MicroRNA screen of human embryonic stem cell differentiation reveals miR-105 as an enhancer of megakaryopoiesis from adult CD34+ cells.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) can control stem cell differentiation by targeting mRNAs. Using 96-well plate electroporation, we screened 466 human miRNA mimics by four-color flow cytometry to explore differentiation of common myeloid progenitors (CMP) derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). The transfected cells were then cultured in a cytokine cocktail that supported multiple hematopoietic lineages. At 4-5 days post-transfection, flow cytometry of erythroid (CD235(+)CD41(-)), megakaryocyte (CD41(+)CD42(+)), and myeloid (CD18(+)CD235(-)) lineages revealed miR-105 as a novel enhancer of megakaryocyte production during in vitro primitive hematopoiesis. In hESC-derived CMPs, miR-105 caused a sixfold enhancement in megakaryocyte production. miR-513a, miR-571, and miR-195 were found to be less potent megakaryocyte enhancers. We confirmed the relevance of miR-105 in adult megakaryopoiesis by demonstrating increased megakaryocyte yield and megakaryocyte colony forming potential in human adult CD34(+) cells derived from peripheral blood. In addition, adult CD34(+) cells express endogenous miR-105 during megakaryocyte differentiation. siRNA knockdown of the hematopoietic transcription factor c-Myb caused a similar enhancement of megakaryocyte production as miR-105. Finally, a luciferase/c-Myb-3'UTR construct and Western blot analysis demonstrated that the hematopoietic transcription factor c-Myb mRNA was a target of miR-105. We report a novel hESC-based miR screening platform and demonstrate that miR-105 is an enhancer of megakaryopoiesis in both primitive and definitive hematopoiesis.

Microfluidic assessment of functional culture-derived platelets in human thrombi under flow.

Despite their clinical significance, human platelets are not amenable to genetic manipulation, thus forcing a reliance on mouse models. Culture-derived platelets (CDPs) from human peripheral blood CD34(+) cells can be genetically altered and may eventually be used for transfusions. By use of microfluidics, the time-dependent incorporation of CD41(+)CD42(+) CDPs into clots was measured using only 54,000 CDPs doped into 27 µL of human whole blood perfused over collagen at a wall shear rate of 100 sec(-1). With the use of fluorescence-labeled human platelets (instead of CDPs) doped between 0.25% and 2% of total platelets, incorporation was highly quantitative and allowed monitoring of the anti-αIIbß3 antagonism that occurred after collagen adhesion. CDPs were only 15% as efficient as human platelets in their incorporation into human thrombi under flow, although both cell types were equally antagonized by αIIbß3 inhibition. Transient transfection allowed the monitoring of GFP(+) human CDP incorporation into clots. This assay quantifies genetically altered CDP function under flow.

An enhanced approach for engineering thermally stable proteins using yeast display.

Many biotechnology applications require the evolution of enhanced protein stability. Using polymerase chain reaction-based recovery of engineered clones during the screen enrichment phase, we describe a yeast display method capable of yielding engineered proteins having thermal stability that substantially exceeds the viability threshold of the yeast host. To this end, yeast-enhanced green fluorescent protein destabilized by dual-loop insertion was engineered to possess a substantially enhanced resistance to thermal denaturation at 70°C. Stabilized proteins were secreted, purified and found to have three- to six-fold increased resistance to thermal denaturation. The validated method enables yeast display-based screens in previously inaccessible regions of the fitness landscape.