Quantifying Inequalities in Childhood Immunization Using Summary Measures of Health Inequality: An Application of WHO Stata and R 'Healthequal' Packages.

Monitoring immunization inequalities is crucial for achieving equity in vaccine coverage. Summary measures of health inequality provide a single numerical expression of immunization inequality. However, the impact of different summary measures on conclusions about immunization inequalities has not been thoroughly studied.

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 (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.

Direct Interaction Between CD34 Hematopoietic Stem Cells and Mesenchymal Stem Cells Reciprocally Preserves Stemness.

Background/objectives: A specialized microenvironment in the bone marrow, composed of stromal cells including mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), supports hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) self-renewal, and differentiation bands play an important role in leukemia development and progression. The reciprocal direct interaction between MSCs and CD34 HSCs under physiological and pathological conditions is yet to be fully characterized.

Methods: Here, we established a direct co-culture model between MSCs and CD34 HSCs or MSCs and acute myeloid leukemia cells (THP-1, Molm-13, and primary cells from patients) to study heterocellular communication.

Generation of an inducible dCas9-SAM human PSC line for endogenous gene activation.

The CRISPR/Cas9 system has transformed genome editing by enabling precise modifications for diverse applications. Recent advancements, including base editing and prime editing, have expanded its utility beyond conventional gene knock-out and knock-in strategies. Additionally, several catalytically dead Cas9 (dCas9) proteins fused to distinct activation domains have been developed to modulate endogenous gene expression when directed to their regulatory regions by specific single-guide RNAs.