Unraveling hallmark suitability for staging pre- and post-implantation stem cell models.

The advent of novel 2D and 3D models for human development, including trophoblast stem cells and blastoids, has expanded opportunities for investigating early developmental events, gradually illuminating the enigmatic realm of human development. While these innovations have ushered in new prospects, it has become essential to establish well-defined benchmarks for the cell sources of these models. We aimed to propose a comprehensive characterization of pluripotent and trophoblastic stem cell models by employing a combination of transcriptomic, proteomic, epigenetic, and metabolic approaches. Our findings reveal that extended pluripotent stem cells share many characteristics with primed pluripotent stem cells, with the exception of metabolic activity. Furthermore, our research demonstrates that DNA hypomethylation and high metabolic activity define trophoblast stem cells. These results underscore the necessity of considering multiple hallmarks of pluripotency rather than relying on a single criterion. Multiplying hallmarks alleviate stage-matching bias.

Dichotomous Effects of Glypican-4 on Cancer Progression and Its Crosstalk with Oncogenes.

Glypicans are linked to various aspects of neoplastic behavior, and their therapeutic value has been proposed in different cancers. Here, we have systematically assessed the impact of GPC4 on cancer progression through functional genomics and transcriptomic analyses across a broad range of cancers. Survival analysis using TCGA cancer patient data reveals divergent effects of GPC4 expression across various cancer types, revealing elevated GPC4 expression levels to be associated with both poor and favorable prognoses in a cancer-dependent manner. Detailed investigation of the role of GPC4 in glioblastoma and non-small cell lung adenocarcinoma by genetic perturbation studies displays opposing effects on these cancers, where the knockout of GPC4 with CRISPR/Cas9 attenuated proliferation of glioblastoma and augmented proliferation of lung adenocarcinoma cells and the overexpression of GPC4 exhibited a significant and opposite effect. Further, the overexpression of GPC4 in GPC4-knocked-down glioblastoma cells restored the proliferation, indicating its mitogenic effect in this cancer type. Additionally, a survival analysis of TCGA patient data substantiated these findings, revealing an association between elevated levels of GPC4 and a poor prognosis in glioblastoma, while indicating a favorable outcome in lung carcinoma patients. Finally, through transcriptomic analysis, we attempted to assign mechanisms of action to GPC4, as we find it implicated in cell cycle control and survival core pathways. The analysis revealed upregulation of oncogenes, including FGF5, TGF-ß superfamily members, and ITGA-5 in glioblastoma, which were downregulated in lung adenocarcinoma patients. Our findings illuminate the pleiotropic effect of GPC4 in cancer, underscoring its potential as a putative prognostic biomarker and indicating its therapeutic implications in a cancer type dependent manner.

SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell therapy for severe COVID-19: a randomized phase 1/2 trial.

Despite advances, few therapeutics have shown efficacy in severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In a different context, virus-specific T cells have proven safe and effective. We conducted a randomized (2:1), open-label, phase 1/2 trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of off-the-shelf, partially human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched, convalescent donor-derived severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-specific T cells (CoV-2-STs) in combination with standard of care (SoC) in patients with severe COVID-19 compared to SoC during Delta variant predominance. After a dose-escalated phase 1 safety study, 90 participants were randomized to receive CoV-2-ST+SoC (n = 60) or SoC only (n = 30). The co-primary objectives of the study were the composite of time to recovery and 30-d recovery rate and the in vivo expansion of CoV-2-STs in patients receiving CoV-2-ST+SoC over SoC. The key secondary objective was survival on day 60. CoV-2-ST+SoC treatment was safe and well tolerated. The study met the primary composite endpoint (CoV-2-ST+SoC versus SoC: recovery rate 65% versus 38%, P = 0.017; median recovery time 11 d versus not reached, P = 0.052, respectively; rate ratio for recovery 1.71 (95% confidence interval 1.03-2.83, P = 0.036)) and the co-primary objective of significant CoV-2-ST expansion compared to SοC (CoV-2-ST+SoC versus SoC, P = 0.047). Overall, in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19, adoptive immunotherapy with CoV-2-STs was feasible and safe. Larger trials are needed to strengthen the preliminary evidence of clinical benefit in severe COVID-19. EudraCT identifier: 2021-001022-22 .

Attenuation of cancer proliferation by suppression of glypican-1 and its pleiotropic effects in neoplastic behavior.

Glypicans (GPC1-6) are associated with tumorigenic processes and their involvement in neoplastic behavior has been discussed in different cancer types. Here, a cancer-wide GPC expression study, using clinical cancer patient data in The Cancer Genome Atlas, reveals net upregulation of GPC1 and GPC2 in primary solid tumors, whereas GPC3, GPC5 and GPC6 display lowered expression pattern compared to normal tissues. Focusing on GPC1, survival analyses of the clinical cancer patient data reveal statistically significant correlation between high expression of GPC1 and poor prognosis in 10 particular cancer types i.e., bladder urothelial carcinoma, brain lower grade glioma, liver hepatocellular carcinoma, colon adenocarcinoma, kidney renal clear cell carcinoma, lung adenocarcinoma, mesothelioma, ovarian serous cystadenocarcinoma, uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma and uveal melanoma. In vitro studies targeting GPC1 expression by CRISPR/Cas9 or siRNA or treatment with an anti-GPC1 antibody resulted in attenuation of proliferation of cancer cells from bladder carcinoma, glioma and hepatocellular carcinoma patients (T24, U87 and HepG2 cells). Further, overexpression of GPC1 exhibited a significant and negative correlation between GPC1 expression and proliferation of T24 cells. Attempt to reveal the mechanism through which downregulation of GPC1 leads to attenuation of tumor growth using systematic Ingenuity Pathway Analysis indicate that suppression of GPC1 results in ECM-mediated inhibition of specific pro-cancer signaling pathways involving TGF-ß and p38 MAPK. Identified differential expression and pleiotropic effects of GPCs in specific cancer types emphasize their potential of as novel diagnostic tools and prognostic factors and open doors for future GPC targeted therapy.

Modeling human extraembryonic mesoderm cells using naive pluripotent stem cells.

A hallmark of primate postimplantation embryogenesis is the specification of extraembryonic mesoderm (EXM) before gastrulation, in contrast to rodents where this tissue is formed only after gastrulation. Here, we discover that naive human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are competent to differentiate into EXM cells (EXMCs). EXMCs are specified by inhibition of Nodal signaling and GSK3B, are maintained by mTOR and BMP4 signaling activity, and their transcriptome and epigenome closely resemble that of human and monkey embryo EXM. EXMCs are mesenchymal, can arise from an epiblast intermediate, and are capable of self-renewal. Thus, EXMCs arising via primate-specific specification between implantation and gastrulation can be modeled in vitro. We also find that most of the rare off-target cells within human blastoids formed by triple inhibition (Kagawa et al., 2021) correspond to EXMCs. Our study impacts our ability to model and study the molecular mechanisms of early human embryogenesis and related defects.

Robust SARS-COV-2-specific T-cell immune memory persists long-term in immunocompetent individuals post BNT162b2 double shot.

Background: A robust efficiency of mRNA vaccines against coronavirus disease-2019 has been demonstrated, however, the intended long-term protection against SARS-CoV-2 has been challenged by the waning humoral and cellular immunity over time, leading to a third vaccination dose recommendation for immunocompetent individuals, six months after completion of primary mRNA vaccination. Methods: We here measured humoral responses via an immunoassay measuring SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies and T-cell responses using Elispot for interferon-γ 1- and 8- months post full BNT162b2 vaccination, in 10 health-care professionals. To explore whether the declining abundance of coronavirus-specific T-cells (CoV-2-STs) truly reflects decreased capacity for viral control, rather than the attenuating viral stimulus over time, we modeled ex vivo the T-cellular response upon viral challenge in fully vaccinated immunocompetent individuals, 1- and 8-months post BNT162b2. Findings: Notwithstanding the declining CoV-2-neutralizing antibodies and CoV-2-STs, re-challenged CoV-2-STs, 1- and 8-months post vaccination, presented similar functional characteristics including high cytotoxicity against both the unmutated virus and the delta variant. Interpretation: These findings suggest robust and sustained cellular immune response upon SARS-CοV-2 antigen exposure, 8 months post mRNA vaccination, despite declining CοV-2-STs over time in the presence of an attenuating viral stimulus.

Integrated multi-omics reveal polycomb repressive complex 2 restricts human trophoblast induction.

Human naive pluripotent stem cells have unrestricted lineage potential. Underpinning this property, naive cells are thought to lack chromatin-based lineage barriers. However, this assumption has not been tested. Here we define the chromatin-associated proteome, histone post-translational modifications and transcriptome of human naive and primed pluripotent stem cells. Our integrated analysis reveals differences in the relative abundance and activities of distinct chromatin modules. We identify a strong enrichment of polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2)-associated H3K27me3 in the chromatin of naive pluripotent stem cells and H3K27me3 enrichment at promoters of lineage-determining genes, including trophoblast regulators. PRC2 activity acts as a chromatin barrier restricting the differentiation of naive cells towards the trophoblast lineage, whereas inhibition of PRC2 promotes trophoblast-fate induction and cavity formation in human blastoids. Together, our results establish that human naive pluripotent stem cells are not epigenetically unrestricted, but instead possess chromatin mechanisms that oppose the induction of alternative cell fates.

Discrete regulatory modules instruct hematopoietic lineage commitment and differentiation.

Lineage commitment and differentiation is driven by the concerted action of master transcriptional regulators at their target chromatin sites. Multiple efforts have characterized the key transcription factors (TFs) that determine the various hematopoietic lineages. However, the temporal interactions between individual TFs and their chromatin targets during differentiation and how these interactions dictate lineage commitment remains poorly understood. Here we perform dense, daily, temporal profiling of chromatin accessibility (DNase I-seq) and gene expression changes (total RNA-seq) along ex vivo human erythropoiesis to comprehensively define developmentally regulated DNase I hypersensitive sites (DHSs) and transcripts. We link both distal DHSs to their target gene promoters and individual TFs to their target DHSs, revealing that the regulatory landscape is organized in distinct sequential regulatory modules that regulate lineage restriction and maturation. Finally, direct comparison of transcriptional dynamics (bulk and single-cell) and lineage potential between erythropoiesis and megakaryopoiesis uncovers differential fate commitment dynamics between the two lineages as they exit the stem and progenitor stage. Collectively, these data provide insights into the temporally regulated synergy of the cis- and the trans-regulatory components underlying hematopoietic lineage commitment and differentiation.

Enhanced HbF reactivation by multiplex mutagenesis of thalassemic CD34+ cells in vitro and in vivo.

Thalassemia or sickle cell patients with hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin (HbF) have an ameliorated clinical phenotype and, in some cases, can achieve transfusion independence. Inactivation via genome editing of γ-globin developmental suppressors, such as BCL11A or LRF/ZBTB7A, or of their binding sites, have been shown to significantly increase expression of endogenous HbF. To broaden the therapeutic window beyond a single-editing approach, we have explored combinations of cis- and trans-editing targets to enhance HbF reactivation. Multiplex mutagenesis in adult CD34+ cells was well tolerated and did not lead to any detectable defect in the cells' proliferation and differentiation, either in vitro or in vivo. The combination of 1 trans and 1 cis mutation resulted in high editing retention in vivo, coupled with almost pancellular HbF expression in NBSGW mice. The greater in vivo performance of this combination was also recapitulated using a novel helper-dependent adenoviral-CRISPR vector (HD-Ad-dualCRISPR) in CD34+ cells from ß-thalassemia patients transplanted to NBSGW mice. A pronounced increase in HbF expression was observed in human red blood cells in mice with established predominant ß0/ß0-thalassemic hemopoiesis after in vivo injection of the HD-Ad-dualCRISPR vector. Collectively, our data suggest that the combination of cis and trans fetal globin reactivation mutations has the potential to significantly increase HbF both totally and on a per cell basis over single editing and could thus provide significant clinical benefit to patients with severe ß-globin phenotype.

Keep the fate: how chromatin regulators safeguard embryonic stem cell identity.

Segregation of cells that form the embryo from those that produce the surrounding extra-embryonic tissues is critical for early mammalian development, but the regulatory layers governing these first cell fate decisions remain poorly understood. Recent work in The EMBO Journal identifies two chromatin regulators, Hdac3 and Dax1, that synergistically restrict the developmental potential of mouse embryonic stem cells and act as a lineage barrier to primitive endoderm formation.

Reappraising the role of α5 integrin and the microenvironmental support in stress erythropoiesis.

We previously studied the role of ß1 integrin and some of its different α partners relevant to erythropoiesis. Although clear and consistent answers regarding the role of α4ß1 (VLA-4) were evident, the role of its companion integrin α5ß1 (VLA-5) was clouded by inconsistent outcomes in all prior publications. Furthermore, the functional consequences of integrin deficiencies only in microenvironmental (ME) cells supporting erythroid cell expansion and maturation post stress have never been explored. In the study described here, we created several additional mouse models in the aim of addressing unanswered questions regarding functional consequences of single or combined integrin deficiencies in erythroid cells or only in ME supporting cells. Our novel and expansive data solidified the intrinsic requirement of both α4 and α5 integrins in erythroid cells for their proliferative expansion and maturation in response to stress; α5 integrin alone, deleted either early in all hematopoietic cells or only in erythroid cell, has only a redundant role in proliferative expansion and is dispensable for erythroid maturation. By contrast, α4 integrin, on its own, exerts a dominant effect on timely and optimal erythroid maturation. Deficiency of both α4 and α5 integrins in ME cells, including macrophages, does not negatively influence stress response by normal erythroid cells, in great contrast to the effect of ME cells deficient in all ß1 integrins. Collectively the present data offer deeper insight into the coordination of different ß1 integrin functional activities in erythroid cells or in ME cells for optimal erythroid stress response.

Unbiased phenotypic identification of functionally distinct hematopoietic progenitors.

BACKGROUND: Hematopoiesis is a model-system for studying cellular development and differentiation. Phenotypic and functional characterization of hematopoietic progenitors has significantly aided our understanding of the mechanisms that govern fate choice, lineage specification and maturity. Methods for progenitor isolation have historically relied on complex flow-cytometric strategies based on nested, arbitrary gates within defined panels of immunophenotypic markers. The resulted populations are then functionally assessed, although functional homogeneity or absolute linkage between function and phenotype is not always achieved, thus distorting our view on progenitor biology. METHOD: In this study, we present a protocol for unbiased phenotypic identification and functional characterization which combines index sorting and clonogenic assessment of individual progenitor cells. Single-cells are plated into custom media allowing multiple hematopoietic fates to emerge and are allowed to give rise to unilineage colonies or mixed. After colony identification, lineage potential is assigned to each progenitor and finally the indexed phenotype of the initial cell is recalled and a phenotype is assigned to each functional output. CONCLUSIONS: Our approach overcomes the limitations of the current protocols expanding beyond the established cell-surface marker panels and abolishing the need for nested gating. Using this method we were able to resolve the relationships of myeloid progenitors according to the revised model of hematopoiesis, as well as identify a novel marker for erythroid progenitors. Finally, this protocol can be applied to the characterization of any progenitor cell with measurable function.

Evolution Under Dietary Restriction Decouples Survival From Fecundity in Drosophila melanogaster Females.

One of the key tenets of life-history theory is that reproduction and survival are linked and that they trade-off with each other. When dietary resources are limited, reduced reproduction with a concomitant increase in survival is commonly observed. It is often hypothesized that this dietary restriction effect results from strategically reduced investment in reproduction in favor of somatic maintenance to survive starvation periods until resources become plentiful again. We used experimental evolution to test this "waiting-for-the-good-times" hypothesis, which predicts that selection under sustained dietary restriction will favor increased investment in reproduction at the cost of survival because "good-times" never come. We assayed fecundity and survival of female Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies that had evolved for 50 generations on three different diets varying in protein content-low (classic dietary restriction diet), standard, and high-in a full-factorial design. High-diet females evolved overall increased fecundity but showed reduced survival on low and standard diets. Low-diet females evolved reduced survival on low diet without corresponding increase in reproduction. In general, there was little correspondence between the evolution of survival and fecundity across all dietary regimes. Our results contradict the hypothesis that resource reallocation between fecundity and somatic maintenance underpins life span extension under dietary restriction.

Brief Report: A Differential Transcriptomic Profile of Ex Vivo Expanded Adult Human Hematopoietic Stem Cells Empowers Them for Engraftment Better than Their Surface Phenotype.

Transplantation of small cord blood (CB) units, or of autologous ex vivo-genetically modified adult hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), face the common challenge of suboptimal HSC doses for infusion and impaired engraftment of the transplanted cells. Ex vivo expansion of HSCs, using either cell-based coculture approaches or especially small molecules have been successfully tested mainly in CB and in prolonged cultures. Here, we explored whether innovative combinations of small molecules can sufficiently, after short culture, expand adult HSCs while retaining their functionality in vivo. We found that 5-day cultured cells, in the presence of the small molecule combinations tested, achieved higher engraftment levels in NSG mice than both their uncultured and their cytokine only-cultured counterparts. Surprisingly, the engraftment levels were neither concordant to the numbers of phenotypically similar HSCs expanded under different small molecule combinations, nor explained by their distinct companion cells present. Transcriptomic comparative analysis of sorted, phenotypically similar, ex vivo generated HSCs transplanted in equal numbers, suggested that HSCs generated under expansion conditions that maintain low expression of the Rap1/Ras/PI3K-AKT pathway exhibit a superior functional profile in vivo. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2017;6:1852-1858.

Evolution under dietary restriction increases male reproductive performance without survival cost.

Dietary restriction (DR), a reduction in nutrient intake without malnutrition, is the most reproducible way to extend lifespan in a wide range of organisms across the tree of life, yet the evolutionary underpinnings of the DR effect on lifespan are still widely debated. The leading theory suggests that this effect is adaptive and results from reallocation of resources from reproduction to somatic maintenance, in order to survive periods of famine in nature. However, such response would cease to be adaptive when DR is chronic and animals are selected to allocate more resources to reproduction. Nevertheless, chronic DR can also increase the strength of selection resulting in the evolution of more robust genotypes. We evolved Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies on 'DR', 'standard' and 'high' adult diets in replicate populations with overlapping generations. After approximately 25 generations of experimental evolution, male 'DR' flies had higher fitness than males from 'standard' and 'high' populations. Strikingly, this increase in reproductive success did not come at a cost to survival. Our results suggest that sustained DR selects for more robust male genotypes that are overall better in converting resources into energy, which they allocate mostly to reproduction.