Derivation of Genea042 human embryonic stem cell line.

The Genea042 human embryonic stem cell line was derived from a donated, fully commercially consented ART blastocyst, through ICM outgrowth on inactivated human feeders. The line showed pluripotent cell morphology and genomic analysis verified a 46, XX karyotype and female allele pattern through traditional karyotyping, CGH and STR analysis. Pluripotency of Genea042 was demonstrated with 81% of cells expressing Nanog, 95% Oct4, 53% Tra1-60 and 97% SSEA4, a PluriTest Pluripotency score of 30.06, Novelty score of 1.24 and Alkaline Phosphatase activity. The cell line was negative for Mycoplasma and any visible contamination.

Derivation of Genea052 human embryonic stem cell line.

The Genea052 human embryonic stem cell line was derived from a donated, fully commercially consented ART blastocyst, through ICM outgrowth on inactivated human feeders. The line showed pluripotent cell morphology and genomic analysis verified a 46, XY karyotype and male allele pattern through CGH and STR analysis. Pluripotency of Genea052 was demonstrated with 85% of cells expressing Nanog, 87% Oct4, 60% Tra1-60 and 97% SSEA4, a PluriTest Pluripotency score of 27.21, Novelty score of 1.2 and tri-lineage teratoma formation. The cell line was negative for Mycoplasma and any visible contamination.

Derivation of Genea047 human embryonic stem cell line.

The Genea047 human embryonic stem cell line was derived from a donated, fully commercially consented ART blastocyst, through ICM outgrowth on inactivated human feeders. The line showed pluripotent cell morphology and genomic analysis verified a 46, XX karyotype and female allele pattern through traditional karyotyping, CGH and STR analysis. Pluripotency of Genea047 was demonstrated with 88% of cells expressing Nanog, 95% Oct4, 59% Tra1-60 and 99% SSEA4, a PluriTest Pluripotency score of 30.86, Novelty score of 1.23 and tri-lineage teratoma formation. The cell line was negative for Mycoplasma and any visible contamination.

Derivation of Huntington Disease affected Genea046 human embryonic stem cell line.

The Genea046 human embryonic stem cell line was derived from a donated, fully commercially consented ART blastocyst, carrying HTT gene CAG expansion of 45 repeats, indicative of Huntington Disease. Following ICM outgrowth on inactivated human feeders, karyotype was confirmed as 46, XX by CGH and STR analysis demonstrated a female Allele pattern. The hESC line had pluripotent cell morphology, 85% of cells expressed Nanog, 92% Oct4, 75% Tra1-60 and 99% SSEA4 and demonstrated Alkaline Phosphatase activity. The cell line was negative for Mycoplasma and visible contamination.

Derivation of FSHD1 affected human embryonic stem cell line Genea049.

The Genea049 human embryonic stem cell line was derived from a donated, fully commercially consented ART blastocyst, carrying a deletion in 4q35 with only 5 D4Z4 repeats by PGD linkage analysis, indicative of FSHD1. Following ICM outgrowth on inactivated human feeders, karyotype was confirmed as 46, XX by CGH and STR analysis demonstrated a female Allele pattern. The hESC line had pluripotent cell morphology, 90% of cells expressed Nanog, 96% Oct4, 80% Tra1-60 and 99% SSEA4, gave a Pluritest Pluripotency score of 23.16, Novelty of 1.43 and demonstrated Alkaline Phosphatase activity. The cell line was negative for Mycoplasma and visible contamination.

Derivation of FSHD1 affected human embryonic stem cell line Genea050.

The Genea050 human embryonic stem cell line was derived from a donated, fully commercially consented ART blastocyst, carrying a deletion in 4q35 with only 5 D4Z4 repeats by PGD linkage analysis, indicative of FSHD1. Following ICM outgrowth on inactivated human feeders, karyotype was confirmed as 46, XY and STR analysis demonstrated a male Allele pattern. The hESC line had pluripotent cell morphology, 92% of cells expressed Nanog, 97% Oct4, 79% Tra1-60 and 99% SSEA4, gave a Pluritest Pluripotency score of 25.45, Novelty of 1.45 demonstrated Alkaline Phosphatase activity and tri-lineage teratoma formation. The cell line was negative for Mycoplasma and visible contamination.

Derivation of Genea015 human embryonic stem cell line.

The Genea015 human embryonic stem cell line was derived from a donated, fully commercially consented ART blastocyst, through ICM outgrowth on inactivated human feeders. The line showed pluripotent cell morphology and genomic analysis verified a 46, XY karyotype and male Allele pattern through traditional karyotyping, CGH and STR analysis. Pluripotency of Genea015 was demonstrated with 80% of cells expressing Nanog, 97% Oct4, 75% Tra1-60 and 98% SSEA4, a PluriTest Pluripotency score of 29.52, Novelty score of 1.3 and Alkaline Phosphatase activity. The cell line was negative for Mycoplasma and any visible contamination.

Derivation of Genea016 human embryonic stem cell line.

The Genea016 human embryonic stem cell line was derived from a donated, fully commercially consented ART blastocyst, through ICM outgrowth on inactivated human feeders. The line showed pluripotent cell morphology and genomic analysis verified a 46, XX karyotype and female Allele pattern through traditional karyotyping, CGH and STR analysis. Pluripotency of Genea016 was demonstrated with 77% of cells expressing Nanog, 95% Oct4, 53% Tra1-60 and 98% SSEA4, a PluriTest Pluripotency score of 28.4, Novelty score of 1.37 and Alkaline Phosphatase activity. The cell line was negative for Mycoplasma and any visible contamination.

Derivation of Genea057 human embryonic stem cell line.

The Genea057 human embryonic stem cell line was derived from a donated, fully commercially consented ART blastocyst, through ICM outgrowth on inactivated human feeders. The line showed pluripotent cell morphology and genomic analysis verified a 46, XX karyotype and female allele pattern through traditional karyotyping, CGH and STR analysis. Pluripotency of Genea057 was demonstrated with 97% of cells expressing Nanog, 81% Oct4, 75% Tra1-60 and 97% SSEA4, a PluriTest Pluripotency score of 27.59 and Novelty score of 1.32. The cell line was negative for Mycoplasma and any visible contamination.

Derivation of Genea043 human embryonic stem cell line.

The Genea043 human embryonic stem cell line was derived from a donated, fully commercially consented ART blastocyst, through ICM outgrowth on inactivated human feeders. The line showed pluripotent cell morphology and genomic analysis verified a 46, XY karyotype and male allele pattern through traditional karyotyping, CGH and STR analysis. Pluripotency of Genea043 was demonstrated with 92% of cells expressing Nanog, 95% Oct4, 61% Tra1-60 and 99% SSEA4, a PluriTest Pluripotency score of 31.74, Novelty score of 1.2 and Alkaline Phosphatase activity. The cell line was negative for Mycoplasma and any visible contamination.

Cell lines from morphologically abnormal discarded IVF embryos are typically euploid and unaccompanied by intrachromosomal aberrations.

Routine IVF practices result in the discarding of a significant proportion of embryos due to their unsuitability for transfer or cryopreservation. The present study plated clinically unusable human blastocysts to derive cellular outgrowths for aneuploidy studies and genome-wide analysis of DNA copy number variations, and to evaluate their potential as a source for pluripotent stem cells. Just 79 cellular outgrowths were obtained from 1026 abnormal blastocysts (7.7%), reflecting their low developmental potential. Of these, 13 (16.5%) were karyotypically abnormal and included trisomies frequently detected in miscarriages, each of which was uniform (nonmosaic) and the result of meiotic nondisjunction. Evaluation of submicroscopic DNA gains and losses in 10 diploid cellular outgrowths did not identify increased rates of copy number variations. Five of these outgrowths were shown to express pluripotency markers and could be developed into cell lineages representative of the three germ layers. These data suggest that embryos with chromosomal abnormalities resist cell-line derivation, and mosaic aneuploidy produced from mitotic nondisjunction, common in preimplantation embryos, is likely to be diminished or lost under conditions of diploid cell competition. Furthermore, this work demonstrated that abnormal embryos discarded in IVF programmes can provide a valuable source for pluripotent stem cell lines. During IVF, a large proportion of embryos are clinically unsuitable due to abnormal development and these embryos only have a small chance of achieving a pregnancy. Here we used these abnormal embryos to create cell lines for genetic testing and to determine their potential as stem cells. Of the 1026 abnormal embryos used, 79 (7.7%) created cell lines, reflecting their low developmental potential. Of those, only 16.5% had chromosomal anomalies, a much lower number than expected. This included chromosome abnormalities frequently observed in miscarriages, all of which were found in each cell tested (nonmosaic) and originated from the egg or the sperm as opposed to cell division. In-depth testing of 10 normal cell lines for small DNA gains and losses did not reveal an increased frequency of mutations. Furthermore, five of the cell lines were examined for stem cell properties and found to exhibit the hallmark features of stem cells including their ability to make mature cells from different parts of the body. Our data suggest that embryos with abnormal chromosomes resist making cell lines and that abnormalities that arise during cell division are likely to be lost due to competition with normal cells. We also demonstrated that abnormal embryos usually discarded in IVF programmes can provide a valuable source for stem cell lines.

Derivation of Huntington's disease-affected human embryonic stem cell lines.

Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease caused by an expansion of cytosine-adenine-guanine (CAG) repeats in the Huntingtin gene Htt. To facilitate research into HD, we have derived 4 human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines containing ≥ 40 CAG repeats in exon 1 of Htt: SIVF017-HD (CAG40), SIVF018-HD (CAG46), SIVF020-HD (CAG48), and SIVF046-HD (CAG45). Additionally, we have derived a normal sibling-matched control for SIVF020-HD, cell line SIVF019. All 5 hESC lines had a normal karyotype, expressed pluripotency markers including Oct4, SSEA3, and Tra-1-81, and could be maintained in culture for multiple (>40) passages. Teratoma studies revealed that the hESC lines were capable of differentiating into cells representative of the 3 germ layers. Furthermore, in vitro neuronal differentiation experiments have confirmed that the hESC lines were able to generate MAP2-positive neuronal cells that express the Htt protein. Combined, these experiments confirm that the cell lines represent pluripotent stem cell lines. These HD-affected hESC lines will be made available to biomedical research laboratories and will provide a valuable tool to investigate the mechanisms and potential treatments for HD.

Derivation of three new human embryonic stem cell lines.

Human embryonic stem cells are pluripotent cells capable of extensive self-renewal and differentiation to all cells of the embryo proper. Here, we describe the derivation and characterization of three Sydney IVF human embryonic stem cell lines not already reported elsewhere, designated SIVF001, SIVF002, and SIVF014. The cell lines display typical compact colony morphology of embryonic stem cells, have stable growth rates over more than 40 passages and are cytogenetically normal. Furthermore, the cell lines express pluripotency markers including Nanog, Oct4, SSEA3 and Tra-1-81, and are capable of generating teratoma cells derived from each of the three germ layers in immunodeficient mice. These experiments show that the cell lines constitute pluripotent stem cell lines.

Karyotypically normal and abnormal human embryonic stem cell lines derived from PGD-analyzed embryos.

Although a normal karyotype is generally a requirement for stem cell lines, new applications are likely to emerge for stem cells with defined chromosomal aneuploidies. We therefore investigated the use of embryos found to be aneuploid on biopsy followed by preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) with fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), and developmentally arrested embryos for stem cell derivation. Eleven stem cell lines were obtained from 41 embryos in 36 cultures, with higher success rate achieved from PGD-analyzed, developmentally advanced embryos (45%) than from clinically unsuitable non-PGD embryos (13%). The resulting stem cell lines were karyotyped, and surprisingly, six of the nine lines from aneuploid embryos as well as both lines from non-PGD embryos were karyotypically normal. Three lines from PGD embryos were aneuploid exhibiting trisomy 5, trisomy 16, and an isochromosome 13, respectively. None of the aneuploid lines presented the same anomally as the original PGD analysis. Our study has three important implications. First, we confirm the ability to produce stem cell lines from PGD-tested embryos as well as developmentally abnormal embryos, offering specialty stem cell lines for research into the clinically important aneuploidies. Second, we observe that stem cell derivation from apparently aneuploid embryos is often thwarted by underlying mosaicism and emerging dominance of the stem cell line by karyotypically normal cells. The corollary, however, is that regular production of normal stem cell lines from developmentally abnormal embryos ordinarity discarded opens a new source of embryos for stem cells, whether for research or for eventual therapeutic use within the donating families.

Variable expressivity of the tumour suppressor protein TRP53 in cryopreserved human blastocysts.

In a mouse model, in vitro fertilization or extended embryo culture leads to the increased expression of TRP53 in susceptible embryos. Ablation of the TRP53 gene improved embryo viability indicating that increased expression of TRP53 is a cause of the reduction of embryo viability resulting from in vitro fertilization or embryo culture. This study investigates the status of TRP53 expression in human embryos produced by intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Following fertilization, embryos were cultured for 96 h and then cryopreserved. Immediately upon thawing they were fixed in formaldehyde and subjected to immunostaining for TRP53. Staining was visualized by confocal microscopy. Negative controls were incubated with isotype control immunoglobulin and showed negligible staining. All embryos showed TRP53 staining above negative controls. TRP53 staining was heterogenous within and between embryos. An embryo that showed retarded development showed high levels of TRP53 expression. A blastocyst that had a collapsed blastocoel also showed high levels of TRP53 compared to morphologically normal blastocysts. Most TRP53 staining was in the region of the nucleus. Morphologically normal blastocysts tended to show little nuclear accumulation of stain. However, some cells within these embryos had high levels of nuclear TRP53 expression. The results show that embryos have varying sensitivity to the stresses of production and culture in vitro, and this resulted in variable expressivity of TRP53.

Effects of in vitro fertilization and embryo culture on TRP53 and Bax expression in B6 mouse embryos.

In the mouse, embryo culture results in a characteristic phenotype of retarded embryo preimplantation development and reduced numbers of cells within embryos. The expression of TRP53 is central to the regulation of the cell's capacity to proliferate and survive. In this study we found that Trp53 mRNA is expressed throughout the preimplantation stage of development. Levels of TRP53 protein expression were low during the cleavage stages and increased at the morula and blastocyst stages in B6 embryos collected from the reproductive tract. Embryos collected at the zygote stage and cultured for 96 h also showed low levels of TRP53 expression at precompaction stages. There were higher levels of TRP53 in cultured morula and the level in cultured blastocysts was clearly increased above blastocysts collected directly from the uterus. Immunolocalization of TRP53 showed that its increased expression in cultured blastocysts corresponded with a marked accumulation of TRP53 within the nuclei of embryonic cells. This pattern of expression was enhanced in embryos produced by in vitro fertilization and subjected to culture. The TRP53 was transcriptionally active since culture also induced increased expression of Bax, yet this did not occur in embryos lacking Trp53 (Trp53-/-). The rate of development of Trp53-/- zygotes to the blastocyst stage was not different to wildtype controls when embryos were cultured in groups of ten but was significantly faster when cultured individually. The results show that zygote culture resulted in the accumulation of transcription activity of TRP53 in the resulting blastocysts. This accounts for the adverse effects of culture of embryos individually, but does not appear to be the sole cause of the retarded preimplantation stage growth phenotype associated with culture in vitro.