Name: directed differentiation of hemogenic endothelial cells from human pluripotent stem cells
Uploaded: 2021-03-31T14:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Directed Differentiation of Hemogenic Endothelial Cells from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells at JoVE.com

This work was partially supported by NIH grants HL128064 and U2EB017103. Further support was provided by CT Innovations 15-RMB-YALE-04 grant.

1. Reagents and reagent preparation
NOTE: A list of reagents is provided in Table of Materials.
<ol>
	<li>Obtain the human pluripotent stem cell lines: H1-hESC, H9-Fucci-hESC. 
	NOTE: The generation of hemogenic ECs may be more efficient in the H1 cell line.</li>
	<li>Prepare matrix protein stocks: Aliquot the matrix protein into pre-chilled 1.5 mL tubes (on ice) so that each tube contains 1 mg of matrix protein. 1 mg of matrix protein is enough to coat all wells of two...

<ol>
	<li>Giacomelli, E., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Three-dimensional+cardiac+microtissues+composed+of+cardiomyocytes+and+endothelial+cells+co-differentiated+from+human+pluripotent+stem+cells.">Three-dimensional cardiac microtissues composed of cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells co-differentiated from human pluripotent stem cells.</a> Development. 144 (6), 1008-1017 (2017).</li><li>Wu, J., Wu, Z., Xue, Z., Li, H., Liu, J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=PHBV/bioglass+composite+scaffolds+with+co-cultures+of+endothelial+cells+and+bone+marrow+stromal+cells+improve+vascularization+and+osteogenesis+for+bone+tissue+engineering.">PHBV/bioglass composite scaffolds with co-cultures of endothelial cells and bone marrow stromal cells improve vascularization and osteogenesis for bone tissue engineering.</a> RSC Advances. 7 (36), 22197-22207 (2017).</li><li>Lee, H., Chung, M., Jeon, N. 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C. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Generation+of+endothelial+cells+from+human+pluripotent+stem+cells:+Methods,+considerations,+and+applications.">Generation of endothelial cells from human pluripotent stem cells: Methods, considerations, and applications.</a> Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 39 (7), 1317-1329 (2019).</li><li>Olmer, R., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Differentiation+of+human+pluripotent+stem+cells+into+functional+endothelial+cells+in+scalable+suspension+culture.">Differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into functional endothelial cells in scalable suspension culture.</a> Stem Cell Reports. 10 (5), 1657-1672 (2018).</li><li>Cossu, G., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Lancet+Commission:+Stem+cells+and+regenerative+medicine.">Lancet Commission: Stem cells and regenerative medicine.</a> The Lancet. 391 (10123), 883-910 (2018).</li><li>Fox, I. 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Herein, the steps for producing hemogenic endothelial cells from human embryonic stem cells in approximately 1 week using a murine feeder- and serum-free 2D culture system (Figure 1) are outlined. This protocol expands on a method described by Sriram et al. (2015) to obtain primordial ECs38. The primordial nature and specification potential of the CD31+ CD45- ECs is demonstrated by culturing these cells on DLL4-coated plates and observing gene ex...

Endothelial cells (ECs) are a heterogeneous population of cells that perform multiple functions throughout the human body and in engineered tissues. In addition to supporting and regulating other cell types (i.e., cardiomyocytes1, osteoblastic cells2), these functions include forming a selective barrier between blood and tissues and assisting in tissue formation3. Differentiation of mature ECs during normal development requires diverse signaling pathways. Primordial ECs are derived from mesoderm progenitors, and are then specified toward mature arterial, venous, capillary and lymphatic phenotypes4. Additionally, a small subset of ECs in the extraembryonic yolk sac and embryonic Aorta-Gonad-Mesonephros (AGM) region are also specified to become hemogenic ECs, which give rise to hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) that migrate to the fetal liver and fetal bone marrow, where they remain postnatally and generate all blood cell types throughout life4. The diverse range of EC phenotypes is essential for all tissue development and maintenance.
Thus, ECs and their derivatives are critical components of studies aimed at modeling, and elucidating mechanisms of, human development and/or disease, as well as regenerative medicine and tissue engineering applications5,6,7,8. However, the main limitation for these types of studies is the lack of availability of primary human ECs in the quantity required. It has been estimated that a minimum of 3 x 108 ECs would be required for the majority of therapeutic applications6. To solve this problem, the use of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) has been proposed due to their diverse lineage potential and their ability to generate large numbers of progeny6,9.
Indeed, the usefulness of cells derived from hESCs or hiPSCs has been demonstrated in multiple studies focused on disease modeling and drug screening10,11,12. Organ-on-a-Chip (OOC) technology has been used to more faithfully recapitulate the physiology of the human body by integrating cells and tissues into three-dimensional scaffolds. Furthermore, connection of multiple individual OOCs (a so-called body- or human-on-a-chip, BOC/HOC) can be accomplished via microfluidics to allow for crosstalk between the organs of interest13,14,15. Supporting tissues, such as the vasculature, are critical components of OOCs and BOC/HOCs; incorporating vasculature allows for the transport of nutrients, oxygen, and paracrine factors throughout the tissues, thereby promoting the requisite tissue-specific microenvironment3,12. Thus, methods for deriving mature human ECs, such as arterial, venous, lymphatic, and hemogenic ECs, are crucial to advancing these tissue engineering approaches.
Multiple protocols have been published detailing steps for the derivation of human primordial or progenitor ECs from hESCs or hiPSCs5,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26. Many of these protocols rely on embryoid body (EB) formation or co-culture of ESCs/iPSCs with a murine feeder layer of stromal cells. These strategies tend to be difficult and time consuming, with low EC yields and/or contamination of human ECs with murine cells. Protocols that rely strictly on 2D culture without the use of stromal cells often require long inductions, utilize complex combinations of growth factors and/or inhibitors for induction, have extended expansion periods following cell separation, or a combination of these factors. Advancing knowledge of signaling pathways and factors involved in the derivation of mature EC types in vivo provides the groundwork for a straightforward and robust in vitro differentiation protocol.
Previously, key roles for Notch and Retinoic Acid (RA) signaling pathways in the specification of murine arterial and hemogenic ECs, respectively, during development were identified. The Notch signaling pathway plays multiple roles in the specification and maintenance of the arterial EC phenotype. Work using the murine retinal vascularization model identified a pathway in which fluid shear stress induces a Notch-Cx37-p27 signaling axis, promoting G1 cell cycle arrest, which enables arterial EC specification27. Cell cycle states have been hypothesized to play a role in cell fate decisions by providing distinct windows of opportunity in which cells are receptive to certain signals that can induce gene expression and phenotypic changes28. This Notch-mediated G1 arrest enabled the expression of genes enriched in arterial ECs, including ephrinB2, Cx40, DLL4, Notch1, and Notch 4 (reviewed in29,30). It has also been shown that hemogenic EC specification is promoted in vivo via RA signaling31,32. Additional studies identified that, downstream of RA signaling, expression of c-Kit and Notch upregulate p27, which enables hemogenic specification in the murine yolk sac and AGM33. Murine hemogenic ECs can be minimally identified by expression of both endothelial (i.e., CD31, KDR) and hematopoietic (i.e., c-Kit, CD34) markers4. Finally, hemogenic ECs undergo an endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition (EHT) to form HSPCs, which can give rise to all blood cell types4,34,35.
Recent work tested whether this same signaling hierarchy can promote human hemogenic EC specification. To do so, a serum- and feeder-free 2D culture protocol to derive hemogenic ECs from hESCs was developed, and these hemogenic ECs were characterized on a single cell level as CD31+ KDR+ c-Kit+ CD34+ VE-Cadherin- CD45-. This study also took advantage of the Fluorescent Ubiquitination Cell Cycle Indicator (FUCCI) reporter, which identifies different cell cycle states, using H9-hESCs that express the FUCCI reporter construct (H9-FUCCI-hESC)36. In studies with these cells, it was demonstrated that RA promotes early G1 cell cycle arrest in ECs, and early G1 state enables hemogenic specification in vitro37. Herein, a detailed protocol for the differentiation of these human hemogenic endothelial cells and assays confirming their identity are provided. This straightforward method provides a useful means of generating this specialized subset of ECs for future studies of mechanisms of human blood cell development.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>15 cm dishes</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>430599</td>
			<td>tissue culture treated</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>35 mm dishes</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>430165</td>
			<td>tissue culture treated</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>6-well plates</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>3516</td>
			<td>tissue culture treated</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Antimicrobial reagent 
			Brand Name: Normocin</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>ant-nr-1</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>bFGF</td>
			<td>R&#38;D systems</td>
			<td>233-FB-025</td>
			<td>use at 50 ng/mL</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>BMP4</td>
			<td>BioLegend</td>
			<td>595202</td>
			<td>use at 25 ng/mL</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA)</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>BP1600-1</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cell Detatchment Solution 
			Brand Name: vAccutase</td>
			<td>Stemcell Technologies</td>
			<td>7920</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO)</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>D2650-100mL</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dispase</td>
			<td>Stemcell Technologies</td>
			<td>7913</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>DLL4</td>
			<td>R&#38;D systems</td>
			<td>1506-D4/CF</td>
			<td>recombinant human; use at 10 &#956;g/mL</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>DMEM:F12</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>11320-033</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dulbecco&#39;s Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS)</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>14190144</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Endothelial cell growth medium 
			Brand Name: EGM-2 Endothelial Cell Growth Medium-2 BulletKit (EGM-2)</td>
			<td>Lonza</td>
			<td>CC-3162</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>FACS tubes</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>352235</td>
			<td>polystyrene round bottom with filter cap</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS)</td>
			<td>Gemini Bio</td>
			<td>100-106</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fibronectin</td>
			<td>ThermoFisher Scientific</td>
			<td>33016015</td>
			<td>use at 4 mg/cm2</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>GSK3i/CHIR99021</td>
			<td>Stemgent</td>
			<td>04-0004-02</td>
			<td>10 mM stock; use at 5 &#956;M</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hanks Balanced Salt Solution (HBSS)</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>14175-095</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hydrochloric Acid (HCl)</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>A144S-500</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Matrix protein&#160; 
			Brand Name: Matrigel</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>356230</td>
			<td>Growth factor reduced. Refer to the Certificate of Analysis for the lot to determine the protein (Matrigel) concentration. This concentration is required to calculate the volume of Matrigel that contains 1 mg of protein.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Methylcellulose-based medium 
			Brand Name: MethoCult H4435 Enriched</td>
			<td>Stemcell Technologies</td>
			<td>4435</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Pluripotent stem cell differentiation medium 
			Brand Name: STEMdiff APEL 2</td>
			<td>Stemcell Technologies</td>
			<td>5270</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Pluripotent stem cells: H1, H9, H9-FUCCI</td>
			<td>WiCell</td>
			<td>WA09 (H9), WA01 (H1)</td>
			<td>human; H9-FUCCI were obtained from Dr. Ludovic Vallier&#39;s lab at Cambridge Stem Cell Institute</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Protein-Free Hybridoma Medium (PFMH)</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>12040077</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Retinoic Acid</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>R2625-50mg</td>
			<td>use at 0.5 &#956;M</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Reverse transcription master mix 
			Brand Name: iScript Reverse Transcription Supermix</td>
			<td>BioRad</td>
			<td>1708840</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>RNA extraction kit 
			Brand Name: RNeasy Mini Kit</td>
			<td>Qiagen</td>
			<td>74104</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH)</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>SS255-1</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Stem cell growth medium 
			Brand Name: mTeSR1</td>
			<td>Stemcell Technologies</td>
			<td>85850</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>SYBR Green master mix 
			Brand Name: iTaq Universal SYBR Green Master Mix</td>
			<td>BioRad</td>
			<td>1725121</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Trypsin-EDTA</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>25299956</td>
			<td>0.25%</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>VEGF165 (VEGF-A)</td>
			<td>PeproTech</td>
			<td>100-20</td>
			<td>use at 50 ng/mL</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>&#945;-CD31-FITC</td>
			<td>BioLegend</td>
			<td>303104</td>
			<td>2 &#956;g/mL*</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>&#945;-CD34-Pacific Blue</td>
			<td>BioLegend</td>
			<td>343512</td>
			<td>2 &#956;g/mL*</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>&#945;-CD45-APC/Cy7</td>
			<td>BioLegend</td>
			<td>304014</td>
			<td>2 &#956;g/mL*</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>&#945;-c-Kit-APC</td>
			<td>BioLegend</td>
			<td>313206</td>
			<td>2 &#956;g/mL*</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>&#945;-Flk-1-PE/Cy7</td>
			<td>BioLegend</td>
			<td>359911</td>
			<td>2 &#956;g/mL*</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>&#945;-VE-Cadherin-PE</td>
			<td>BioLegend</td>
			<td>348506</td>
			<td>2 &#956;g/mL*</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td colspan="4">* Antibody fluorescent conjugates should be optimized based on the cell sorter used. Presented here are the final concentrations utilized in this study.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

directed differentiation of hemogenic endothelial cells from human pluripotent stem cells

Blood vessels are ubiquitously distributed within all tissues of the body and perform diverse functions. Thus, derivation of mature vascular endothelial cells, which line blood vessel lumens, from human pluripotent stem cells is crucial for a multitude of tissue engineering and regeneration applications. In vivo, primordial endothelial cells are derived from the mesodermal lineage and are specified toward specific subtypes, including arterial, venous, capillary, hemogenic, and lymphatic. Hemogenic endothelial cells are of particular interest because, during development, they give rise to hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, which then generate all blood lineages throughout life. Thus, creating a system to generate hemogenic endothelial cells in vitro would provide an opportunity to study endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition, and may lead to ex vivo production of human blood products and reduced reliance on human donors. While several protocols exist for the derivation of progenitor and primordial endothelial cells, generation of well-characterized hemogenic endothelial cells from human stem cells has not been described. Here, a method for the derivation of hemogenic endothelial cells from human embryonic stem cells in approximately 1 week is presented: a differentiation protocol with primitive streak cells formed in response to GSK3&#946; inhibitor (CHIR99021), then mesoderm lineage induction mediated by bFGF, followed by primordial endothelial cell development promoted by BMP4 and VEGF-A, and finally hemogenic endothelial cell specification induced by retinoic acid. This protocol yields a well-defined population of hemogenic endothelial cells that can be used to further understand their molecular regulation and endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition, which has the potential to be applied to downstream therapeutic applications.

A schematic outlining the specification of primordial ECs and hemogenic ECs from hESCs, and a representative image of cells 24 h after plating are shown in Figure 1. Following specification, primordial ECs and hemogenic ECs are FACS purified on days 5 and 8, respectively. Primordial ECs are defined as CD31+ CD45- and hemogenic ECs are defined as CD31+ KDR+ c-Kit+ CD34+ VE-Cadherin- CD45-. A representative...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Directed Differentiation of Hemogenic Endothelial Cells from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells at JoVE.com

Directed Differentiation of Hemogenic Endothelial Cells from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Presented here is a simple protocol for the directed differentiation of hemogenic endothelial cells from human pluripotent stem cells in approximately 1 week.

Blood vessels are ubiquitously distributed within all tissues of the body and perform diverse functions. Thus, derivation of mature vascular endothelial ...

This protocol details a method to generate a well-characterized population of human hemogenic endothelial cells. These cells can be utilized to study the molecular regulation and endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition. Begin by culturing human embryonic stem cells for four days to differentiate them into primordial endothelial cells.On day five, aspirate the medium above the cells. Then gently wash the cells with one milliliter of DMEM/F-12 per well. Add one milliliter of freshly prepared hemogenic endothelial cell differentiation medium per well and incubate the cells for 24 hours at 37 degrees Celsius and 5%carbon dioxide.On day six and day seven, replace the medium above the cells with one milliliter of freshly prepared homogenic endothelial cell differentiation medium per well, and incubate the cells for another 24 hours. On day eight. after detaching and washing the cells, divide them evenly into microcentrifuge tubes on ice, each containing a minimum of 600 microliters of cells at a density of 1 times 10 to the 5th cells per milliliter.Add antibodies to the tubes containing cells as appropriate and incubate on ice protected from light for 30 minutes. Pellet the cells by centrifugation at 1000 times G and 4 degrees Celsius for five minutes. Remove the supernatant and resuspend the pellets in 600 microliters of ice-cold sorting buffer.Strain the samples through the mesh filter cap of five milliliter FACS tubes and store the cells on ice protected from light for immediate cell sorting. To isolate hemogenic endothelial cells by FACS, first gate the CD45-negative cell population. Then within the CD45-negative population, gate the CD31-positive cells.Next within the CD31-positive population, gate for the VE-cadherin-negative cell population. And then within the VE-cadherin-negative population, gate for the c-Kit-positive cells. From the c-Kit-positive population, gate the CD34-positive cell population.And finally from the CD34-positive cell population, identify and collect the KDR-positive cells. After seeding hemogenic endothelial cells in a Methylcellulose-based medium formulated for growth of Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells, Colony Forming Unit-Erythroid colonies, and Blast Forming Unit-Erythroid colonies are counted on day eight. Colony-Forming Unit-Granulocyte-Macrophage and Colony-Forming Unit-Granulocyte, Erythroid, Macrophage, and Megacaryocyte.Multipotent hematopoietic progenitor colonies are counted on day 14. Per 1000 hemogenic endothelial cells plated, approximately 20 colony forming units are generated. Cells with endothelial cell morphology are also visible in the cultures.These are the hemogenic endothelial cells that give rise to multilineage hematopoietic progenitors on a single-cell level. This protocol is a 2D serum and murine feeder-free culture system that can generate human hemogenic endothelial cells in roughly one week.

directed-differentiation-hemogenic-endothelial-cells-from-human

Research

JoVE Journal

Developmental Biology

Direct Induction of Hemogenic Endothelium and Blood by Overexpression of Transcription Factors in Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

During development, hematopoietic cells arise from a specialized subset of endothelial cells, hemogenic endothelium (HE). Modeling HE development in vitro is essential for mechanistic studies of the endothelial-hematopoietic transition and hematopoietic specification. Here, we describe a method for the efficient induction of HE from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) by way of overexpression of different sets of transcription factors. The combination of ETV2 and GATA1 or GATA2 TFs is used to induce HE with pan-myeloid potential, while a combination of GATA2 and TAL1 transcription factors allows for the production of HE with erythroid and megakaryocytic potential. The addition of LMO2 to GATA2 and TAL1 combination substantially accelerates differentiation and increases erythroid and megakaryocytic cells production. This method provides an efficient and rapid means of HE induction from hPSCs and allows for the observation of the endothelial-hematopoietic transition in a culture dish. The protocol includes hPSCs transduction procedures and post-transduction analysis of HE and blood progenitors.

This protocol describes the efficient induction of hemogenic endothelium and multipotential hematopoietic progenitors from human pluripotent stem cells via the forced expression of transcription factors.

During development, hematopoietic cells arise from a specialized subset of endothelial cells, hemogenic endothelium (HE). Modeling HE development in vitro ...

Feeder-free Derivation of Melanocytes from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) represent a platform to study human development in vitro under both normal and disease conditions. Researchers can direct the differentiation of hPSCs into the cell type of interest by manipulating the culture conditions to recapitulate signals seen during development. One such cell type is the melanocyte, a pigment-producing cell of neural crest (NC) origin responsible for protecting the skin against UV irradiation. This protocol presents an extension of a currently available in vitro Neural Crest differentiation protocol from hPSCs to further differentiate NC into fully pigmented melanocytes. Melanocyte precursors can be enriched from the Neural Crest protocol via a timed exposure to activators of WNT, BMP, and EDN3 signaling under dual-SMAD-inhibition conditions. The resultant melanocyte precursors are then purified and matured into fully pigmented melanocytes by culture in a selective medium. The resultant melanocytes are fully pigmented and stain appropriately for proteins characteristic of mature melanocytes.

This work describes an in vitro differentiation protocol to produce pigmented, mature melanocytes from human pluripotent stem cells via a neural crest and melanoblast intermediate stage using a feeder-free, 25 day protocol.

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) represent a platform to study human development in vitro under both normal and disease conditions. Researchers can ...

Isolation of Murine Embryonic Hemogenic Endothelial Cells

The specification of hemogenic endothelial cells from embryonic vascular endothelium occurs during brief developmental periods within distinct tissues, and is necessary for the emergence of definitive HSPC from the murine extra embryonic yolk sac, placenta, umbilical vessels, and the embryonic aorta-gonad-mesonephros (AGM) region. The transient nature and small size of this cell population renders its reproducible isolation for careful quantification and experimental applications technically difficult. We have established a fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS)-based protocol for simultaneous isolation of hemogenic endothelial cells and HSPC during their peak generation times in the yolk sac and AGM. We demonstrate methods for dissection of yolk sac and AGM tissues from mouse embryos, and we present optimized tissue digestion and antibody conjugation conditions for maximal cell survival prior to identification and retrieval via FACS. Representative FACS analysis plots are shown that identify the hemogenic endothelial cell and HSPC phenotypes, and describe a methylcellulose-based assay for evaluating their blood forming potential on a clonal level.

Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC) derive from specialized (hemogenic) endothelial cells during development, yet little is known about the process by which some endothelial cells specify to become blood forming. We demonstrate a flow-cytometry based method allowing simultaneous isolation of hemogenic endothelial cells and HSPC from murine embryonic tissues.

The specification of hemogenic endothelial cells from embryonic vascular endothelium occurs during brief developmental periods within distinct tissues, ...

Large-Scale Production of Cardiomyocytes from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Using a Highly Reproducible Small Molecule-Based Differentiation Protocol

Maximizing the benefit of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) for research, disease modeling, pharmaceutical and clinical applications requires robust methods for the large-scale production of functional cell types, including cardiomyocytes. Here we demonstrate that the temporal manipulation of WNT, TGF-&#946;, and SHH signaling pathways leads to highly efficient cardiomyocyte differentiation of single-cell passaged hPSC lines in both static suspension and stirred suspension bioreactor systems. Employing this strategy resulted in ~ 100% beating spheroids, consistently containing &#62; 80% cardiac troponin T-positive cells after 15 days of culture, validated in multiple hPSC lines. We also report on a variation of this protocol for use with cell lines not currently adapted to single-cell passaging, the success of which has been verified in 42 hPSC lines. Cardiomyocytes generated using these protocols express lineage-specific markers and show expected electrophysiological functionalities. Our protocol presents a simple, efficient and robust platform for the large-scale production of human cardiomyocytes.

Here, we present a robust, fast and scalable cardiomyocyte differentiation protocol for human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). Cardiomyocytes derived using this large-scale method can provide sufficient cell numbers for their effective use in human cardiovascular disease modeling, high-throughput drug screening, and potentially clinical applications.

Maximizing the benefit of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) for research, disease modeling, pharmaceutical and clinical applications requires robust ...

Directed Differentiation of Primitive and Definitive Hematopoietic Progenitors from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

One of the major goals for regenerative medicine is the generation and maintenance of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) derived from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). Until recently, efforts to differentiate hPSCs into HSCs have predominantly generated hematopoietic progenitors that lack HSC potential, and instead resemble yolk sac hematopoiesis.&#160;These resulting hematopoietic progenitors may have limited utility for in vitro disease modeling of various adult hematopoietic disorders, particularly those of the lymphoid lineages. However, we have recently described methods to generate erythro-myelo-lymphoid multilineage definitive hematopoietic progenitors from hPSCs using a stage-specific directed differentiation protocol, which we outline here. Through enzymatic dissociation of hPSCs on basement membrane matrix-coated plasticware, embryoid bodies (EBs) are formed. EBs are differentiated to mesoderm by recombinant BMP4, which is subsequently specified to the definitive hematopoietic program by the GSK3&#946; inhibitor, CHIR99021. Alternatively, primitive hematopoiesis is specified by the PORCN inhibitor, IWP2. Hematopoiesis is further driven through the addition of recombinant VEGF and supportive hematopoietic cytokines. The resulting hematopoietic progenitors generated using this method have the potential to be used for disease and developmental modeling, in vitro.

Here, we present human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) culture protocols, used to differentiate hPSCs into CD34+ hematopoietic progenitors. This method uses stage-specific manipulation of canonical WNT signaling to specify cells exclusively to either the definitive or primitive hematopoietic program.

One of the major goals for regenerative medicine is the generation and maintenance of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) derived from human pluripotent stem ...

In Vitro Differentiation of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells into Trophoblastic Cells

The placenta is the first organ to develop during embryogenesis and is required for the survival of the developing embryo. The placenta is comprised of various trophoblastic cells that differentiate from the extra-embryonic trophectoderm cells of the preimplantation blastocyst. As such, our understanding of the early differentiation events of the human placenta is limited because of ethical and legal restrictions on the isolation and manipulation of human embryogenesis. Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are a robust model system for investigating human development and can also be differentiated in vitro into trophoblastic cells that express markers of the various trophoblast cell types. Here, we present a detailed protocol for differentiating hPSCs into trophoblastic cells using bone morphogenic protein 4 and inhibitors of the Activin/Nodal signaling pathways. This protocol generates various trophoblast cell types that can be transfected with siRNAs for investigating loss-of-function phenotypes or can be infected with pathogens. Additionally, hPSCs can be genetically modified and then differentiated into trophoblast progenitors for gain-of-function analyses. This in vitro differentiation method for generating human trophoblasts starting from hPSCs overcomes the ethical and legal restrictions of working with early human embryos, and this system can be used for a variety of applications, including drug discovery and stem cell research.

In Vitro Differentiation of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells into Trophoblastic Cells

Here, we present a protocol to efficiently generate human trophoblastic cells from human pluripotent stem cells using bone morphogenic protein 4 and inhibitors of the Activin/Nodal pathways. This method is suitable for the efficient differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells and can generate large quantities of cells for genetic manipulation.

The placenta is the first organ to develop during embryogenesis and is required for the survival of the developing embryo. The placenta is comprised of ...

Rapid, Directed Differentiation of Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells from Human Embryonic or Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

We describe a robust method to direct the differentiation of pluripotent stem cells into retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE). The purpose of providing a detailed and thorough protocol is to clearly demonstrate each step and to make this readily available to researchers in the field. This protocol results in a homogenous layer of RPE with minimal or no manual dissection needed. The method presented here has been shown to be effective for induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) and human embryonic stem cells. Additionally, we describe methods for cryopreservation of intermediate cell banks that allow long-term storage. RPE generated using this protocol might be useful for iPSC disease-in-a-dish modeling or clinical application.

This protocol describes how to produce retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE) from pluripotent stem cells. The method uses a combination of growth factors and small molecules to direct the differentiation of stem cells into immature RPE in fourteen days and mature, functional RPE after three months.

We describe a robust method to direct the differentiation of pluripotent stem cells into retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE). The purpose of providing ...

Efficient and Scalable Directed Differentiation of Clinically Compatible Corneal Limbal Epithelial Stem Cells from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Corneal limbal epithelial stem cells (LESCs) are responsible for continuously renewing the corneal epithelium, and thus maintaining corneal homeostasis and visual clarity. Human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived LESCs provide a promising cell source for corneal cell replacement therapy. Undefined, xenogeneic culture and differentiation conditions cause variation in research results and impede the clinical translation of hPSC-derived therapeutics. This protocol provides a reproducible and efficient method for hPSC-LESC differentiation under xeno- and feeder cell-free conditions. Firstly, monolayer culture of undifferentiated hPSC on recombinant laminin-521 (LN-521) and defined hPSC medium serves as a foundation for robust production of high-quality starting material for differentiations. Secondly, a rapid and simple hPSC-LESC differentiation method yields LESC populations in only 24 days. This method includes a four-day surface ectodermal induction in suspension with small molecules, followed by adherent culture phase on LN-521/collagen IV combination matrix in defined corneal epithelial differentiation medium. Cryostoring and extended differentiation further purifies the cell population and enables banking of the cells in large quantities for cell therapy products. The resulting high-quality hPSC-LESCs provide a potential novel treatment strategy for corneal surface reconstruction to treat limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD).

This protocol introduces a simple two-step method for differentiating corneal limbal epithelial stem cells from human pluripotent stem cells under xeno- and feeder cell-free culture conditions. The cell culture methods presented here enable cost-efficient, large-scale production of clinical quality cells applicable to corneal cell therapy use.

Corneal limbal epithelial stem cells (LESCs) are responsible for continuously renewing the corneal epithelium, and thus maintaining corneal homeostasis ...

Efficient Differentiation of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells into Liver Cells

The liver detoxifies harmful substances, secretes vital proteins, and executes key metabolic activities, thus sustaining life. Consequently, liver failure&#8212;which can be caused by chronic alcohol intake, hepatitis, acute poisoning, or other insults&#8212;is a severe condition that can culminate in bleeding, jaundice, coma, and eventually death. However, approaches to treat liver failure, as well as studies of liver function and disease, have been stymied in part by the lack of a plentiful supply of human liver cells. To this end, this protocol details the efficient differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) into hepatocyte-like cells, guided by a developmental roadmap that describes how liver fate is specified across six consecutive differentiation steps. By manipulating developmental signaling pathways to promote liver differentiation and to explicitly suppress the formation of unwanted cell fates, this method efficiently generates populations of human liver bud progenitors and hepatocyte-like cells by days 6 and 18 of PSC differentiation, respectively. This is achieved through the temporally-precise control of developmental signaling pathways, exerted by small molecules and growth factors in a serum-free culture medium. Differentiation in this system occurs in monolayers and yields hepatocyte-like cells that express characteristic hepatocyte enzymes and have the ability to engraft a mouse model of chronic liver failure. The ability to efficiently generate large numbers of human liver cells in vitro has ramifications for treatment of liver failure, for drug screening, and for mechanistic studies of liver disease.

This protocol details a monolayer, serum-free method to efficiently generate hepatocyte-like cells from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) in 18 days. This entails six steps as hPSCs sequentially differentiate into intermediate cell-types such as the primitive streak, definitive endoderm, posterior foregut and liver bud progenitors before forming hepatocyte-like cells.

The liver detoxifies harmful substances, secretes vital proteins, and executes key metabolic activities, thus sustaining life. Consequently, liver ...

In Vitro Generation of Somite Derivatives from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

In response to signals such as WNTs, bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), and sonic hedgehog (SHH) secreted from surrounding tissues, somites (SMs) give rise to multiple cell types, including the myotome (MYO), sclerotome (SCL), dermatome (D), and syndetome (SYN), which in turn develop into skeletal muscle, axial skeleton, dorsal dermis, and axial tendon/ligament, respectively. Therefore, the generation of SMs and their derivatives from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is critical to obtain pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) for application in regenerative medicine and for disease research in the field of orthopedic surgery. Although the induction protocols for MYO and SCL from PSCs have been previously reported by several researchers, no study has yet demonstrated the induction of SYN and D from iPSCs. Therefore, efficient induction of fully competent SMs remains a major challenge. Here, we recapitulate human SM patterning with human iPSCs in vitro by mimicking the signaling environment during chick/mouse SM development, and report on methods of systematic induction of SM derivatives (MYO, SCL, D, and SYN) from human iPSCs under chemically defined conditions through the presomitic mesoderm (PSM) and SM states. Knowledge regarding chick/mouse&#160;SM development was successfully applied to the induction of SMs with human iPSCs. This method could be a novel tool for studying human somitogenesis and patterning without the use of embryos and for cell-based therapy and disease modeling.

We present here a protocol for the differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells into each somite derivative (myotome, sclerotome, dermatome, and syndetome) in chemically defined conditions, which has applications in future disease modeling and cell-based therapies in orthopedic surgery.

In response to signals such as WNTs, bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), and sonic hedgehog (SHH) secreted from surrounding tissues, somites (SMs) give ...