The authors would like to thank Melinda Hexum for initiation of the spin EB protocol within our lab. We would like to thank other members of the lab, including Laura E. Bendzick, Michael Lepley, and Zhenya Ni for their technical assistance with this work. The authors would also like to thank Brad Taylor at Caliper Life Sciences for his expert technical advice.

<ol>
	<li>Keller, G. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=In+vitro+differentiation+of+embryonic+stem+cells.">In vitro differentiation of embryonic stem cells.</a> Current Opinion in Cell Biology. 7, 862-869 (1995).</li><li>Kaufman, D. S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Hematopoietic+colony-forming+cells+derived+from+human+embryonic+stem+cells.">Hematopoietic colony-forming cells derived from human embryonic stem cells.</a> Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 98, 10716-10721 (2001).</li><li>Kaufman, D. S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Toward+clinical+therapies+using+hematopoietic+cells+derived+from+human+pluripotent+stem+cells.">Toward clinical therapies using hematopoietic cells derived from human pluripotent stem cells.</a> Blood. 114, 3513-3523 (2009).</li><li>Ng, E. S., Davis, R., Stanley, E. G., Elefanty, A. G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+protocol+describing+the+use+of+a+recombinant+protein-based,+animal+product-free+medium+(APEL)+for+human+embryonic+stem+cell+differentiation+as+spin+embryoid+bodies.">A protocol describing the use of a recombinant protein-based, animal product-free medium (APEL) for human embryonic stem cell differentiation as spin embryoid bodies.</a> Nature Protocols. 3, 768-776 (2008).</li><li>Ng, E. S., Davis, R. P., Azzola, L., Stanley, E. G., Elefanty, A. G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Forced+aggregation+of+defined+numbers+of+human+embryonic+stem+cells+into+embryoid+bodies+fosters+robust,+reproducible+hematopoietic+differentiation.">Forced aggregation of defined numbers of human embryonic stem cells into embryoid bodies fosters robust, reproducible hematopoietic differentiation.</a> Blood. 106, 1601-1603 (2005).</li><li>Vodyanik, M. A., Bork, J. A., Thomson, J. A., Slukvin, I. I. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Human+embryonic+stem+cell-derived+CD34++cells:+efficient+production+in+the+coculture+with+OP9+stromal+cells+and+analysis+of+lymphohematopoietic+potential.">Human embryonic stem cell-derived CD34+ cells: efficient production in the coculture with OP9 stromal cells and analysis of lymphohematopoietic potential.</a> Blood. 105, 617-626 (2005).</li><li>Woll, P. S., 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=Human+embryonic+stem+cells+differentiate+into+a+homogeneous+population+of+natural+killer+cells+with+potent+in+vivo+antitumor+activity.">Human embryonic stem cells differentiate into a homogeneous population of natural killer cells with potent in vivo antitumor activity.</a> Blood. 113, 6094-6101 (2009).</li><li>Woll, P. S., Martin, C. H., Miller, J. S., Kaufman, D. S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Human+embryonic+stem+cell-derived+NK+cells+acquire+functional+receptors+and+cytolytic+activity.">Human embryonic stem cell-derived NK cells acquire functional receptors and cytolytic activity.</a> Journal of Immunology. 175, 5095-5103 (2005).</li><li>Ni, Z., 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=Human+Pluripotent+Stem+Cells+Produce+Natural+Killer+Cells+That+Mediate+Anti-HIV-1+Activity+by+Utilizing+Diverse+Cellular+Mechanisms.">Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Produce Natural Killer Cells That Mediate Anti-HIV-1 Activity by Utilizing Diverse Cellular Mechanisms.</a> Journal of Virology. 85, 43-50 (2011).</li><li>Ng, E. S., Davis, R. P., Hatzistavrou, T., Stanley, E. G., Elefanty, A. G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Directed+differentiation+of+human+embryonic+stem+cells+as+spin+embryoid+bodies+and+a+description+of+the+hematopoietic+blast+colony+forming+assay.">Directed differentiation of human embryonic stem cells as spin embryoid bodies and a description of the hematopoietic blast colony forming assay.</a> Current Protocols in Stem Cell Biology. Chapter 1, Unit 1D.3 (2008).</li><li>Denman, C. J., 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=Membrane-Bound+IL-21+Promotes+Sustained+Ex+Vivo+Proliferation+of+Human+Natural+Killer+Cells.">Membrane-Bound IL-21 Promotes Sustained Ex Vivo Proliferation of Human Natural Killer Cells.</a> PLoS ONE. 7, e30264 (2012).</li><li>Somanchi, S. S., Senyukov, V. V., Denman, C. J., Lee, D. 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(48), e2540 (2011).</li><li>Tian, X., 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=Bioluminescent+imaging+demonstrates+that+transplanted+human+embryonic+stem+cell-derived+CD34++cells+preferentially+develop+into+endothelial+cells.">Bioluminescent imaging demonstrates that transplanted human embryonic stem cell-derived CD34+ cells preferentially develop into endothelial cells.</a> Stem Cells. 27, 2675-2685 (2009).</li><li>Wilber, A., 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=Efficient+and+stable+transgene+expression+in+human+embryonic+stem+cells+using+transposon-mediated+gene+transfer.">Efficient and stable transgene expression in human embryonic stem cells using transposon-mediated gene transfer.</a> Stem Cells. 25, 2919-2927 (2007).</li><li>Shcherbo, D., 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=Near-infrared+fluorescent+proteins.">Near-infrared fluorescent proteins.</a> Nature Methods. 7, 827-829 (2010).</li><li>Nguyen, V. T., Morange, M., Bensaude, O. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Firefly+luciferase+luminescence+assays+using+scintillation+counters+for+quantitation+in+transfected+mammalian+cells.">Firefly luciferase luminescence assays using scintillation counters for quantitation in transfected mammalian cells.</a> Analytical Biochemistry. 171, 404-408 (1988).</li><li>Sadikot, R. T., Blackwell, T. S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Bioluminescence+Imaging.">Bioluminescence Imaging.</a> Proceedings of the American Thoracic Society. 2, 537-540 (2005).</li><li>Santos, E. B., 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=Sensitive+in+vivo+imaging+of+T+cells+using+a+membrane-bound+Gaussia+princeps+luciferase.">Sensitive in vivo imaging of T cells using a membrane-bound Gaussia princeps luciferase.</a> Nature Medicine. 15, 338-344 (2009).</li><li>Chudakov, D. M., Matz, M. V., Lukyanov, S., Lukyanov, K. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Fluorescent+Proteins+and+Their+Applications+in+Imaging+Living+Cells+and+Tissues.">Fluorescent Proteins and Their Applications in Imaging Living Cells and Tissues.</a> Physiological Reviews. 90, 1103-1163 (2010).</li><li>Knorr, D. A., Bock, A., Brentjens, R. J., Kaufman, D. S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Engineered+Human+Embryonic+Stem+Cell-Derived+Lymphocytes+to+Study+In+Vivo+Trafficking+and+Immunotherapy.">Engineered Human Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Lymphocytes to Study In Vivo Trafficking and Immunotherapy.</a> Stem Cells Dev. 28, 28 (2013).</li><li>Germain, R. N., Robey, E. A., Cahalan, M. D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+Decade+of+Imaging+Cellular+Motility+and+Interaction+Dynamics+in+the+Immune+System.">A Decade of Imaging Cellular Motility and Interaction Dynamics in the Immune System.</a> Science. 336, 1676-1681 (2012).</li></ol>

This work was supported by NIH/NHLBI R01-HL77923 (D.S.K.) and by NIH MSTP grant T32 GM008244 (D.A.K.), Stem Cell Biology Training Grant T32 (D.A.K.)(T32HD060536), Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) Grant, University of Minnesota (A.M.B), the Leukemia Research Fund of the University of Minnesota Cancer Center, and the William L and Blanche Hughes Foundation.

hESCs are an ideal platform to study diverse cell types and hold remarkable potential for clinical translation. We use a defined, spin EB approach to differentiate hESC/iPSCs to hematopoietic progenitor cells. The spin EB approach has yielded consistent derivation of hematopoietic progenitor cells and differentiation to NK cells; yet, variation still exists in differentiation efficiency across cell lines and may need to be modified for generation of other hematopoietic cell lineages. While comparable results can be obtai...

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are undifferentiated, pluripotent cells capable of unlimited self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation. hESCs have been successfully differentiated into mature and functional subsets of each germ layer, including cells of the hematopoietic system1-3. Natural killer (NK) cells are lymphocytes of the innate immune system that can be derived from hESCs by formation of embryoid bodies (EBs)4,5 or co-culture with stromal cell lines1,2,6-8. NK cells possess anti-viral and anti-tumor capabilities and have the potential to be effective against a broad range of malignancies, as they do not require prior antigen stimulation to perform their effector functions. Thus, hESC-derived NK cells are an attractive source of cells for immunotherapy. Additionally, the derivation of NK cells from hESCs provides a genetically amenable system to study normal development in vitro.
Because they provide a genetically tractable system, hESC-derived NK cells can be experimentally modified to express fluorescent and bioluminescent reporters providing an optimal model to study NK cell effector functions in vitro and in vivo. hESC-derived NK cells possess activity against a range of targets including HIV 9, leukemia (K562) and other cancer types 7,8. However, the ability to efficiently derive enough NK cells capable of treating patients remains an important barrier for clinical translation and is, to a lesser degree, a limitation for extensive pre-clinical in vivo studies of NK cell development and anti-cancer functions. Here, we use a spin EB approach to derive hematopoietic progenitors from hESCs 4,5,10. Following 11 days the spin EBs are transferred to NK cell culture with or without feeders for 28 days. After 4 weeks in NK cell culture medium, NK cells are transferred to co-culture with K562 cells modified to express membrane-bound interleukin 21 (IL-21), which serve as artificial antigen presenting cells (aAPCs). Adapting a protocol for the expansion of peripheral blood NK cells using these artificial APCs 11,12, we are able to expand NK cells 2-logs while retaining a mature phenotype and cytotoxic capabilities.
This process of development and expansion provides sufficient hESC-derived NK cells for extensive in vivo characterization. For in vivo studies, we are able to non-invasively monitor long term engraftment and kinetics of injected firefly luciferase expressing (Fluc+), hESC-derived NK cells using bioluminescence imaging. Furthermore, we are able to follow NK cell interactions with tumor cells using a dual, bioluminescent or fluorescent imaging scheme. An earlier study by our group used bioluminescence imaging in an anti-tumor model to follow tumor progression and clearance of Fluc+ K562 cells in vivo 7. Now, by engineering our hESCs to express firefly luciferase 13,14 we can follow the biodistribution and trafficking of NK cells to K562 tumor cells that express the recently characterized fluorescent protein, turboFP650 15. We have chosen this dual reporter system in order to simultaneously follow the two cell populations in vivo (Figure 1). Most dual imaging models have been dual-luciferase systems, but these systems can be technically challenging due to the delivery requirements of coelenterazine, the substrate required for expression of most Renilla and Gaussia luciferase reporters 16-18. Fluorescent reporters have allowed easy monitoring of many cell lines and constructs in vitro, but has had limited success for in vivo imaging due to the overlap between tissue and fur autofluorescence and the emission spectra of many commonly used fluorescent reporters including GFP, DsRed, and TdTomato 15,19. This concern has encouraged the development of far-red fluorescent proteins, which allow for better tissue penetrance and higher specific signal compared to background 15,19. TurboFP650, the fluorescent protein shown in this system, is far-red shifted and overcomes many of the issues involved with imaging fluorescent proteins in living animals.
This method for developing and expanding NK cells derived from hESCs has allowed us to further characterize hESC-derived NK cells in vitro and in vivo, which is necessary to better understand NK cell function and clinically important to improve current NK cell adoptive therapies. It is also amenable to the derivation and expansion of iPSC-derived NK cells. The dual fluorescent and bioluminescent imaging scheme is broadly applicable to systems other than the anti-tumor model we have shown here.

<table border="1">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Name of Reagent</td>
			<td>Company</td>
			<td>Catalog Number</td>
			<td>Comments</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>Materials</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>Media</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>BPEL media for Spin EB generation</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Iscove's Modified Dulbecco's Medium (IMDM)</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>SH3022801</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>F-12 Nutrient Mixture w/ Glutamax I</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>31765035</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA)</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>A3311</td>
			<td>Commercially available BSA can be cytotoxic to ES cells. Deionizing the solution can reduce the potential for cytotoxicity.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Poly(vinyl alcohol)</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>P8136</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Linoleic Acid</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>L1012</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Linolenic Acid</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>L2376</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Synthechol 500X solution</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>S5442</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>a-monothioglycerol (a-MTG)</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>S5442</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Protein-free hybridoma mix II</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>12040077</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ascorbic Acid 2-phosphate</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>A8960</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Glutamax I</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>35050061</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Insulin, Transferrin, Selenium 100X solution (ITS)</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>41400-045</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Pen-Strep</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>15140122</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>NK Differentiation Media </td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dubecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM)</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>11965-118</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>F-12 Media</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>CX30315</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>15% Human AB serum</td>
			<td>Valley Biomed</td>
			<td>HP1022HI</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>5 ng/ml Sodium Selenite</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>S5261</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>50 uM ethanolamine</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>E9508</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>20 ng/ml ascorbic acid</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>A8960</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>25 uM 2-mercaptoethanol (BME)</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>21985</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>2 mM L-glutamine</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>CX30310</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>1% Pen-Strep</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>15140122</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>Cytokines</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>(all cytokines used fresh from frozen aliquots)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>SCF</td>
			<td>PeproTech, Inc.</td>
			<td>300-07</td>
			<td>40 ng/ml in BPEL media; 20 ng/ml in NK medium). As noted by the Elefanty protocol, and as we discovered with a bad lot of BMP4, there can be lot differences with cytokines in regards to hematopoietic differentiation.Especially if buying cytokines in bulk, obtain a sample of the lot to test prior to purchase. Compare head-to-head with old lot.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>rhBMP-4</td>
			<td>R &amp;D Systems</td>
			<td>314-BP</td>
			<td>20 ng/ml in BPEL media</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>rhVEGF</td>
			<td>R&amp;D Systems</td>
			<td>293-VE</td>
			<td>20 ng/ml in BPEL media</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>IL-2</td>
			<td>PeproTech, Inc.</td>
			<td>200-02</td>
			<td>1 x 105 U/ml given to mice after NK cell injection; 50 U/ml used in NK cell expansion protocol</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>IL-15</td>
			<td>PeproTech, Inc.</td>
			<td>200-15</td>
			<td>10 ng/ml given to mice after NK cell injection (first 7 days only)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>IL-3</td>
			<td>PeproTech, Inc.</td>
			<td>200-03</td>
			<td>5 ng/ml in NK media</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>IL-7</td>
			<td>PeproTech, Inc.</td>
			<td>200-07</td>
			<td>20 ng/ml in NK media</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Flt-3-Ligand</td>
			<td>PeproTech, Inc.</td>
			<td>300-19</td>
			<td>10 ng/ml in NK media</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>In vivo Imaging</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>D-Luciferin Sodium Salt</td>
			<td>Gold BioTechnology</td>
			<td>Lucna-500</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>TurboFP650 plasmid</td>
			<td>Evrogen, Moscow, Russia</td>
			<td>FP731</td>
			<td>Subcloned into a Sleeping Beauty transposon based plasmid driven by the mCAGs promoter. Cells were then sorted on their expression of turboFP650 by FACS. Cells and plasmids can be obtained from our lab.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>Equipment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>IVIS Spectrum Imaging System</td>
			<td>Caliper Life Sciences</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>Cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Membrane bound IL-21 expressing artificial antigen presenting cells</td>
			<td>MD Anderson, Houston, TX</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>contact: Dean A. Lee. <a href="http://www.jove.com/video/2540/expansion-purification-functional-assessment-human-peripheral-blood" target="_blank">http://www.jove.com/video/2540/expansion-purification-functional-assessment-human-peripheral-blood</a></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Firefly luciferase expressing hESCs</td>
			<td>University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>contact: Dan S. Kaufman . H9 cells modified with a Sleeping Beauty transposon based method (references 13 and 14). Expression of firefly luciferase is driven by the mCAGGS promoter. Following the firefly luciferase gene is an IRES element at the 5' end of a GFP:zeocin fusion construct.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>TurboFP650 expressing K562 cells</td>
			<td>University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>contact: Dan S. Kaufman. Description under plasmid comments section</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
Materials Table.

development, expansion, and in vivo monitoring of human nk cells from human embryonic stem cells (hescs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (ipscs)

We present a method for deriving natural killer (NK) cells from undifferentiated hESCs and iPSCs using a feeder-free approach. This method gives rise to high levels of NK cells after 4 weeks culture and can undergo further 2-log expansion with artificial antigen presenting cells. hESC- and iPSC-derived NK cells developed in this system have a mature phenotype and function. The production of large numbers of genetically modifiable NK cells is applicable for both basic mechanistic as well as anti-tumor studies. Expression of firefly luciferase in hESC-derived NK cells allows a non-invasive approach to follow NK cell engraftment, distribution, and function. We also describe a dual-imaging scheme that allows separate monitoring of two different cell populations to more distinctly characterize their interactions in vivo. This method of derivation, expansion, and dual in vivo imaging provides a reliable approach for producing NK cells and their evaluation which is necessary to improve current NK cell adoptive therapies.

The generation of hematopoietic progenitor cells using the spin EB approach allows for optimal NK cell development from hESCs and iPSCs. As demonstrated in Figure 2, day 11 spin EBs contain high percentages of progenitor cells expressing CD34, CD45, CD43, and CD31. High levels of CD34 and CD45 allows direct transfer to NK conditions without need for sorting or supporting stromal cells. If there is suboptimal spin EB differentiation, it is recommended that stromal cells such as EL08-1D2 are used in the se...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Development, Expansion, and In vivo Monitoring of Human NK Cells from Human Embryonic Stem Cells hESCs and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells iPSCs at JoVE.com

Development, Expansion, and In vivo Monitoring of Human NK Cells from Human Embryonic Stem Cells hESCs and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells iPSCs

This protocol describes the development, expansion, and in vivo imaging of NK cells derived from hESCs and iPSCs.

Development, Expansion, and In vivo Monitoring of Human NK Cells from Human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESCs) and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs)

We present a method for deriving natural killer (NK) cells from undifferentiated hESCs and iPSCs using a feeder-free approach. This method gives rise to ...

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16.7K Views.  University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. This protocol describes the development, expansion, and in vivo imaging of NK cells derived from hESCs and iPSCs.