iPS Cell Advanced Characterization and Development Team, BioResource Research Center, RIKEN, 3-1-1 Koyadai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0074, Japan.
Published: January 2022
AI Article Synopsis
Article Abstract
Non-genetically modified somatic cells can only be inefficiently and stochastically reprogrammed to pluripotency by exogenous expression of reprogramming factors. Low competence of natural reprogramming factors may prevent the majority of cells to successfully and synchronously reprogram. Here we screened DNA-interacting amino acid residues in the zinc-finger domain of KLF4 for enhanced reprogramming efficiency using alanine-substitution scanning methods. Identified KLF4 L507A mutant accelerated and stabilized reprogramming to pluripotency in both mouse and human somatic cells. By testing all the variants of L507 position, variants with smaller amino acid residues in the KLF4 L507 position showed higher reprogramming efficiency. L507A bound more to promoters or enhancers of pluripotency genes, such as KLF5, and drove gene expression of these genes during reprogramming. Molecular dynamics simulations predicted that L507A formed additional interactions with DNA. Our study demonstrates how modifications in amino acid residues of DNA-binding domains enable next-generation reprogramming technology with engineered reprogramming factors.
Department of Occupational Medical and Environmental Health, Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, Center for Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.
Silicosis is a fatal occupational pulmonary disease that is characterized by irreversible replacement of lung parenchyma by aberrant Exracellular matrix (ECM). Metabolic reprogramming is a crucial mechanism for fibrosis. However, how the metabolic rewiring shifts the ECM homeostasis toward overaccumulation remains unclear.
Direct cardiac reprogramming of fibroblasts into induced cardiomyocytes (iCMs) can be achieved by ectopic expression of cardiac transcription factors (TFs) via viral vectors. However, risks like genomic mutations, viral toxicity, and immune response limited its clinical application. Transactivation of endogenous TFs emerges as an alternative approach that may partially mitigate some of the risks.
Background: Chronic arterial hypertension restructures the vascular architecture of the brain, leading to a series of pathological responses that culminate in cerebral small-vessel disease. Pericytes respond dynamically to vascular challenges; however, how they manifest under the continuous strain of hypertension has not been elucidated.
Methods And Results: In this study, we characterized pericyte behavior alongside hypertensive states in the spontaneously hypertensive stroke-prone rat model, focusing on their phenotypic and metabolic transformation.
To investigate the promoting effect of extracellular vesicles derived from myocardial cells (CM-EVs) on the reprogramming of cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) into cardiomyocyte-like cells (iCMs) and their therapeutic effect on myocardial infarction (MI) in rats. Cell experiments: The differential adhesion method was used to obtain Sprague Dawley (SD) suckling rat CFs and cardiomyocytes (CMs), while the ultracentrifugation method was used to obtain CM-EVs. Transmission electron microscopy and nanoparticle tracking technology were used to analyze and determine the morphology and particle size of CM-EVs.
Background: Oxidative stress and microglial activation are critical pathomechanisms in ischemic white matter injury. Microglia, as resident immune cells in the brain, are the main cells undergoing oxidative stress response. However, the role and molecular mechanism of oxidative stress in microglia have not been clearly elucidated during white matter ischemia.
