Nanog co-regulated by Nodal/Smad2 and Oct4 is required for pluripotency in developing mouse epiblast

AbstractNanog, a core pluripotency factor, is required for stabilizing pluripotency of inner cell mass (ICM) and embryonic stem cells (ESCs), and survival of primordial germ cells in mice. Here, we have addressed function and regulation of Nanog in epiblasts of postimplantation mouse embryos by conditional knockdown (KD), chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) using in vivo epiblasts, and protein interaction with the Nanog promoter in vitro. Differentiation of Nanog-KD epiblasts demonstrated requirement for Nanog in stabilization of pluripotency. Nanog expression in epiblast is directly regulated by Nodal/Smad2 pathway in a visceral endoderm-dependent manner. Notably, Nanog promoters switch from Oct4/Esrrb in ICM/ESCs to Oct4/Smad2 in epiblasts. Smad2 directly associates with Oct4 to form Nanog promoting protein complex. Collectively, these data demonstrate that Nanog plays a key role in stabilizing Epiblast pluripotency mediated by Nodal/Smad2 signaling, which is involved in Nanog promoter switching in early developing embryos

A study on the cost and willingness to recruit EPA foreign nurses and care workers in Japan: from the angle of hospitals and care facilities

Japan started accepting foreign nurses and care workers under the Economic Partnership Agreement（ EPA） in FY 2008. However, the number has been declining since FY2009 despite improved conditions. Many pointed out that the decline occurred mainly due to the constraints of supply side because the conditionality set by the EPA looked so strict for foreign workers. This paper highlights a problem of demand side ? economic cost for the hospitals and care facilities（ the employers）. A questionnaire survey was conducted and used for examining a hypothesis that high costs for the employers were a major cause of the decline. The survey revealed that employing the candidates required high economic costs including additional staff labor. Majority of employers indicated unwillingness to recruit further EPA candidates. However, statistical tests proved no significant relations between the costs and the willingness for nurses, while some positive relationships were confirmed for care workers. It suggests that non-economic factors exert strong influence on the demand for nurses. The current EPA system needs substantial modifications including easing conditionality and reducing economic costs for employers

Application of thermoresponsive HPLC to forensic toxicology: determination of barbiturates in human urine

A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method has been developed for the assays of five barbiturates in human urine using a new thermoresponsive polymer separation column, which is composed of N-isopropylacrylamide polymer. According to elevating the column temperature from 10 ℃ to 50 ℃, five barbiturates, such as metharbital, primidone, phenobarbital, mephobarbital and pentobarbital, became well separated by this method. Five barbiturates showed good linearity in the range of 0.2-10 mg/ml. Good accuracy, precision and recoveries for these drugs were obtained at 1 and 5 μg/ml urine. The method with the new-type column seems to have high potential to be extensively used in forensic toxicology for analysis of many drugs and poisons by HPLC and HPLC-mass spectrometry (MS) (-MS)

Topoisomerase II, scaffold component, promotes chromatin compaction in vitro in a linker-histone H1-dependent manner

TopoisomeraseII (Topo II) is a major component of chromosomal scaffolds and essential for mitotic chromosome condensation, but the mechanism of this action remains unknown. Here, we used an in vitro chromatin reconstitution system in combination with atomic force and fluorescence microscopic analyses to determine how Topo II affects chromosomal structure. Topo II bound to bare DNA and clamped the two DNA strands together, even in the absence of ATP. In addition, Topo II promoted chromatin compaction in a manner dependent on histone H1 but independent of ATP. Histone H1-induced 30-nm chromatin fibers were converted into a large complex by Topo II. Fluorescence microscopic analysis of the Brownian motion of chromatin stained with 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole showed that the reconstituted chromatin became larger following the addition of Topo II in the presence but not the absence of histone H1. Based on these findings, we propose that chromatin packing is triggered by histone H1-dependent, Topo II-mediated clamping of DNA strands

Cure of ADPKD by Selection for Spontaneous Genetic Repair Events in Pkd1-Mutated iPS Cells

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) generated by epigenetic reprogramming of personal somatic cells have limited therapeutic capacity for patients suffering from genetic disorders. Here we demonstrate restoration of a genomic mutation heterozygous for Pkd1 (polycystic kidney disease 1) deletion (Pkd1(+/−) to Pkd1(+/R+)) by spontaneous mitotic recombination. Notably, recombination between homologous chromosomes occurred at a frequency of 1∼2 per 10,000 iPSCs. Southern blot hybridization and genomic PCR analyses demonstrated that the genotype of the mutation-restored iPSCs was indistinguishable from that of the wild-type cells. Importantly, the frequency of cyst generation in kidneys of adult chimeric mice containing Pkd1(+/R+) iPSCs was significantly lower than that of adult chimeric mice with parental Pkd1(+/−) iPSCs, and indistinguishable from that of wild-type mice. This repair step could be directly incorporated into iPSC development programmes prior to cell transplantation, offering an invaluable step forward for patients carrying a wide range of genetic disorders

ヒトとマウスiPS細胞のリン酸化阻害剤への反応性の違い

京都大学0048新制・課程博士博士(医学)甲第16698号医博第3646号新制||医||991(附属図書館)29373京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻(主査)教授 斎藤 通紀, 教授 中畑 龍俊, 教授 山中 伸弥学位規則第4条第1項該当Doctor of Medical ScienceKyoto UniversityDA

Sox2 expression effects on direct reprogramming efficiency as determined by alternative somatic cell fate.

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are generated by directly reprogramming somatic cells by forcing them to express the exogenous transcription factors, Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc (OSKM). These cells could potentially be used in clinical applications and basic research. Here, we explored the molecular role of Sox2 by generating iPSCs that expressed Sox2 at various levels. Low Sox2 (LS) expression increased the efficiency of generating partially reprogrammed iPSCs in combination with OKM. Notably, we detected a significant increase in the number of fully reprogrammed iPSCs with three factors of OK and LS. LS expression was linked with the reduced expression of ectoderm and mesoderm marker genes. This indicates that cell differentiation into the ectoderm and mesoderm lineages was impeded during reprogramming. The quality of the iPSCs that was generated by using OK and LS was comparable to that of iPSCs that were produced via conventional OSK as seen by pluripotent marker gene expression and chimera formation. We conclude that Sox2 plays a crucial role in a dose-dependent manner in direct reprogramming of somatic cells to iPSCs

Self-Renewal and Pluripotency Acquired through Somatic Reprogramming to Human Cancer Stem Cells.

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are reprogrammed by transient expression of transcription factors in somatic cells. Approximately 1% of somatic cells can be reprogrammed into iPSCs, while the remaining somatic cells are differentially reprogrammed. Here, we established induced pluripotent cancer stem-like cells (iCSCs) as self-renewing pluripotent cell clones. Stable iCSC lines were established from unstable induced epithelial stem cell (iESC) lines through re-plating followed by embryoid body formation and serial transplantation. iCSCs shared the expression of pluripotent marker genes with iPSCs, except for REX1 and LIN28, while exhibited the expression of somatic marker genes EMP1 and PPARγ. iESCs and iCSCs could generate teratomas with high efficiency by implantation into immunodeficient mice. The second iCSCs isolated from dissociated cells of teratoma from the first iCSCs were stably maintained, showing a gene expression profile similar to the first iCSCs. In the first and second iCSCs, transgene-derived Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc were expressed. Comparative global gene expression analyses demonstrated that the first iCSCs were similar to iESCs, and clearly different from human iPSCs and somatic cells. In iCSCs, gene expression kinetics of the core pluripotency factor and the Myc-related factor were pluripotent type, whereas the polycomb complex factor was somatic type. These findings indicate that pluripotent tumorigenicity can be conferred on somatic cells through up-regulation of the core pluripotency and Myc-related factors, prior to establishment of the iPSC molecular network by full reprogramming through down-regulation of the polycomb complex factor