotency was conclusively shown in an adult mosaic female whose tumor-strain cells had made substantial contributions to all of the wide range of its somatic tissues analyzed; the clonally propagated cell lineage had therefore differentiated in numerous normal directions. The test cells were from "cores" of embryoid bodies of a euploid, chromosomally male (X/Y), ascites tumor grown only in vivo by transplantation for 8 years. The capacity of cells from the same source to differentiate, in a phenotypic male, into reproductively functional sperms, has been shown in our previous experiments [(1975) Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 72, 3585-3589]. Cells from this transplant line therefore provide material suitable for projected somatic and germ-line genetic analyses of mammalian differentiation based on "cycling" of mutation-carrying tumor cells through developing embryos. In some animals obtained from single-cell injections tumor-derived cells were sporadically distributed in developmentally unrelated tissues. These cases can be accounted for by delayed and haphazard cellular integration, and by a marked degree of sustained cellular developmental flexibility in early mammalian development, irrespective of certain classical "germ-layer" designations. All mosaic mice obtained have thus far been free of teratomas. In one case, the injected stem cell contributed only to the pancreas and gave rise to a malignancy resembling pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The high modal frequency of euploidy in these individually tested cells thus tends to indicate that a near-normal chromosome complement is sufficient for total restoration of orderly gene expression in a normal embryonic environment; it may also be necessary for teratoma stem-cell proliferation to be terminated there.

Alleles↗
PubMed1985

Expression sequences of cell adhesion molecules.

A reexamination of the expression of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) during the development of the chicken embryo was carried out using more sensitive immunocytochemical techniques than had been used previously. While the previously determined sequence of CAM expression was confirmed, neural CAM (N-CAM) was also detected on endodermal structures such as the lung epithelium, gut epithelium, and pancreas and on budding structures such as the pancreatic duct and gall bladder. It was also found on ectodermal derivatives of the skin. In most of these sites, N-CAM expression was transient, but in the chicken embryo lung, the epithelium remained positive for N-CAM and liver CAM (L-CAM) into adult life. Thus, at one time or another, both of these primary CAMs can be expressed on derivatives of all three germ layers. At sites of embryonic induction, epithelial cells expressing both L-CAM and N-CAM, or L-CAM only, were apposed to mesenchymal cells expressing N-CAM. Examples included epiblast (NL) and notochord (N); endodermal epithelium (NL) and lung mesenchyme (N); Wolffian duct (NL) and mesonephric mesenchyme (N); apical ectodermal ridge (NL) and limb mesenchyme (N); and feather placode (L) and dermal condensation (N). The cumulative observations indicate that cell surface modulation of the primary CAMs at induction sites can be classified into two modes. In mode I, expression of N-CAM (or both CAMs) in mesenchyme decreases to low amounts at the cell surface, and then N-CAM is reexpressed. In mode II, one or the other CAM disappears from epithelia expressing both CAMs. As a result of the primary processes of development, collectives of cells linked by N-CAM and undergoing modulation mode I are brought into the proximity of collectives of cells linked by L-CAM plus N-CAM or by L-CAM undergoing modulation mode II. Such adjoining cell collectives or CAM couples were found at all sites of embryonic induction examined.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1985

Reduction of gap junctional conductance by microinjection of antibodies against the 27-kDa liver gap junction polypeptide.

Antibody raised against isolated rat liver gap junctions was microinjected into coupled cells in culture to assess its influence on gap junctional conductance. A rapid inhibition of fluorescent dye transfer and electrical coupling was produced in pairs of freshly dissociated adult rat hepatocytes and myocardial cells as well as in pairs of superior cervical ganglion neurons from neonatal rats cultured under conditions in which electrotonic synapses form. The antibodies have been shown by indirect immunofluorescence to bind to punctate regions of the plasma membrane in liver. By immunoreplica analysis of rat liver homogenates, plasma membranes, and isolated gap junctions resolved on NaDodSO4/polyacrylamide gels, binding was shown to be specific for the 27-kDa major polypeptide of gap junctions. This and similar antibodies should provide a tool for further investigation of the role of cell-cell communication mediated by gap junctions and indicate that immunologically similar polypeptides comprise gap junctions in adult mammalian cells derived from all three germ layers.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Cell specificity and an effect of ras on human metallothionein gene expression.

The expression of three human metallothionein (hMT) genes has been compared in various established cell lines and primary liver. The single gene for hMT isoform II is ubiquitously expressed in all cell types in response to cadmium. In contrast, two genes encoding hMT-I isoforms are expressed in a highly specific, reciprocal fashion that correlates with the embryonic germ layer origin of the cells. In one cell line that failed to express detectable amounts of hMT-IE, treatment with the demethylating agent 5-azacytidine led to cadmium-inducible expression of this subtype. The genes for both MT-I isoforms are coordinately inducible by heavy metals but differ in their response to glucocorticoids. Surprisingly, cells transformed with the Ha-ras oncogene contain elevated basal levels of both MT-I and MT-II RNA. The implications of these results for growth-related and developmental functions of MT are discussed.

Cell Differentiation↗
PubMed1989

Intron and upstream sequences regulate expression of the Drosophila beta 3-tubulin gene in the visceral and somatic musculature, respectively.

The morphogenetic programs involved in the differentiation of internal organs, such as the muscle system, during Drosophila embryogenesis have remained largely obscure. beta 3-tubulin has proved to be a good marker for mesoderm development as this tubulin isotype is detectable soon after mesoderm formation and during the process of mesoderm differentiation. The beta 3-tubulin gene is expressed in the somatic and pharyngeal musculature, the dorsal vessel, and the visceral musculature. To learn more about the programs underlying mesodermal differentiation, we have started to dissect the regulatory elements of the beta 3-tubulin gene by means of P-element-mediated transformation experiments. We show that expression of the beta 3-tubulin gene in the somatic muscles, the pharyngeal muscles, and the dorsal vessel is mediated by far upstream sequences. We also demonstrate that the first intron of the beta 3-tubulin gene bears a tissue-specific enhancer element that is required for expression in the visceral muscles and that also functions efficiently when cloned downstream of an indicator gene. The separability of elements driving beta 3-tubulin expression in the somatic and visceral mesoderm facilitates the investigation of the different programs involved in regulating the early differentiation of this germ layer.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

BEN, a surface glycoprotein of the immunoglobulin superfamily, is expressed in a variety of developing systems.

We have previously identified a 95- to 100-kDa cell surface glycoprotein, which we named BEN (for bursal epithelium and neurons), that is widely expressed during chicken embryonic development. In the central nervous system, it is restricted to subsets of neurons including the motoneurons and the inferior olivary nucleus neurons (which provide the cerebellum with the climbing fibers) where its expression occurs during the phase of axonogenesis and synaptogenesis. In the present work, we show that BEN expression extends to a variety of tissues originating from the three embryonic germ layers. We have found that BEN immunopurified from neural, epithelial, and hemopoietic tissues is differently glycosylated and may or may not carry the HNK-1 epitope. We then cloned a full-length cDNA encoding this protein. Analysis of its sequence reveals that BEN is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily. Two molecules with an identical cDNA sequence were recently reported: DM-GRASP [Burns, F. R., Von Kannen, S., Guy, L., Raper, J. A., Kamholz, J. & Chang, S. (1991) Neuron 7, 209-220] and SC1 [Tanaka, H., Matsui, T., Agata, A., Tomura, M., Kubota, I., Mcfarland, K. C., Kohr, B., Lee, A., Phillips, H. S. & Shelton, D. L. (1991) Neuron 7, 535-545]. Their pattern of expression and structural properties are consistent with those reported for BEN. Therefore BEN, DM-GRASP, and SC1 are likely to be the same molecule of the immunoglobulin superfamily.

Activated-Leukocyte Cell Adhesion Molecule↗
PubMed1995

Taste receptor cells arise from local epithelium, not neurogenic ectoderm.

Except for taste bud cells, all sensory receptor cells and neurons have been shown to originate from neurogenic ectoderm (i.e., neural tube, neural crest, or ectodermal placodes). Descriptive studies on taste buds indicate that they, however, may arise from local epithelium. To determine whether taste receptor cells originate from neurogenic ectoderm or from local epithelium, the tongues of X chromosome-inactivation mosaic mice were examined. Results of this analysis show that taste bud cells and their surrounding epithelium always match in terms of the mosaic marker. This suggests that taste cells and epithelial cells arise from a common progenitor and that taste receptor cells originate from local tissue elements. Since taste buds are widespread in the oropharynx, they lie in epithelium derived from both ectoderm and endoderm. Therefore, taste receptor cells can be induced in tissue from two different germ layers. Thus in terms of tissues of origin, taste receptor cells are unlike other cells with neuronal characteristics.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Occurrence of poly(alpha2,8-deaminoneuraminic acid) in mammalian tissues: widespread and developmentally regulated but highly selective expression on glycoproteins.

In tissues of higher organisms homopolymers of alpha2,8-linked N-acetylneuraminic acid can be found as a posttranslational modification on selected proteins. We report here the discovery of homopolymers of alpha2,8-linked deaminoneuraminic acid [poly(alpha2,8-KDN)] in various tissues derived from all three germ layers in vertebrates including mammals. The monoclonal antibody kdn8kdn in conjunction with a bacterial KDNase permitted the detection of poly(alpha2,8-KDN) by immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting. Further evidence for the existence of poly(alpha2,8-KDN) was obtained by gas/liquid chromatography. The poly(alpha2,8-KDN) glycan was detectable in all tissues studied with the exception of mucus-producing cells present in various organs, the extracellular matrix, and basement membranes. However, in certain organs such as muscle, kidney, lung, and brain its expression was developmentally regulated. Despite its widespread tissue distribution, the poly(alpha2,8-KDN) glycan was detected on a single 150-kDa glycoprotein except for a single >350-kDa glycoprotein in kidney, which makes it most distinctive among polysialic acids. The ubiquitous yet selective expression may be indicative of a general function of the poly(alpha2,8-KDN)-bearing glycoproteins.

Animals↗