Using induced pluripotent stem cells to investigate cardiac phenotypes in Timothy syndrome

Individuals with congenital or acquired prolongation of the QT interval, or long QT syndrome (LQTS), are at risk of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia. LQTS is commonly genetic in origin but can also be caused or exacerbated by environmental factors. A missense mutation in the L-type calcium channel Ca(V)1.2 leads to LQTS in patients with Timothy syndrome. To explore the effect of the Timothy syndrome mutation on the electrical activity and contraction of human cardiomyocytes, we reprogrammed human skin cells from Timothy syndrome patients to generate induced pluripotent stem cells, and differentiated these cells into cardiomyocytes. Electrophysiological recording and calcium (Ca(2+)) imaging studies of these cells revealed irregular contraction, excess Ca(2+) influx, prolonged action potentials, irregular electrical activity and abnormal calcium transients in ventricular-like cells. We found that roscovitine, a compound that increases the voltage-dependent inactivation of Ca(V)1.2 (refs 6-8), restored the electrical and Ca(2+) signalling properties of cardiomyocytes from Timothy syndrome patients. This study provides new opportunities for studying the molecular and cellular mechanisms of cardiac arrhythmias in humans, and provides a robust assay for developing new drugs to treat these diseases.     

Probing sporadic and familial Alzheimer's disease using induced pluripotent stem cells

Our understanding of Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis is currently limited by difficulties in obtaining live neurons from patients and the inability to model the sporadic form of the disease. It may be possible to overcome these challenges by reprogramming primary cells from patients into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Here we reprogrammed primary fibroblasts from two patients with familial Alzheimer's disease, both caused by a duplication of the amyloid-β precursor protein gene (APP; termed APP(Dp)), two with sporadic Alzheimer's disease (termed sAD1, sAD2) and two non-demented control individuals into iPSC lines. Neurons from differentiated cultures were purified with fluorescence-activated cell sorting and characterized. Purified cultures contained more than 90% neurons, clustered with fetal brain messenger RNA samples by microarray criteria, and could form functional synaptic contacts. Virtually all cells exhibited normal electrophysiological activity. Relative to controls, iPSC-derived, purified neurons from the two APP(Dp) patients and patient sAD2 exhibited significantly higher levels of the pathological markers amyloid-β(1-40), phospho-tau(Thr?231) and active glycogen synthase kinase-3β (aGSK-3β). Neurons from APP(Dp) and sAD2 patients also accumulated large RAB5-positive early endosomes compared to controls. Treatment of purified neurons with β-secretase inhibitors, but not γ-secretase inhibitors, caused significant reductions in phospho-Tau(Thr?231) and aGSK-3β levels. These results suggest a direct relationship between APP proteolytic processing, but not amyloid-β, in GSK-3β activation and tau phosphorylation in human neurons. Additionally, we observed that neurons with the genome of one sAD patient exhibited the phenotypes seen in familial Alzheimer's disease samples. More generally, we demonstrate that iPSC technology can be used to observe phenotypes relevant to Alzheimer's disease, even though it can take decades for overt disease to manifest in patients.     

Hotspots of aberrant epigenomic reprogramming in human induced pluripotent stem cells

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) offer immense potential for regenerative medicine and studies of disease and development. Somatic cell reprogramming involves epigenomic reconfiguration, conferring iPSCs with characteristics similar to embryonic stem (ES) cells. However, it remains unknown how complete the reestablishment of ES-cell-like DNA methylation patterns is throughout the genome. Here we report the first whole-genome profiles of DNA methylation at single-base resolution in five human iPSC lines, along with methylomes of ES cells, somatic cells, and differentiated iPSCs and ES cells. iPSCs show significant reprogramming variability, including somatic memory and aberrant reprogramming of DNA methylation. iPSCs share megabase-scale differentially methylated regions proximal to centromeres and telomeres that display incomplete reprogramming of non-CG methylation, and differences in CG methylation and histone modifications. Lastly, differentiation of iPSCs into trophoblast cells revealed that errors in reprogramming CG methylation are transmitted at a high frequency, providing an iPSC reprogramming signature that is maintained after differentiation.     

Postnatal isl1+ cardioblasts enter fully differentiated cardiomyocyte lineages

The purification, renewal and differentiation of native cardiac progenitors would form a mechanistic underpinning for unravelling steps for cardiac cell lineage formation, and their links to forms of congenital and adult cardiac diseases. Until now there has been little evidence for native cardiac precursor cells in the postnatal heart. Herein, we report the identification of isl1+ cardiac progenitors in postnatal rat, mouse and human myocardium. A cardiac mesenchymal feeder layer allows renewal of the isolated progenitor cells with maintenance of their capability to adopt a fully differentiated cardiomyocyte phenotype. Tamoxifen-inducible Cre/lox technology enables selective marking of this progenitor cell population including its progeny, at a defined time, and purification to relative homogeneity. Co-culture studies with neonatal myocytes indicate that isl1+ cells represent authentic, endogenous cardiac progenitors (cardioblasts) that display highly efficient conversion to a mature cardiac phenotype with stable expression of myocytic markers (25%) in the absence of cell fusion, intact Ca2+-cycling, and the generation of action potentials. The discovery of native cardioblasts represents a genetically based system to identify steps in cardiac cell lineage formation and maturation in development and disease.     

An AIDS-related cytotoxic autoantibody reacts with a specific antigen on stimulated CD4+ T cells

Patients with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related conditions are known to have abnormalities of T cell subpopulations, including a decreased helper/inducer (bearing the CD4 antigen) to suppressor/cytotoxic (bearing the CD8 antigen) T cell ratio and decreased absolute numbers of T cells with the CD4+ phenotype. Infection of T cells with a retrovirus, termed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), is thought to be important in these abnormalities. HIV infection alone does not adequately explain the CD4+ T-cell abnormalities seen in AIDS, however, and the nature of T-cell destruction in this disease remains poorly characterized. Here we describe an AIDS-related serum autoantibody that reacts with an antigen of relative molecular mass 18,000 (Mr 18K) restricted to lectin-stimulated or HIV-infected CD4+ T cells. The antibody also suppresses proliferation of CD4+ T cells in vitro and induces cytotoxicity of these cells in the presence of complement. Its role in the development of AIDS merits attention.     

Identification of RPS14 as a 5q- syndrome gene by RNA interference screen

Somatic chromosomal deletions in cancer are thought to indicate the location of tumour suppressor genes, by which a complete loss of gene function occurs through biallelic deletion, point mutation or epigenetic silencing, thus fulfilling Knudson's two-hit hypothesis. In many recurrent deletions, however, such biallelic inactivation has not been found. One prominent example is the 5q- syndrome, a subtype of myelodysplastic syndrome characterized by a defect in erythroid differentiation. Here we describe an RNA-mediated interference (RNAi)-based approach to discovery of the 5q- disease gene. We found that partial loss of function of the ribosomal subunit protein RPS14 phenocopies the disease in normal haematopoietic progenitor cells, and also that forced expression of RPS14 rescues the disease phenotype in patient-derived bone marrow cells. In addition, we identified a block in the processing of pre-ribosomal RNA in RPS14-deficient cells that is functionally equivalent to the defect in Diamond-Blackfan anaemia, linking the molecular pathophysiology of the 5q- syndrome to a congenital syndrome causing bone marrow failure. These results indicate that the 5q- syndrome is caused by a defect in ribosomal protein function and suggest that RNAi screening is an effective strategy for identifying causal haploinsufficiency disease genes.     

A molecular clone of HTLV-III with biological activity

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is an epidemic immunosuppressive disease characteristically associated with a depletion of T lymphocytes of the helper/inducer phenotype. Numerous converging lines of research have implicated a human T-cell lymphotropic retrovirus, HTLV-III, in the pathogenesis of AIDS. Recently, several distinct forms of the HTLV-III genome were molecularly cloned in phage and extensively characterized. In the present study, a clone containing full-length HTLV-III proviral DNA was inserted into a plasmid and used to transfect cord blood T cells from normal newborn humans. We demonstrate that this molecular clone is infectious in vitro and causes marked cytopathic effects on T-cell cultures. This is the first direct evidence that the HTLV-III genome, rather than a minor component of the virus complex, is cytopathic for T cells. Using this biologically competent clone and mutants derived from it, it should now be possible to localize the subgenomic regions that contribute to the biological effects of HTLV-III.     

异常黑胆质性肝癌病证模型肝硬化期的肝脏形态学研究

 为了探讨异常黑胆质体液对异常黑胆质性肝癌病证模型肝硬化期的影响,在异常黑胆质载体大鼠模型的基础上,用二乙基亚硝胺（DEN）诱发建立维吾尔医异常黑胆质性肝癌病证模型大鼠发生肝硬化,对大鼠第5、7、9、11周时肝脏的外观、病理变化和超微结构进行动态观察。结果表明,模型对照组和异常黑胆质病证模型组均经过肝细胞损伤、肝细胞增生、肝硬化等改变;但异常黑胆质病证模型组大鼠肝脏外观的变化明显快于模型对照组;在同一时间,异常黑胆质病证模型组肝细胞水肿程度、不典型增生、假小叶的形成等病理表现和糖原、线粒体减少等超微结构变化均较模型对照组严重。由此可以得出,在异常黑胆质载体大鼠模型的基础上,用DEN诱导的异常黑胆质性肝癌病证模型肝脏病变的发生过程中异常黑胆质体液可能具有促进和加快肝细胞坏死,肝细胞增生灶,肝细胞增生结节,肝硬化,直至肝细胞癌过程的作用,而这一过程接近人类肝癌的发病特点和过程。表明异常黑胆质性肝癌病证模型肝硬化期的建立具有一定的可行性。     

Excitation-induced ataxin-3 aggregation in neurons from patients with Machado-Joseph disease

Machado-Joseph disease (MJD; also called spinocerebellar ataxia type 3) is a dominantly inherited late-onset neurodegenerative disorder caused by expansion of polyglutamine (polyQ)-encoding CAG repeats in the MJD1 gene (also known as ATXN3). Proteolytic liberation of highly aggregation-prone polyQ fragments from the protective sequence of the MJD1 gene product ataxin 3 (ATXN3) has been proposed to trigger the formation of ATXN3-containing aggregates, the neuropathological hallmark of MJD. ATXN3 fragments are detected in brain tissue of MJD patients and transgenic mice expressing mutant human ATXN3(Q71), and their amount increases with disease severity, supporting a relationship between ATXN3 processing and disease progression. The formation of early aggregation intermediates is thought to have a critical role in disease initiation, but the precise pathogenic mechanism operating in MJD has remained elusive. Here we show that L-glutamate-induced excitation of patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neurons initiates Ca(2+)-dependent proteolysis of ATXN3 followed by the formation of SDS-insoluble aggregates. This phenotype could be abolished by calpain inhibition, confirming a key role of this protease in ATXN3 aggregation. Aggregate formation was further dependent on functional Na(+) and K(+) channels as well as ionotropic and voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels, and was not observed in iPSCs, fibroblasts or glia, thereby providing an explanation for the neuron-specific phenotype of this disease. Our data illustrate that iPSCs enable the study of aberrant protein processing associated with late-onset neurodegenerative disorders in patient-specific neurons.     

Mechanisms of drug inhibition of signalling molecules

The emergence of tumour-specific, molecularly targeted agents signifies a paradigm shift in cancer therapy, with less reliance on drugs that non-discriminately kill tumour and host cells. Although the diversity of targets giving rise to this new generation of anticancer drugs has expanded, many challenges persist in the design of effective treatment regimens. The complex interplay of signal-transduction pathways further complicates the customization of cancer treatments to target single mechanisms. However, despite uncertainty over precise or dominant mechanisms of action, especially for compounds targeting multiple gene products, emerging agents are producing significant therapeutic advances against a broad range of human cancers.     

Functional consequences of a CKIdelta mutation causing familial advanced sleep phase syndrome

Familial advanced sleep phase syndrome (FASPS) is a human behavioural phenotype characterized by early sleep times and early-morning awakening. It was the first human, mendelian circadian rhythm variant to be well-characterized, and was shown to result from a mutation in a phosphorylation site within the casein kinase I (CKI)-binding domain of the human PER2 gene. To gain a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of circadian rhythm regulation in humans, we set out to identify mutations in human subjects leading to FASPS. We report here the identification of a missense mutation (T44A) in the human CKIdelta gene, which results in FASPS. This mutant kinase has decreased enzymatic activity in vitro. Transgenic Drosophila carrying the human CKIdelta-T44A gene showed a phenotype with lengthened circadian period. In contrast, transgenic mice carrying the same mutation have a shorter circadian period, a phenotype mimicking human FASPS. These results show that CKIdelta is a central component in the mammalian clock, and suggest that mammalian and fly clocks might have different regulatory mechanisms despite the highly conserved nature of their individual components.     

异常黑胆质型痴呆证病结合模型建立及方药干预实验

 为了建立阿尔茨海默病(AD)异常黑胆质证病结合大鼠模型,并观察维药异常黑胆质成熟剂对其影响,采用经典方法建立异常黑胆质证模型,随后将凝集态β-淀粉样蛋白1-40(β-Amyloid 1-40,Aβ_1-40)定位注射到双侧海马,建立病证结合模型;应用异常黑胆质成熟剂方药干预,观察各组体征变化,通过Morris水迷宫和跳台仪进行行为学测试,比较各组学习记忆能力的改变.结果表明,异常黑胆质证组和AD异常黑胆质证病结合组表现出饮水量增加(P<0.01),饮食量增加(P<0.01),体重减轻(P<0.01)等;AD组、异常黑胆质证组、AD异常黑胆质证病结合组学习记忆力降低(P<0.05);AD异常黑胆质证病结合组+异常黑胆质成熟剂干预组异常黑胆质证生物表征和学习记忆力均有所改善(P<0.05).研究表明,异常黑胆质成熟剂对AD异常黑胆质证病结合组大鼠的生物表征及学习记忆能力均有一定改善作用.     

证病结合的异常黑胆质型阿尔茨海默病(AD)模型的建立及行为学改变

 在前期已建立的异常黑胆质载体动物模型的基础上,采用聚集态Aβ1-40 双海马定向注射制备证病结合的异常黑胆质型阿尔茨海默病(AD)模型,并以Morris 水迷宫及跳台实验验证证病结合模型的行为学改变特点。结果表明,各组大鼠饮食、水量及体重变化:单纯(AD)组、异常黑胆质证组饮食、水量较正常对照组增加(P<0.05);证病结合的异常黑胆质型AD 模型组饮食、水量较异常黑胆质组减少(P<0.01);单纯AD 组、异常黑胆质证组、证病结合组体重较正常对照组均减轻(P<0.01)。各组大鼠Morris 水迷宫空间探索试验经过有效区域次数:与正常对照组比较,单纯AD 组、异常黑胆质证组、证病结合组经过有效区域次数均减少(P<0.01);与单纯AD 组相比,证病结合组经过有效区域次数明显减少(P<0.05)。各组大鼠跳台测试:与空白对照组比较,单纯AD 组、异常黑胆质证组和证病结合组反应期延长,潜伏期缩短,错误次数增多,学习记忆成绩明显降低(P<0.01);证病结合组与单纯痴呆组相比略低,但无统计学差异(P>0.05)。由此得出,在异常黑胆质载体大鼠模型的基础上,采用聚集态Aβ1-40 双海马定向注射制备证病结合的异常黑胆质型AD 模型,不仅动物体表特征的变化符合维医体液证候改变特点,通过行为学验证后学习记忆改变特点又符合西医疾病的特点。     

SIRT6 is a histone H3 lysine 9 deacetylase that modulates telomeric chromatin

The Sir2 deacetylase regulates chromatin silencing and lifespan in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In mice, deficiency for the Sir2 family member SIRT6 leads to a shortened lifespan and a premature ageing-like phenotype. However, the molecular mechanisms of SIRT6 function are unclear. SIRT6 is a chromatin-associated protein, but no enzymatic activity of SIRT6 at chromatin has yet been detected, and the identity of physiological SIRT6 substrates is unknown. Here we show that the human SIRT6 protein is an NAD+-dependent, histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) deacetylase that modulates telomeric chromatin. SIRT6 associates specifically with telomeres, and SIRT6 depletion leads to telomere dysfunction with end-to-end chromosomal fusions and premature cellular senescence. Moreover, SIRT6-depleted cells exhibit abnormal telomere structures that resemble defects observed in Werner syndrome, a premature ageing disorder. At telomeric chromatin, SIRT6 deacetylates H3K9 and is required for the stable association of WRN, the factor that is mutated in Werner syndrome. We propose that SIRT6 contributes to the propagation of a specialized chromatin state at mammalian telomeres, which in turn is required for proper telomere metabolism and function. Our findings constitute the first identification of a physiological enzymatic activity of SIRT6, and link chromatin regulation by SIRT6 to telomere maintenance and a human premature ageing syndrome.