De novo generation of a functional human thymus from induced pluripotent stem cells

Because the protocol remained finicky and to potentially further improve differentiation into thymic epithelial progenitor cells (TEPCs), we transduced the differentiating cells at day 9 (corresponding to the pharyngeal pouch endoderm stage) with a lentiviral vector encoding a codon-optimized varian...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of allergy and clinical immunology 2019-11, Vol.144 (5), p.1416-1419.e7
Main Authors: Chhatta, Amiet R., Cordes, Martijn, Hanegraaf, Maaike A.J., Vloemans, Sandra, Cupedo, Tom, Cornelissen, Jan J., Carlotti, Francoise, Salvatori, Daniela, Pike-Overzet, Karin, Fibbe, Willem E., Hoeben, Rob C., Mikkers, Harald M.M., Staal, Frank J.T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cell culture
Cell differentiation
Cell lineage
Disruption
Embryo fibroblasts
Embryogenesis
Endoderm
Fibroblasts
Flow cytometry
Immunoglobulins
Keratin
Kidneys
Lymphocytes
Lymphocytes T
Organoids
Pharynx
Phenotypes
Plasmids
Pluripotency
Progenitor cells
Reporter gene
Stem cell transplantation
Stem cells
Thymocytes
Thymus
Transcription factors
Transfection
Transplants & implants
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Summary:Because the protocol remained finicky and to potentially further improve differentiation into thymic epithelial progenitor cells (TEPCs), we transduced the differentiating cells at day 9 (corresponding to the pharyngeal pouch endoderm stage) with a lentiviral vector encoding a codon-optimized variant of Foxn1 linked to the mTurquoise2 reporter gene by using a 2A peptide cleavage site for visualization purposes (Fig 1, B). Importantly, lentiviral vector–mediated overexpression of a codon-optimized version of FOXN1 (coFoxn1) increased expression of the Notch ligand Delta-like 4 (DLL4), which is an essential factor in T-cell lineage commitment in developing thymocytes.7 DLL4 expression in coFoxn1-transduced cells increased 2- to 5-fold compared with that in control-transduced cells (Fig 1, C). iTEPCs generated in vitro retain a relatively immature phenotype, as indicated by coexpression of keratin 5 and 8 (Fig 1, E), which others have noticed as well by using in vitro differentiation assays for TEPCs.8 However, it is well established that further development along the TEPC lineage requires interaction with thymocytes.9 To this end and to determine whether the iTEPCs that we generated were able to support T-cell development, we prepared organoids by aggregating iTEPCs with mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) on semipermeable discs floating on medium (Fig 1, F) and transplanted these organoids under the kidney capsule of athymic Foxn1−/− nude mice. [...]human iPSCs were maintained on Matrigel-coated cell-culture plates in mTeSR1 medium (STEMCELL Technologies) and were passaged weekly by using Gentle Cell Dissociation reagent (STEMCELL Technologies) and subsequent gentle mechanical disruption. [...]generation recombinant SIN lentiviruses were produced by using transient transfection of 4 plasmids into 293T cells, as previously described (Pike-Overzet, 2011).
ISSN:0091-6749
1097-6825
DOI:10.1016/j.jaci.2019.05.042