Human in vitro models for Fabry disease: new paths for unravelling disease mechanisms and therapies.

Fabry disease is a multi-organ disease, caused by mutations in the GLA gene and leading to a progressive accumulation of glycosphingolipids due to enzymatic absence or malfunction of the encoded alpha-galactosidase A. Since pathomechanisms are not yet fully understood and available treatments are not efficient for all mutation types and tissues, further research is highly needed. This research involves many different model types, with significant effort towards the establishment of an in vivo model.

CRISPR/Cas9-based GLA knockout to generate the female Fabry disease human induced pluripotent stem cell line MHHi001-A-15.

The X-linked lysosomal storage disorder Fabry disease originates from GLA gene mutations causing α-galactosidase A enzyme deficiency. Here we generated the GLA knockout hiPSC line MHHi001-A-15 (GLA-KOhiPSC) as an in vitro Fabry disease model by targeting exon 2 of the GLA gene by CRISPR/Cas9 in the established control hiPSC line MHHi001-A. GLA-KOhiPSCs retained the expression of pluripotency markers, trilineage differentiation potential, as well as normal karyotype and stem cell morphology but lacked α-galactosidase A enzyme activity.

Generation of human induced pluripotent stem cell line MHHi029-A from a male Fabry disease patient carrying c.959A > T mutation.

Fabry disease (FD) is a rare and inherited monogenetic disease caused by mutations in the X-chromosomal alpha-galactosidase A gene GLA concomitant with accumulation of its substrate globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) and multi-organ symptoms. We derived an induced pluripotent stem cell line, MHHi029-A, from a male FD patient carrying a c.959A > T missense mutation in the GLA gene.

The long non-coding RNA NRON promotes the development of cardiac hypertrophy in the murine heart.

Physiological and pathological cardiovascular processes are tightly regulated by several cellular mechanisms. Non-coding RNAs, including long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), represent one important class of molecules involved in regulatory processes within the cell. The lncRNA non-coding repressor of NFAT (NRON) was described as a repressor of the nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) in different in vitro studies.

The Long Non-coding RNA Cyrano Is Dispensable for Pluripotency of Murine and Human Pluripotent Stem Cells.

Pluripotency is tightly regulated and is crucial for stem cells and their implementation for regenerative medicine. Non-coding RNAs, especially long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) emerged as orchestrators of versatile (patho)-physiological processes on the transcriptional and post-transcriptional level. Cyrano, a well-conserved lncRNA, is highly expressed in stem cells suggesting an important role in pluripotency, which we aimed to investigate in loss-off-function (LOF) experiments.

Circulating microRNAs in Fabry Disease.

Fabry disease is an X-linked deficiency of the lysosomal hydrolase alpha-galactosidase A (alpha-Gal). This results in an accumulation of globotriaosylceramide (GL-3/Gb3) in a variety of cells with subsequent functional impairment. The continuous progress of FD often leads to decreased quality of life and premature death caused by multi-organic complications.

In vitro modelling of familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy allows quantitative detection of transthyretin amyloid fibril-like structures in hepatic derivatives of patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells.

The transthyretin protein is thermodynamically destabilised by mutations in the transthyretin gene, promoting the formation of amyloid fibrils in various tissues. Consequently, impaired autonomic organ function is observed in patients suffering from transthyretin-related familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy (FAP). The influence of individual genetic backgrounds on fibril formation as a potential cause of genotype-phenotype variations needs to be investigated in order to ensure efficient patient-specific therapies.

MicroRNA-29 impairs the early phase of reprogramming process by targeting active DNA demethylation enzymes and Wnt signaling.

Somatic cell reprogramming by transcription factors and other modifiers such as microRNAs has opened broad avenues for the study of developmental processes, cell fate determination, and interplay of molecular mechanisms in signaling pathways. However, many of the mechanisms that drive nuclear reprogramming itself remain yet to be elucidated. Here, we analyzed the role of miR-29 during reprogramming in more detail.

Biphasic modulation of Wnt signaling supports efficient foregut endoderm formation from human pluripotent stem cells.

Pluripotent stem cells (embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells) are of great promise in regenerative medicine, including molecular studies of disease mechanisms, if the affected cell type can be authentically generated during in vitro differentiation. Most existing protocols aim to mimic embryonic development steps by the supplementation of specific cytokines and small molecules, but the involved signaling pathways need further exploration. In this study, we investigated enhanced initial activation of Wnt signaling for definitive endoderm formation and subsequent rapid shutdown of Wnt signaling for proper foregut endoderm specification using 3 μM CHIR99021 and 0.