Sialyl-lactotetra, a novel cell surface marker of undifferentiated human pluripotent stem cells.

Cell surface glycoconjugates are used as markers for undifferentiated pluripotent stem cells. Here, antibody binding and mass spectrometry characterization of acid glycosphingolipids isolated from a large number (1 × 10(9) cells) of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines allowed identification of several novel acid glycosphingolipids, like the gangliosides sialyl-lactotetraosylceramide and sialyl-globotetraosylceramide, and the sulfated glycosphingolipids sulfatide, sulf-lactosylceramide, and sulf-globopentaosylceramide. A high cell surface expression of sialyl-lactotetra on hESC and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) was demonstrated by flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy, whereas sulfated glycosphingolipids were only found in intracellular compartments. Immunohistochemistry showed distinct cell surface anti-sialyl-lactotetra staining on all seven hESC lines and three hiPSC lines analyzed, whereas no staining of hESC-derived hepatocyte-like or cardiomyocyte-like cells was obtained. Upon differentiation of hiPSC into hepatocyte-like cells, the sialyl-lactotetra epitope was rapidly down-regulated and not detectable after 14 days. These findings identify sialyl-lactotetra as a promising marker of undifferentiated human pluripotent stem cells.

Activation of invariant NKT cells by toll-like receptor 9-stimulated dendritic cells requires type I interferon and charged glycosphingolipids.

Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are a subset of innate lymphocytes that recognize lipid antigens in the context of CD1d and mediate potent immune regulatory functions via the rapid production of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and interleukin-4 (IL-4). We investigated whether diverse Toll-like receptor (TLR) signals in myeloid dendritic cells (DCs) could differentially stimulate iNKT cells. Together with the lipopolysaccharide-detecting receptor TLR4, activation of the nucleic acid sensors TLR7 and TLR9 in DCs were particularly potent in stimulating iNKT cells to produce IFN-gamma, but not IL-4. iNKT cell activation in response to TLR9 stimulation required combined synthesis of type I interferon and de novo production of charged beta-linked glycosphingolipid(s) by DCs. In addition, DCs stimulated via TLR9 activated both iNKT cells and NK cells in vivo and protected mice against B16F10-induced melanoma metastases. These data underline the role of TLR9 in iNKT cell activation and might have relevance to infectious diseases and cancer.