Canonical MicroRNA Activity Facilitates but May Be Dispensable for Transcription Factor-Mediated Reprogramming

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of reprogramming of somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs); however, it is unclear whether miRNAs are required for reprogramming and whether miRNA activity as a whole facilitates reprogramming. Here we report on successful reprogramming of mouse fibroblasts and neural stem cells (NSCs) lacking Dgcr8, a factor required for the biogenesis of canonical miRNAs, by Yamanaka factors, albeit at decreased efficiencies. Though iPSCs derived from Dgcr8-deficient mouse fibroblasts or NSCs were able to self-renew and expressed pluripotency-associated markers, they exhibited poor differentiation potential into mature somatic tissues, similar to Dgcr8−/− embryonic stem cells. The differentiation defects could be rescued with expression of DGCR8 cDNA. Our data demonstrate that while miRNA activity as a whole facilitates reprogramming, canonical miRNA may be dispensable in the derivation of iPSCs

Asymmetric Localization of Cdx2 mRNA during the First Cell-Fate Decision in Early Mouse Development

A longstanding question in mammalian development is whether the divisions that segregate pluripotent progenitor cells for the future embryo from cells that differentiate into extraembryonic structures are asymmetric in cell-fate instructions. The transcription factor Cdx2 plays a key role in the first cell-fate decision. Here, using live-embryo imaging, we show that localization of Cdx2 transcripts becomes asymmetric during development, preceding cell lineage segregation. Cdx2 transcripts preferentially localize apically at the late eight-cell stage and become inherited asymmetrically during divisions that set apart pluripotent and differentiating cells. Asymmetric localization depends on a cis element within the coding region of Cdx2 and requires cell polarization as well as intact microtubule and actin cytoskeletons. Failure to enrich Cdx2 transcripts apically results in a significant decrease in the number of pluripotent cells. We discuss how the asymmetric localization and segregation of Cdx2 transcripts could contribute to multiple mechanisms that establish different cell fates in the mouse embryo

Biological Significance of the Suppression of Oxidative Phosphorylation in Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

We discovered that induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) clones generated from aged tissue donors (A-iPSCs) fail to suppress oxidative phosphorylation. Compared to embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and iPSCs generated from young donors (Y-iPSCs), A-iPSCs show poor expression of the pluripotent stem cell-specific glucose transporter 3 (GLUT3) and impaired glucose uptake, making them unable to support the high glucose demands of glycolysis. Persistent oxidative phosphorylation in A-iPSCs generates higher levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which leads to excessive elevation of glutathione (a ROS-scavenging metabolite) and a blunted DNA damage response. These phenotypes were recapitulated in Y-iPSCs by inhibiting pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK) or supplying citrate to activate oxidative phosphorylation. In addition, oxidative phosphorylation in A-iPSC clones depletes citrate, a nuclear source of acetyl group donors for histone acetylation; this consequently alters histone acetylation status. Expression of GLUT3 in A-iPSCs recovers the metabolic defect, DNA damage response, and histone acetylation status

Role of Cdx2 and cell polarity in cell allocation and specification of trophectoderm and inner cell mass in the mouse embryo

Genesis of the trophectoderm and inner cell mass (ICM) lineages occurs in two stages. It is initiated via asymmetric divisions of eight- and 16-cell blastomeres that allocate cells to inner and outer positions, each with different developmental fates. Outside cells become committed to the trophectoderm at the blastocyst stage through Cdx2 activity, but here we show that Cdx2 can also act earlier to influence cell allocation. Increasing Cdx2 levels in individual blastomeres promotes symmetric divisions, thereby allocating more cells to the trophectoderm, whereas reducing Cdx2 promotes asymmetric divisions and consequently contribution to the ICM. Furthermore, both Cdx2 mRNA and protein levels are heterogeneous at the eight-cell stage. This heterogeneity depends on cell origin and has developmental consequences. Cdx2 expression is minimal in cells with unrestricted developmental potential that contribute preferentially to the ICM and is maximal in cells with reduced potential that contribute more to the trophectoderm. Finally, we describe a mutually reinforcing relationship between cellular polarity and Cdx2: Cdx2 influences cell polarity by up-regulating aPKC, but cell polarity also influences Cdx2 through asymmetric distribution of Cdx2 mRNA in polarized blastomeres. Thus, divisions generating inside and outside cells are truly asymmetric with respect to cell fate instructions. These two interacting effects ensure the generation of a stable outer epithelium by the blastocyst stage

RNA Exosome Complex-Mediated Control of Redox Status in Pluripotent Stem Cells

The RNA exosome complex targets AU-rich element (ARE)-containing mRNAs in eukaryotic cells. We identified a transcription factor, ZSCAN10, which binds to the promoters of multiple RNA exosome complex subunits in pluripotent stem cells to maintain subunit gene expression. We discovered that induced pluripotent stem cell clones generated from aged tissue donors (A-iPSC) show poor expression of ZSCAN10, leading to poor RNA exosome complex expression, and a subsequent elevation in ARE-containing RNAs, including glutathione peroxidase 2 (Gpx2). Excess GPX2 leads to excess glutathione-mediated reactive oxygen species scavenging activity that blunts the DNA damage response and apoptosis. Expression of ZSCAN10 in A-iPSC recovers RNA exosome gene expression, the DNA damage response, and apoptosis. These findings reveal the central role of ZSCAN10 and the RNA exosome complex in maintaining pluripotent stem cell redox status to support a normal DNA damage response

Elevated p53 Activities Restrict Differentiation Potential of MicroRNA-Deficient Pluripotent Stem Cells

Summary: Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) deficient for microRNAs (miRNAs), such as Dgcr8−/− or Dicer−/– embryonic stem cells (ESCs), contain no mature miRNA and cannot differentiate into somatic cells. How miRNA deficiency causes differentiation defects remains poorly understood. Here, we report that miR-302 is sufficient to enable neural differentiation of differentiation-incompetent Dgcr8−/− ESCs. Our data showed that miR-302 directly suppresses the tumor suppressor p53, which is modestly upregulated in Dgcr8−/− ESCs and serves as a barrier restricting neural differentiation. We demonstrated that direct inactivation of p53 by SV40 large T antigen, a short hairpin RNA against Trp53, or genetic ablation of Trp53 in Dgcr8−/− PSCs enables neural differentiation, while activation of p53 by the MDM2 inhibitor nutlin-3a in wild-type ESCs inhibits neural differentiation. Together, we demonstrate that a major function of miRNAs in neural differentiation is suppression of p53 and that modest activation of p53 blocks neural differentiation of miRNA-deficient PSCs. : In this article, Zhao and colleagues show that expression of miR-302 is sufficient to enable neural differentiation of differentiation-incompetent Dgcr8−/− ESCs. The authors demonstrated that miR-302 directly suppresses p53, which serves as a barrier restricting neural differentiation. Keywords: pluripotent stem cells, microRNA, differentiation, miR-302, p53, Dgcr8, neural differentiation, nutlin-3a, apoptosi

Maternally and zygotically provided Cdx2 have novel and critical roles for early development of the mouse embryo

Divisions of polarised blastomeres that allocate polar cells to outer and apolar cells to inner positions initiate the first cell fate decision in the mouse embryo. Subsequently, outer cells differentiate into trophectoderm while inner cells retain pluripotency to become inner cell mass (ICM) of the blastocyst. Elimination of zygotic expression of trophectoderm-specific transcription factor Cdx2 leads to defects in the maintenance of the blastocyst cavity, suggesting that it participates only in the late stage of trophectoderm formation. However, we now find that mouse embryos also have a maternally provided pool of Cdx2 mRNA. Moreover, depletion of both maternal and zygotic Cdx2 from immediately after fertilization by three independent approaches, dsRNAi, siRNAi and morpholino oligonucleotides, leads to developmental arrest at much earlier stages than expected from elimination of only zygotic Cdx2. This developmental arrest is associated with defects in cell polarisation, reflected by expression and localisation of cell polarity molecules such as Par3 and aPKC and cell compaction at the 8- and 16-cell stages. Cells deprived of Cdx2 show delayed development with increased cell cycle length, irregular cell division and increased incidence of apoptosis. Although some Cdx2-depleted embryos initiate cavitation, the cavity cannot be maintained. Furthermore, expression of trophectoderm-specific genes, Gata3 and Eomes, and also the trophectoderm-specific cytokeratin intermediate filament, recognised by Troma1, are greatly reduced or undetectable. Taken together, our results indicate that Cdx2 participates in two steps leading to trophectoderm specification: appropriate polarisation of blastomeres at the 8- and 16-cell stage and then the maintenance of trophectoderm lineage-specific differentiation

ZSCAN10 expression corrects the genomic instability of iPSCs from aged donors

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which are used to produce transplantable tissues, may particularly benefit older patients, who are more likely to suffer from degenerative diseases. However, iPSCs generated from aged donors (A-iPSCs) exhibit higher genomic instability, defects in apoptosis and a blunted DNA damage response compared with iPSCs generated from younger donors. We demonstrated that A-iPSCs exhibit excessive glutathione-mediated reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging activity, which blocks the DNA damage response and apoptosis and permits survival of cells with genomic instability. We found that the pluripotency factor ZSCAN10 is poorly expressed in A-iPSCs and addition of ZSCAN10 to the four Yamanaka factors (OCT4, SOX2, KLF4 and c-MYC) during A-iPSC reprogramming normalizes ROS-glutathione homeostasis and the DNA damage response, and recovers genomic stability. Correcting the genomic instability of A-iPSCs will ultimately enhance our ability to produce histocompatible functional tissues from older patients' own cells that are safe for transplantation