Association Between NPHS2 p.R229Q and Focal Segmental Glomerular Sclerosis/Steroid-Resistant Nephrotic Syndrome.

Aim: NPHS2 is the coding gene of podocin. This study aims to investigate the association between NPHS2 p.R229Q (rs61747728), the most frequently reported missense variant of NPHS2, and focal segmental glomerular sclerosis (FSGS) or steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) based on typing the variant in a Chinese FSGS/SRNS cohort and conducting a meta-analysis. Method: We recruited patients with FSGS or SRNS and healthy individuals. To conduct a meta-analysis, all studies on p.R229Q and FSGS/SRNS were searched from public databases. Results: In total, we enrolled 204 patients with FSGS, 61 patients with SRNS [46 with FSGS, 9 with minimal change disease (MCD), and six patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN)], and 100 healthy controls. Unexpectedly, p.R229Q was absent in the patients from our cohort. By meta-analysis of 21 studies including 2,489 patients with FSGS/SRNS and 6,004 healthy controls, we confirmed that the A allele of p.R229Q was significantly associated with increased risk of FSGS/SRNS (allelic OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.44-2.52, P < 0.001). However, the subgroup analysis showed that the association between p.R229Q and FSGS/SRNS was true only in Caucasians (allelic OR = 2.14, 95%CI = 1.54-2.98, P < 0.001) and in early-onset patients (allelic OR: 2.13, 95% CI = 1.21-3.76, P = 0.009). Conclusion: NPHS2 p.R229Q may play an important role in enhancing the susceptibility of FSGS/SRNS, especially in ethnicity of Caucasian and age of early-onset patients.

Dissecting the process of human neutrophil lineage determination by using alpha-lipoic acid inducing neutrophil deficiency model.

Granulocyte-monocyte progenitors (GMPs) differentiate into both neutrophils and monocytes. Recently, uni-potential neutrophil progenitors have been identified both in mice and humans using an array of surface markers. However, how human GMPs commit to neutrophil progenitors and the regulatory mechanisms of fate determination remain incompletely understood. In the present study, we established a human neutrophil deficiency model using the small molecule alpha-lipoic acid. Using this neutrophil deficiency model, we determined that the neutrophil progenitor commitment process from CD371+ CD115- GMPs defined by CD34 and CD15 and discovered that critical signals generated by RNA splicing and rRNA biogenesis regulate the process of early commitment for human early neutrophil progenitors derived from CD371+ CD115- GMPs. These processes were elucidated by single-cell RNA sequencing both in vitro and in vivo derived cells. Sequentially, we identified that the transcription factor ELK1 is essential for human neutrophil lineage commitment using the alpha-lipoic acid (ALA)-inducing neutrophil deficiency model. Finally, we also revealed differential roles for long-ELK1 and short-ELK1, balanced by SF3B1, in the commitment process of neutrophil progenitors. Taken together, we discovered a novel function of ALA in regulating neutrophil lineage specification and identified that the SF3B1-ELK axis regulates the commitment of human neutrophil progenitors from CD371+ CD115- GMPs.

RUNX1 overexpression triggers TGF-ß signaling to upregulate p15 and thereby blocks early hematopoiesis by inducing cell cycle arrest.

p15INK4b (cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2B, CDKN2B, p15), a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (CKI) belonging to the INK4 family, plays an important role in hematopoiesis. Its expression level was positively related to the blockage effects of RUNX1b at the early stage. Experiments using human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines with inducible p15 expression suggested that p15 overexpression can significantly decrease the proportion of KDR+ cells in S and G2-M stages 4 days after induction from day 0. Moreover, p15 overexpression from the early stage can decrease production of CD34highCD43- cells and their derivative populations, but not CD34lowCD43- cells. These effects were weakened if induction was delayed and disappeared if induction started after day 6. All these effects were counteracted by inhibition of TGF-ß signaling. TGF-ß1 stimulation elicited similar effects as p15 overexpression. RUNX1 overexpression and activation of the TGF-ß signaling pathway upregulate the expression of p15, which is partially responsible for blockade of hematopoiesis and relevant to a change in the cell cycle status. However, it is possible that other mechanisms are involved in the regulation of hematopoiesis.

Inhibition of aryl hydrocarbon receptor signaling promotes the terminal differentiation of human erythroblasts.

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) plays an important role during mammalian embryo development. Inhibition of AHR signaling promotes the development of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. AHR also regulates the functional maturation of blood cells, such as T cells and megakaryocytes. However, little is known about the role of AHR modulation during the development of erythroid cells. In this study, we used the AHR antagonist StemRegenin 1 (SR1) and the AHR agonist 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin during different stages of human erythropoiesis to elucidate the function of AHR. We found that antagonizing AHR signaling improved the production of human embryonic stem cell derived erythrocytes and enhanced erythroid terminal differentiation. RNA sequencing showed that SR1 treatment of proerythroblasts upregulated the expression of erythrocyte differentiation-related genes and downregulated actin organization-associated genes. We found that SR1 accelerated F-actin remodeling in terminally differentiated erythrocytes, favoring their maturation of the cytoskeleton and enucleation. We demonstrated that the effects of AHR inhibition on erythroid maturation were associated with F-actin remodeling. Our findings help uncover the mechanism for AHR-mediated human erythroid cell differentiation. We also provide a new approach toward the large-scale production of functionally mature human pluripotent stem cell-derived erythrocytes for use in translational applications.

The distinct effects of P18 overexpression on different stages of hematopoiesis involve TGF-ß and NF-κB signaling.

Deficiency of P18 can significantly improve the self-renewal potential of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) and the success of long-term engraftment. However, the effects of P18 overexpression, which is involved in the inhibitory effects of RUNX1b at the early stage of hematopoiesis, have not been examined in detail. In this study, we established inducible P18/hESC lines and monitored the effects of P18 overexpression on hematopoietic differentiation. Induction of P18 from day 0 (D0) dramatically decreased production of CD34highCD43- cells and derivative populations, but not that of CD34lowCD43- cells, changed the cell cycle status and apoptosis of KDR+ cells and downregulated the key hematopoietic genes at D4, which might cause the severe blockage of hematopoietic differentiation at the early stage. By contrast, induction of P18 from D10 dramatically increased production of classic hematopoietic populations and changed the cell cycle status and apoptosis of CD45+ cells at D14. These effects can be counteracted by inhibition of TGF-ß or NF-κB signaling respectively. This is the first evidence that P18 promotes hematopoiesis, a rare property among cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors (CKIs).

Prediction of premature all-cause mortality in patients receiving peritoneal dialysis using modified artificial neural networks.

Premature all-cause mortality is high in patients receiving peritoneal dialysis (PD). The accurate and early prediction of mortality is critical and difficult. Three prediction models, the logistic regression (LR) model, artificial neural network (ANN) classic model and a new structured ANN model (ANN mixed model), were constructed and evaluated using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The permutation feature importance was used to interpret the important features in the ANN models. Eight hundred fifty-nine patients were enrolled in the study. The LR model performed slightly better than the other two ANN models on the test dataset; however, in the total dataset, the ANN models fit much better. The ANN mixed model showed the best prediction performance, with area under the ROC curves (AUROCs) of 0.8 and 0.79 for the 6-month and 12-month datasets. Our study showed that age, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) levels were common risk factors for premature mortality in patients receiving PD. Our ANN mixed model had incomparable advantages in fitting the overall data characteristics, and age is a steady risk factor for premature mortality in patients undergoing PD. Otherwise, DBP and LDL-c levels should receive more attention for all-cause mortality during follow-up.

Association of antiphospholipid antibodies with clinical activity and renal pathological activity in patients with lupus nephritis.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the association of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) with clinical activity and renal pathological activity in patients with lupus nephritis (LN). METHODS: Levels of anticardiolipin () antibodies, anti-ß2-glycoprotein I (anti-ß2-GPI) antibodies and lupus anticoagulant (LAC) were measured, and other clinical and pathological data were also obtained during the same period before renal biopsy. RESULTS: A total of 83 patients with LN were included in this study, 40 patients (48.2%) in the s positive group and 43 patients in the aPL negative group. LN patients with positive aPL had significantly higher SLEDAI (p = 0.012), more hematuria (p = 0.043), lower serum C3 (p = 0.003) and C4 (p = 0.014), and a higher pathological activity index (p = 0.012), more micro-thrombosis (p = 0.046) and more C3 deposits (p = 0.038) in the glomerulus than patients with negative aPL The level of IgG- was significantly correlated with SLEDAI and serum level of C3 (r = 0.44, p < 0.001; r = -0.39, p = 0.003, respectively). The level of IgM- was significantly correlated with SLEDAI, and serum levels of C3 and C4 (r = 0.27, p = 0.014; r = -0.22, p = 0.041; r = -0.23, p = 0.035, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Our work suggests that aPL, especially, are correlated with both clinical activity and renal pathological activity in patients with LN.

Overexpression of HOXA9 upregulates NF-κB signaling to promote human hematopoiesis and alter the hematopoietic differentiation potentials.

BACKGROUND: The HOX genes are master regulators of embryogenesis that are also involved in hematopoiesis. HOXA9 belongs to a cluster of HOX genes that play extensively studied roles in hematopoiesis and leukemogenesis. METHODS: We established HOXA9-inducible human embryonic stem cells (HOXA9/hESCs) with normal pluripotency and potential for hematopoiesis, which could be used to analyze gene function with high accuracy. HOXA9/hESCs co-cultured with aorta-gonad-mesonephros-derived stromal cells (AGM-S3) were induced to overexpress HOXA9 with doxycycline (DOX) at various times after hematopoiesis started and then subjected to flow cytometry. RESULTS: Induction of HOXA9 from Day 4 (D4) or later notably promoted hematopoiesis and also increased the production of CD34+ cells and derived populations. The potential for myelogenesis was significantly elevated while the potential for erythrogenesis was significantly reduced. At D14, a significant promotion of S phase was observed in green fluorescent protein positive (GFP+) cells overexpressing HOXA9. NF-κB signaling was also up-regulated at D14 following induction of HOXA9 on D4. All of these effects could be counteracted by addition of an NF-κB inhibitor or siRNA against NFKB1 along with DOX. CONCLUSIONS: Overexpression of HOXA9 starting at D4 or later during hematopoiesis significantly promoted hematopoiesis and the production of myeloid progenitors while reduced the production of erythroid progenitors, indicating that HOXA9 plays a key role in hematopoiesis and differentiation of hematopoietic lineages.

Tuberculosis spondylitis in patients on hemodialysis: Clinical features, risk factors, and outcomes in 12 patients.

The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical features, risk factors and outcomes of tuberculosis spondylitis (TBS) in patients on hemodialysis (HD). We systematically reviewed medical records from 12 HD patients with TBS admitted to our hospital from April 2008 to April 2018. A total of 120 age- and sex-matched HD patients without infections were randomly selected as controls. The incidence of TBS in our patient group was 1.5/1000 per year. The average duration from initial symptoms to diagnosis was 45.4 days (range, 11-180 days). Neurosurgery was performed in 4 (33.3%) patients. TBS was cured or improved in 11 (91.7%) patients. HD patients with TBS had significantly lower albumin and Hb levels than controls (P = .03 and P = .01). These findings indicated that lower albumin and Hb levels were possible risk factors for TBS in patients on HD, most HD patients with TBS had a good outcome after anti-TB therapy with or without surgery.

Predictors of renal outcomes in crescentic and mixed class of ANCA-associated glomerulonephritis.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the predictors of renal outcomes in crescentic and mixed class of ANCA-associated glomerulonephritis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We systematically reviewed the medical records of patients with ANCA-associated glomerulonephritis admitted to our hospital from December 2008 to December 2018, and found 30 patients with crescentic and 40 patients with mixed ANCA-associated glomerulonephritis. RESULTS: End-stage renal disease developed in 33.3 and 25% patients over a median follow-up of 45.1 and 46.7 months in the crescentic and mixed group, respectively. There was no significant difference in renal survival rates between the two histological subgroups (log-rank p = 0.558). In the Cox regression model, old age, lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), lower normal glomeruli ratio, and a higher tubular atrophy and interstitial fibrosis ratio were significantly associated end-stage renal disease (p < 0.05 for all). Among our patients, 17.1% were at low risk, 57.1% were at medium risk, and 25.7% were at high risk according to antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody renal risk score and end-stage renal disease developed in 8.3, 40, and 66.7%, respectively (p = 0.024). CONCLUSION: These findings indicated that the renal risk score was a better prognostic tool than Berden's classification in a cohort with crescentic and mixed histologic categories.

Early development and functional properties of tryptase/chymase double-positive mast cells from human pluripotent stem cells.

Mast cells (MCs) play a pivotal role in the hypersensitivity reaction by regulating the innate and adaptive immune responses. Humans have two types of MCs. The first type, termed MCTC, is found in the skin and other connective tissues and expresses both tryptase and chymase, while the second, termed MCT, which only expresses tryptase, is found primarily in the mucosa. MCs induced from human adult-type CD34+ cells are reported to be of the MCT type, but the development of MCs during embryonic/fetal stages is largely unknown. Using an efficient coculture system, we identified that a CD34+c-kit+ cell population, which appeared prior to the emergence of CD34+CD45+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs), stimulated robust production of pure Tryptase+Chymase+ MCs (MCTCs). Single-cell analysis revealed dual development directions of CD34+c-kit+ progenitors, with one lineage developing into erythro-myeloid progenitors (EMP) and the other lineage developing into HSPC. Interestingly, MCTCs derived from early CD34+c-kit+ cells exhibited strong histamine release and immune response functions. Particularly, robust release of IL-17 suggested that these early developing tissue-type MCTCs could play a central role in tumor immunity. These findings could help elucidate the mechanisms controlling early development of MCTCs and have significant therapeutic implications.

Alpha lipoic acid promotes development of hematopoietic progenitors derived from human embryonic stem cells by antagonizing ROS signals.

Antagonism of ROS signaling can inhibit cell apoptosis and autophagy, thus favoring the maintenance and expansion of hematopoietic stem cells. Alpha lipoic acid (ALA), a small antioxidant molecule, affects cell apoptosis by lowering the ROS level. In this study, we show that ALA promoted production of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) derived hemogenic endothelial cells and hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells in vitro. Transcriptome analysis of hPSCs derived hemogenic endothelial cells showed that ALA promoted endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition by up-regulating RUNX1, GFI1, GFI1B, MEIS2, and HIF1A and down-regulating SOX17, TGFB1, TGFB2, TGFB3, TGFBR1, and TGFBR2. ALA also up-regulated sensor genes of ROS signals, including HIF1A, FOXO1, FOXO3, ATM, PETEN, SIRT1, and SIRT3, during the process of hPSCs derived hemogenic endothelial cells generation. However, in more mature hPSC-derived hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells, ALA reduced ROS levels and inhibited apoptosis. In particular, ALA enhanced development of hPSCs derived hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells by up-regulating HIF1A in response to a hypoxic environment. Furthermore, addition of ALA in ex vivo culture greatly improved the maintenance of functional cord blood HSCs by in vivo transplantation assay. Our findings support the conjecture that ALA plays an important role in efficient regeneration of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells from hPSCs and maintenance of functional HSCs, providing insight into understanding of regeneration of early hematopoiesis for engineering clinically useful hPSCs derived hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells transplantation. Thus, ALA can be used in the study of hPSCs derived HSCs.

New risk score for predicting steroid resistance in patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis or minimal change disease.

BACKGROUND: Glucocorticosteroid is used for patients with primary nephrotic syndrome. This study aims to identify and validate that biomarkers can be used to predict steroid resistance. METHODS: Our study contained two stages, discovery and validation stage. In discovery stage, we enrolled 51 minimal change disease (MCD) or focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) patients treated with full dose steroid. Five urinary biomarkers including ß2-microglobulin (ß2-MG) and α1-microglobulin (α1-MG) were tested and candidates' biomarkers were selected based on their associations with steroid response. In validation stage, candidates' biomarkers were validated in two prospectively enrolled cohorts. Validation cohort A included 157 FSGS/MCD patients. Validation cohort B included 59 membranous nephropathy (MN) patients. Patients were classified into response group (RG) or non-response group (NRG) based on their responses to steroid treatment. RESULTS: In discovery stage, higher urinary ß2-MG was independently associated with response to corticosteroid treatment in MCD/FSGS patients [OR = 1.89, 95% CI 1.02-3.53] after adjusted by age and gender. In validation cohort A, patients in NRG had a significant higher urinary ß2-MG [Ln (ß2-MG/uCr): 4.6 ± 1.7 vs 3.2 ± 1.5] compared to patients in RG. We then developed a 3-variable risk score in predicting steroid resistance in FSGS/MCD patients based on the best predictive model including Ln(ß2-MG/uCr) [OR = 1.76, 95% CI 1.30-2.37], age [OR = 1.005, 95% CI 0.98-1.03] and pathology [MCD vs FSGS, OR = 0.20, 95% CI 0.09-0.46]. The area under the ROC curves of the risk score in predicting steroid response was 0.80 (95% CI 0.65-0.85). However, no such association was found in MN patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our study identified a 3-variable risk score in predicting steroid resistance in patients with FSGS or MCD.

Overexpression of p21 Has Inhibitory Effect on Human Hematopoiesis by Blocking Generation of CD43＋ Cells via Cell-Cycle Regulation.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: p21, an important member of the Cip/Kip family, is involved in inhibitory effects of RUNX1b overexpression during the early stage of human hematopoiesis. METHODS AND RESULTS: We established a human embryonic stem cell (hESC) line with inducible expression of p21 (p21/hESCs). Overexpression of p21 did not influence either mesoderm induction or emergence of CD34＋ cells, but it significantly decreased the production of CD43＋ cells and changed the expression profile of hematopoiesis-related factors, leading to the negative effects of p21 on hematopoiesis. CONCLUSIONS: In RUNX1b/hESC co-cultures when RUNX1b was induced from D0, perturbation of the cell cycle caused by upregulation of p21 probably prevented the appearance of CD43＋ cells, but not CD34＋ cells. The mechanisms via which CD34＋ cells are blocked by RUNX1b overexpression remain to be elucidated.

Effects of parathyroid hormone and vitamin D supplementation on stroke among patients receiving peritoneal dialysis.

BACKGROUND: Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients have a high incidence of stroke and commonly have increased parathyroid hormone levels and vitamin D insufficiency. We seek to investigate the incidence of stroke and the role of parathyroid hormone and vitamin D supplementation in stroke risk among CAPD patients. METHODS: This study employed a retrospective design. We enrolled a Chinese cohort of 980 CAPD patients who were routinely followed in our department. The demographic and clinical data were recorded at the time of initial CAPD and during follow-up. The included patients were separated into non-stroke and stroke groups. The effects of parathyroid hormone and vitamin D supplementation on stroke in CAPD patients was evaluated. The primary endpoint is defined as the first occurrence of stroke, and composite endpoint events are defined as death or switch to hemodialysis during follow-up. RESULTS: A total of 757 eligible CAPD patients with a mean follow-up time of 54.7 (standard deviation, 33) months were included in the study. The median incidence of stroke among our CAPD patients was 18.9 (interquartile range, 15.7-22.1) per 1000 person-years. A significant nonlinear correlation between baseline iPTH and hazard of stroke (p-value of linear association = 0.2 and nonlinear association = 0.002) was observed in our univariate Cox regression analysis, and low baseline iPTH levels (≤150 pg/ml) were associated with an increased cumulative hazard of stroke. Multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated a significant interaction effect between age and iPTH after adjusting for other confounders. Vitamin D supplementation during follow-up was a predictive factor for stroke in our cohort. CONCLUSIONS: CAPD patients suffered a high risk of stroke, and lower iPTH levels were significantly correlated with an increased risk of stroke. Nevertheless, vitamin D supplementation may reduce the risk of stroke in these patients.

RUNX1-205, a novel splice variant of the human RUNX1 gene, has blockage effect on mesoderm-hemogenesis transition and promotion effect during the late stage of hematopoiesis.

Runt-related transcription factor 1 (RUNX1) is required for definitive hematopoiesis; however, the functions of most human RUNX1 isoforms are unclear. In particular, the effects of RUNX1-205 (a novel splice variant that lacks exon 6 in comparison with RUNX1b) on human hematopoiesis are not clear. In this study, a human embryonic stem cell (hESC) line with inducible RUNX1-205 overexpression was established. Analyses of these cells revealed that induction of RUNX1-205 overexpression at early stage did not influence the induction of mesoderm but blocked the emergence of CD34+ cells, and the production of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells was significantly reduced. In addition, the expression of hematopoiesis-related factors was downregulated. However, these effects were abolished when RUNX1-205 overexpression was induced after Day 6 in co-cultures of hESCs and AGM-S3 cells, indicating that the inhibitory effect occurred prior to generation of hemogenic endothelial cells, while the promotive effect could be observed during the late stage of hematopoiesis. This is very similar to that of RUNX1b. Interestingly, the mRNA expression profile of RUNX1-205 during hematopoiesis was distinct from that of RUNX1b, and the protein stability of RUNX1-205 was much higher than that of RUNX1b. Thus, the function of RUNX1-205 in normal and diseased models should be further explored.

HOXC4 up-regulates NF-κB signaling and promotes the cell proliferation to drive development of human hematopoiesis, especially CD43+ cells.

The hematopoietic function of HOXC4 has not been extensively investigated. Our research indicated that induction of HOXC4 in co-culture system from D10 significantly promoted productions of most hematopoietic progenitor cells. CD34-CD43+ cells could be clearly classified into CD34-CD43low and CD34-CD43high sub-populations at D14. The former cells had greater myelogenic potential, and their production was not significantly influenced by induction of HOXC4. By contrast, the latter cells had greater potential to differentiate into megakaryocytes and erythroid cells, and thus had properties of erythroid-megakaryocyte common progenitors, which abundance was increased by ∼2-fold when HOXC4 was induced from D10. For CD34-CD43low, CD34+CD43+, and CD34-CD43high sub-populations, CD43 level served as a natural index for the tendency to undergo hematopoiesis. Induction of HOXC4 from D10 caused more CD43+ cells sustain in S-phase with up-regulation of NF-κB signaling, which could be counteracted by inhibition of NF-κB signaling. These observations suggested that promotion of hematopoiesis by HOXC4 is closely related to NF-κB signaling and a change in cell-cycle status, which containing potential of clinical applications.

Mitochondria as a therapeutic target for ischemic stroke.

Stroke is the leading cause of death and physical disability worldwide. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been considered as one of the hallmarks of ischemic stroke and contributes to the pathology of ischemia and reperfusion. Mitochondria is essential in promoting neural survival and neurological improvement following ischemic stroke. Therefore, mitochondria represent an important drug target for stroke treatment. This review discusses the mitochondrial molecular mechanisms underlying cerebral ischemia and involved in reactive oxygen species generation, mitochondrial electron transport dysfunction, mitochondria-mediated regulation of inflammasome activation, mitochondrial dynamics and biogenesis, and apoptotic cell death. We highlight the potential of mitochondrial transfer by stem cells as a therapeutic target for stroke treatment and provide valuable insights for clinical strategies. A better understanding of the roles of mitochondria in ischemia-induced cell death and protection may provide a rationale design of novel therapeutic interventions in the ischemic stroke.

The piggyBac-based double-inducible binary vector system: A novel universal platform for studying gene functions and interactions.

Eukaryotic inducible overexpression systems, including Tet-On and mifepristone-inducible systems, have been widely used to study gene functions by reverse genetics. Among the transposon systems reported to date, the piggyBac transposon system is one of the most efficient in cultured mammalian cells. Here, we report a piggyBac-based double-inducible system that combined the advantages of previous systems. To create this system, the trans- and cis-elements of the Tet-On and mifepristone-inducible systems were cloned into a piggyBac-based trans-vector and cis-vector, respectively. The coding regions of two splicing variants of RUNX1, RUNX1a and RUNX1b, were inserted into the cis-vector to test its ability to express foreign genes along with fluorescent marker proteins. Transgenic 293 T cells were established, and the system was tested by inducing expression of foreign genes with DOX and/or mifepristone; GFP and/or mCherry were used as reporter genes. The system efficiently and stringently induced expression of GFP/mCherry and their co-expressed genes without significant mutual interference, as determined by qRT-PCR and Western blot. This piggyBac-based double-inducible system represents a new genetic tool for studying gene functions and interactions in vitro and in vivo in almost all organisms.

Overexpression of GATA2 Enhances Development and Maintenance of Human Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Hematopoietic Stem Cell-like Progenitors.

GATA2 is essential for the endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition (EHT) and generation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). It is poorly understood how GATA2 controls the development of human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived HS-like cells. Here, using human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) in which GATA2 overexpression was induced by doxycycline (Dox), we elucidated the dual functions of GATA2 in definitive hematopoiesis before and after the emergence of CD34+CD45+CD90+CD38- HS-like cells. Specifically, GATA2 promoted expansion of hemogenic precursors via the EHT and then helped to maintain HS-like cells in a quiescent state by regulating cell cycle. RNA sequencing showed that hPSC-derived HS-like cells were very similar to human fetal liver-derived HSCs. Our findings will help to elucidate the mechanism that controls the early stages of human definitive hematopoiesis and may help to develop a strategy to generate hPSC-derived HSCs.