Direct Induction of Trophoblast Stem Cells from Murine Fibroblasts.

Trophoblast stem cells (TSCs) arise from the first cell fate decision in the developing embryo and generate extra-embryonic lineages, giving rise to the fetal portion of the placenta. Mouse embryonic and extra-embryonic lineages are strictly separated by a distinct epigenetic barrier, which is not fully overcome following expression of TSC-determining factors in embryonic stem cells. Here, we show that transient expression of Tfap2c, Gata3, Eomes, and Ets2 is sufficient to reprogram mouse embryonic fibroblasts and post-natal tail-tip-derived fibroblasts into induced TSCs (iTSCs) and surmount the epigenetic barrier separating somatic from extra-embryonic lineages.

Mitochondrial oxidative stress as a novel therapeutic target to overcome intrinsic drug resistance in melanoma cell subpopulations.

Despite recent success in melanoma therapy, most patients with metastatic disease still undergo deadly progression. We have identified a novel mechanism of multidrug resistance allowing a small subpopulation of slow-cycling melanoma cells to survive based on elevated oxidative bioenergy metabolism. In this study, we asked whether such slow-cycling cells could be eliminated by co-treatment with the copper-chelator elesclomol.