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Research Newsletter - January 2008

Spotlight Article

Reprogramming of human somatic cells to pluripotency with defined factors

Researchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and Childrens Hospital Boston have converted skin cells from an adult into cells that look and act like embryonic stem cells. The resulting cell lines, called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), can potentially form any cell type in the body. iPS cells allow a new way for scientists to model human diseases and may one day provide raw material for cell therapies to reverse leukemia, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and paralysis, among other devastating conditions.

The study, led by first-author In Hyun Park, PhD, is similar to reports from laboratories in Japan and the University of Wisconsin that gained worldwide attention in November. However, this study is the first to use tissue from a volunteer research subject rather than cells purchased commercially. "Ours is the only group to go from skin biopsy to cell line," says George Q. Daley, MD, PhD, HSCI Principal Faculty and Executive Committee Member, and the study's senior author. "We developed a strategy that integrates tissue procurement, culturing, and reprogramming the cells. We're now ready to apply this method to cells from patients with a variety of diseases."

Park IH, Zhao R, West JA, Yabuuchi A, Huo H, Ince TA, Lerou PH, Lensch MW, Daley GQ. Reprogramming of human somatic cells to pluripotency with defined factors. Nature. 2007 Dec 23. Read Abstract.

Scientific Papers

Review and Commentary

  • Donahoe PK. The mandate for innovation in pediatric surgery; creating the environment for success, parity, and excellence. J Pediatr Surg. 2008 Jan;43(1):1-7. Read Abstract.
  • Dor Y, Melton DA. Facultative endocrine progenitor cells in the adult pancreas. Cell. 2008 Jan 25;132(2):183-4. Read Abstract.
  • Jones DL, Wagers AJ. No place like home: anatomy and function of the stem cell niche. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2008 Jan;9(1):11-21. Review. Read Abstract.
  • Laugwitz KL, Moretti A, Caron L, Nakano A, Chien KR. Islet1 cardiovascular progenitors: a single source for heart lineages? Development. 2008 Jan;135(2):193-205. Read Abstract.
  • Liu VW, Huang PL. Cardiovascular roles of nitric oxide: A review of insights from nitric oxide synthase gene disrupted mice. Cardiovasc Res. 2008 Jan 1;77(1):19-29. Read Abstract.
  • Morgan KJ, Gilliland DG. A Role for JAK2 Mutations in Myeloproliferative Diseases. Annu Rev Med. 2008;59:213-22. Read Abstract.
  • Pryor HI 2nd, Vacanti JP. The promise of artificial liver replacement. Front Biosci. 2008 Jan 1;13:2140-59. Review. Read Abstract.
  • Quaggin SE, Kreidberg JA. Development of the renal glomerulus: good neighbors and good fences. Development. 2008 Feb;135(4):609-20. Epub 2008 Jan 9. Read Abstract.
  • Wang J, Orkin SH. A Protein Roadmap to Pluripotency and Faithful Reprogramming. Cells Tissues Organs. 2008 Jan 16. Read Abstract.

Blood

  • Lengerke C, Schmitt S, Bowman TV, Jang IH, Maouche-Chretien L, McKinney-Freeman S, Davidson AJ, Hammerschmidt M, Rentzsch F, Green JB, Zon LI, Daley GQ. BMP and Wnt specify hematopoietic fate by activation of the Cdx-Hox pathway. Cell Stem Cell. 2008 Jan 10;2(1):72-82. Read Abstract.
  • Spitzer TR, Ambinder RF, Lee JY, Kaplan LD, Wachsman W, Straus DJ, Aboulafia DM, Scadden DT. Dose-reduced busulfan, cyclophosphamide, and autologous stem cell transplantation for human immunodeficiency virus-associated lymphoma: AIDS Malignancy Consortium study 020. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. 2008 Jan;14(1):59-66. Read Abstract.
  • Sportoletti P, Grisendi S, Majid SM, Cheng K, Clohessy JG, Viale A, Teruya-Feldstein J, Pandolfi PP. Npm1 is a haploinsufficient suppressor of myeloid and lymphoid malignancies in the mouse. Blood. 2008 Jan 22. Read Abstract.
  • Wernig G, Gonneville JR, Crowley BJ, Rodrigues MS, Reddy MM, Hudon HE, Walz C, Reiter A, Podar K, Royer Y, Constantinescu SN, Tomasson MH, Griffin JD, Gilliland DG, Sattler M. The Jak2V617F oncogene associated with myeloproliferative diseases requires a functional FERM domain for transformation and for expression of the Myc and Pim proto-oncogenes. Blood. 2008 Jan 23. Read Abstract.

Cancer

  • Schatton T, Murphy GF, Frank NY, Yamaura K, Waaga-Gasser AM, Gasser M, Zhan Q, Jordan S, Duncan LM, Weishaupt C, Fuhlbrigge RC, Kupper TS, Sayegh MH, Frank MH. Identification of cells initiating human melanomas. Nature. 2008 Jan 17;451(7176):345-9. Read Abstract.

Cardiovascular System

  • Chan JY, Takeda M, Briggs LE, Graham ML, Lu JT, Horikoshi N, Weinberg EO, Aoki H, Sato N, Chien KR, Kasahara H. Identification of Cardiac-Specific Myosin Light Chain Kinase. Circ Res. 2008 Jan 17. Read Abstract.
  • Greene AK, Kim S, Rogers GF, Fishman SJ, Olsen BR, Mulliken JB. Risk of vascular anomalies with Down syndrome. Pediatrics. 2008 Jan;121(1):e135-40. Read Abstract.
  • Park HJ, Georgescu SP, Du C, Madias C, Aronovitz MJ, Welzig CM, Wang B, Begley U, Zhang Y, Blaustein RO, Patten RD, Karas RH, Van Tol HH, Osborne TF, Shimano H, Liao R, Link MS, Galper JB. Parasympathetic response in chick myocytes and mouse heart is controlled by SREBP. J Clin Invest. 2008 Jan;118(1):259-71. Read Abstract.
  • Qiu Y, Liao R, Zhang X. Real-Time Monitoring Primary Cardiomyocyte Adhesion Based on Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy and Electrical Cell-Substrate Impedance Sensing. Anal Chem. 2008 Jan 24. Read Abstract.
  • Zhu M, Gach AA, Liu GX, Xu X, Lim CC, Zhang J, Mao L, Chuprun JK, Koch WJ, Liao R, Koren G, Blaxall BC, Mende U. Enhanced calcium cycling and contractile function in transgenic hearts expressing constitutively active G{alpha}o protein. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2008 Jan 11. Read Abstract.

Developmental Biology

  • Glotzer DJ, Zelzer E, Olsen BR. Impaired skin and hair follicle development in Runx2 deficient mice. Dev Biol. 2008 Jan 16. Read Abstract.
  • Kobayashi T, Lu J, Cobb BS, Rodda SJ, McMahon AP, Schipani E, Merkenschlager M, Kronenberg HM. Dicer-dependent pathways regulate chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2008 Jan 31. Read Abstract.
  • Lerou PH, Yabuuchi A, Huo H, Takeuchi A, Shea J, Cimini T, Ince TA, Ginsburg E, Racowsky C, Daley GQ. Human embryonic stem cell derivation from poor-quality embryos. Nat Biotechnol. 2008 Feb;26(2):212-4. Epub 2008 Jan 27. Read Abstract.
  • Morrow EM, Chen A, Cepko CL. Temporal order of bipolar cell genesis in the neural retina. Neural Develop. 2008 Jan 23;3(1):2. Read Abstract.
  • Narala SR, Allsopp RC, Wells TB, Zhang G, Prasad P, Coussens MJ, Rossi DJ, Weissman IL, Vaziri H. SIRT1 Acts as a Nutrient-sensitive Growth Suppressor and its Loss is Associated with Increased AMPK and Telomerase Activity. Mol Biol Cell. 2008 Jan 9. Read Abstract.

Imaging

  • Chen JW, Breckwoldt MO, Aikawa E, Chiang G, Weissleder R. Myeloperoxidase-targeted imaging of active inflammatory lesions in murine experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Brain. 2008 Jan 29. Read Abstract.
  • Kircher MF, Grimm J, Swirski FK, Libby P, Gerszten RE, Allport JR, Weissleder R. Noninvasive in vivo imaging of monocyte trafficking to atherosclerotic lesions. Circulation. 2008 Jan 22;117(3):388-95. Epub 2008 Jan 2. Read Abstract.
  • Wurdinger T, Badr C, Pike L, de Kleine R, Weissleder R, Breakefield XO, Tannous BA. A secreted luciferase for ex vivo monitoring of in vivo processes. Nat Methods. 2008 Feb;5(2):171-3. Epub 2008 Jan 20. Read Abstract.

Immunology

  • Janas ML, Hodson D, Stamataki Z, Hill S, Welch K, Gambardella L, Trotman LC, Pandolfi PP, Vigorito E, Turner M. The effect of deleting p110delta on the phenotype and function of PTEN-deficient B cells. J Immunol. 2008 Jan 15;180(2):739-46. Read Abstract.
  • Jinushi M, Vanneman M, Munshi NC, Tai YT, Prabhala RH, Ritz J, Neuberg D, Anderson KC, Carrasco DR, Dranoff G. MHC class I chain-related protein A antibodies and shedding are associated with the progression of multiple myeloma. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2008 Jan 29;105(4):1285-90. Epub 2008 Jan 17. Read Abstract.

Nervous System

  • Arlotta P, Molyneaux BJ, Jabaudon D, Yoshida Y, Macklis JD. Ctip2 controls the differentiation of medium spiny neurons and the establishment of the cellular architecture of the striatum. J Neurosci. 2008 Jan 16;28(3):622-32. Read Abstract.
  • Choi PS, Zakhary L, Choi WY, Caron S, Alvarez-Saavedra E, Miska EA, McManus M, Harfe B, Giraldez AJ, Horvitz RH, Schier AF, Dulac C. Members of the miRNA-200 Family Regulate Olfactory Neurogenesis. Neuron. 2008 Jan 10;57(1):41-55. Read Abstract.
  • Lai T, Jabaudon D, Molyneaux BJ, Azim E, Arlotta P, Menezes JR, Macklis JD. SOX5 Controls the Sequential Generation of Distinct Corticofugal Neuron Subtypes. Neuron. 2008 Jan 24;57(2):232-247. Read Abstract.
  • O'Keeffe GW, Gutierrez H, Pandolfi PP, Riccardi C, Davies AM. NGF-promoted axon growth and target innervation requires GITRL-GITR signaling. Nat Neurosci. 2008 Feb;11(2):135-42. Epub 2008 Jan 6. Read Abstract.
  • Scholz J, Abele A, Marian C, Haussler A, Herbert TA, Woolf CJ, Tegeder I. Low-dose methotrexate reduces peripheral nerve injury-evoked spinal microglial activation and neuropathic pain behavior in rats. Pain. 2008 Jan 19. Read Abstract.

Technology

  • Carey VJ, Gentry J, Sarkar R, Gentleman D, Ramaswamy S. SGDI: system for genomic data integration. Pac Symp Biocomput. 2008;:141-52. Read Abstract.