A novel human pluripotent stem cell gene activation system identifies IGFBP2 as a mediator in the production of haematopoietic progenitors in vitro.

A major challenge in the stem cell biology field is the ability to produce fully functional cells from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) that are a valuable resource for cell therapy, drug screening, and disease modelling. Here, we developed a novel inducible CRISPR-mediated activation strategy...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Petazzi, P, Ventura, T, Luongo, FP, McClafferty, H, May, A, Taylor, HA, Shipston, MJ, Romanò, N, Forrester, LM, Menendez, P, Fidanza, A
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Fundació Sant Joan de Déu
Repositorio:r-FSJD. Repositorio Institucional de Producción Científica de la Fundació Sant Joan de Déu
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:r-fsjd______::748eb784c5331eba6b485b369f25a3fc
Acceso en línea:https://fsjd.fundanetsuite.com/Publicaciones/ProdCientif/PublicacionFrw.aspx?id=28271
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:CRISPR activation
developmental biology
haematopoiesis
human
pluripotent stem cells
regenerative medicine
stem cells
Descripción
Sumario:A major challenge in the stem cell biology field is the ability to produce fully functional cells from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) that are a valuable resource for cell therapy, drug screening, and disease modelling. Here, we developed a novel inducible CRISPR-mediated activation strategy (iCRISPRa) to drive the expression of multiple endogenous transcription factors (TFs) important for in vitro cell fate and differentiation of iPSCs to haematopoietic progenitor cells. This work has identified a key role for IGFBP2 in developing haematopoietic progenitors. We first identified nine candidate TFs that we predicted to be involved in blood cell emergence during development, then generated tagged gRNAs directed to the transcriptional start site of these TFs that could also be detected during single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq). iCRISPRa activation of these endogenous TFs resulted in a significant expansion of arterial-fated endothelial cells expressing high levels of IGFBP2, and our analysis indicated that IGFBP2 is involved in the remodelling of metabolic activity during in vitro endothelial to haematopoietic transition. As well as providing fundamental new insights into the mechanisms of haematopoietic differentiation, the broader applicability of iCRISPRa provides a valuable tool for studying dynamic processes in development and for recapitulating abnormal phenotypes characterised by ectopic activation of specific endogenous gene expression in a wide range of systems.