Sox9 regulates melanocytic fate decision of adult hair follicle stem cells.

The bulge of hair follicles harbors Nestin+ (neural crest like) stem cells, which exhibit the potential to generate various cell types including melanocytes. In this study, we aimed to determine the role of Sox9, an important regulator during neural crest development, in melanocytic differentiation of those adult Nestin+ cells. Immunohistochemical analysis after conditional Sox9 deletion in Nestin+ cells of adult mice revealed that Sox9 is crucial for melanocytic differentiation of these cells and that Sox9 acts as a fate determinant between melanocytic and glial fate. A deeper understanding of factors that regulate fate decision, proliferation and differentiation of these stem cells provides new aspects to melanoma research as melanoma cells share many similarities with neural crest cells. In summary, we here show the important role of Sox9 in melanocytic versus glial fate decision of Nestin+ stem cells in the skin of adult mice.

Dentate gyrus astrocytes exhibit layer-specific molecular, morphological and physiological features.

Neuronal heterogeneity has been established as a pillar of higher central nervous system function, but glial heterogeneity and its implications for neural circuit function are poorly understood. Here we show that the adult mouse dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus is populated by molecularly distinct astrocyte subtypes that are associated with distinct DG layers. Astrocytes localized to different DG compartments also exhibit subtype-specific morphologies. Physiologically, astrocytes in upper DG layers form large syncytia, while those in lower DG compartments form smaller networks. Astrocyte subtypes differentially express glutamate transporters, which is associated with different amplitudes of glutamate transporter-mediated currents. Key molecular and morphological features of astrocyte diversity in the mice DG are conserved in humans. This adds another layer of complexity to our understanding of brain network composition and function, which will be crucial for further studies on astrocytes in health and disease.

Two novel CreERT2 transgenic mouse lines to study melanocytic cells in vivo.

The skin of adult mammals protects from radiation, physical and chemical insults. While melanocytes and melanocyte-producing stem cells contribute to proper skin function in healthy organisms, dysfunction of these cells can lead to the generation of malignant melanoma-the deadliest type of skin cancer. Addressing cells of the melanocyte lineage in vivo represents a prerequisite for the understanding of melanoma on cellular level and the development of preventive and treatment strategies. Here, the inducible Cre-loxP-system has emerged as a promising tool to specifically target, monitor, and modulate cells in adult mice. Re-analysis of existing sequencing data sets of melanocytic cells revealed that genes with a known function in neural cells, including neural stem cells (Aldh1L1 and Nestin), are also expressed in melanocytic cells. Therefore, in this study, we explored whether the promoter activity of Nestin and Aldh1L1 can serve to target cells of the melanocyte lineage using the inducible CreERT2 -loxP-system. Using an immunohistochemical approach and different time points of analysis, we were able to map the melanocytic fate of recombined stem cells in the adult hair follicle of Nestin-CreERT2 and Aldh1L1-CreERT2 transgenic mice. Thus, we here present two new mouse models and propose their use to study and putatively modulate adult melanocytic cells in vivo.

Distribution of Aldh1L1-CreERT2 Recombination in Astrocytes Versus Neural Stem Cells in the Neurogenic Niches of the Adult Mouse Brain.

In the adult central nervous system, neural stem cells (NSCs) reside in two discrete niches: the subependymal zone (SEZ) of the lateral ventricle and the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the dentate gyrus (DG). Here, NSCs represent a population of highly specialized astrocytes that are able to proliferate and give rise to neuronal and glial progeny. This process, termed adult neurogenesis, is extrinsically regulated by other niche cells such as non-stem cell astrocytes. Studying these non-stem cell niche astrocytes and their role during adult neuro- and gliogenesis has been hampered by the lack of genetic tools to discriminate between transcriptionally similar NSCs and niche astrocytes. Recently, Aldh1L1 has been shown to be a pan-astrocyte marker and that its promoter can be used to specifically target astrocytes using the Cre-loxP system. In this study we explored whether the recently described Aldh1L1-CreERT2 mouse line (Winchenbach et al., 2016) can serve to specifically target niche astrocytes without inducing recombination in NSCs in adult neurogenic niches. Using short- and long-term tamoxifen protocols we revealed high recombination efficiency and specificity in non-stem cell astrocytes and little to no recombination in NSCs of the adult DG. However, in the SEZ we observed recombination in ependymal cells, astrocytes, and NSCs, the latter giving rise to neuronal progeny of the rostral migratory stream and olfactory bulb. Thus, we recommend the here described Aldh1L1-CreERT2 mouse line for predominantly studying the functions of non-stem cell astrocytes in the DG under physiological and pathological conditions.

Secretome Analysis of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Factors Fostering Oligodendroglial Differentiation of Neural Stem Cells In Vivo.

Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-secreted factors have been shown to significantly promote oligodendrogenesis from cultured primary adult neural stem cells (aNSCs) and oligodendroglial precursor cells (OPCs). Revealing underlying mechanisms of how aNSCs can be fostered to differentiate into a specific cell lineage could provide important insights for the establishment of novel neuroregenerative treatment approaches aiming at myelin repair. However, the nature of MSC-derived differentiation and maturation factors acting on the oligodendroglial lineage has not been identified thus far. In addition to missing information on active ingredients, the degree to which MSC-dependent lineage instruction is functional in vivo also remains to be established. We here demonstrate that MSC-derived factors can indeed stimulate oligodendrogenesis and myelin sheath generation of aNSCs transplanted into different rodent central nervous system (CNS) regions, and furthermore, we provide insights into the underlying mechanism on the basis of a comparative mass spectrometry secretome analysis. We identified a number of secreted proteins known to act on oligodendroglia lineage differentiation. Among them, the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase type 1 (TIMP-1) was revealed to be an active component of the MSC-conditioned medium, thus validating our chosen secretome approach.

Heterogeneous fate choice of genetically modulated adult neural stem cells in gray and white matter of the central nervous system.

Apart from dedicated oligodendroglial progenitor cells, adult neural stem cells (aNSCs) can also give rise to new oligodendrocytes in the adult central nervous system (CNS). This process mainly confers myelinating glial cell replacement in pathological situations and can hence contribute to glial heterogeneity. Our previous studies demonstrated that the p57kip2 gene encodes an intrinsic regulator of glial fate acquisition and we here investigated to what degree its modulation can affect stem cell-dependent oligodendrogenesis in different CNS environments. We therefore transplanted p57kip2 knockdown aNSCs into white and gray matter (WM and GM) regions of the mouse brain, into uninjured spinal cords as well as in the vicinity of spinal cord injuries and evaluated integration and differentiation in vivo. Our experiments revealed that under healthy conditions intrinsic suppression of p57kip2 as well as WM localization promote differentiation toward myelinating oligodendrocytes at the expense of astrocyte generation. Moreover, p57kip2 knockdown conferred a strong benefit on cell survival augmenting net oligodendrocyte generation. In the vicinity of hemisectioned spinal cords, the gene knockdown led to a similar induction of oligodendroglial features; however, newly generated oligodendrocytes appeared to suffer more from the hostile environment. This study contributes to our understanding of mechanisms of adult oligodendrogenesis and glial heterogeneity and further reveals critical factors when considering aNSC mediated cell replacement in injury and disease.

Membrane-based steric exclusion chromatography for the purification of a recombinant baculovirus and its application for cell therapy.

The continuously increasing potential of stem cell treatments for various medical conditions has accelerated the need for fast and efficient purification techniques for individualized cell therapy applications. Genetic stem cell engineering is commonly done with viral vectors like the baculovirus. The baculovirus is a safe and efficient gene transfer tool, that has been used for the expression of recombinant proteins for many years. Its purification has been based mainly on ion exchange matrices. However, these techniques impair process robustness, if different genetically modified virus particles are applied. Here, we evaluated the membrane-based steric exclusion chromatography for the purification of insect cell culture-derived recombinant Autographa californica multicapsid nucleopolehydroviruses for an application in cell therapy. The method has already proven to be a powerful tool for the purification of Influenza A virus particles, using cellulose membranes. Aside from the aforementioned cellulose, we evaluated alternative stationary phases, such as glass fiber and polyamide membranes. The highest dynamic binding capacitiy was determined for cellulose with 5.08E + 07 pfu per cm² membrane. Critical process parameters were optimized, using a design of experiments (DoE) approach. The determined process conditions were verified by different production batches, obtaining a mean virus yield of 91% ± 6.5%. Impurity depletion was >99% and 85% for protein and dsDNA, without nuclease treatment. Due to the method's specificity, its application to other baculoviruses, with varying surface modifications, is conceivable without major process changes. The physiological buffer conditions enable a gentle handling of the virus particles without decreasing the transduction efficacy. The simple procedure with sufficient impurity removal enables the substitution of time-consuming ultra centrifugation steps and can serve as a first process unit operation to obtain higher purities.

A gene regulatory architecture that controls region-independent dynamics of oligodendrocyte differentiation.

Oligodendrocytes (OLs) facilitate information processing in the vertebrate central nervous system via axonal ensheathment. The structure and dynamics of the regulatory network that mediates oligodendrogenesis are poorly understood. We employed bioinformatics and meta-analysis of high-throughput datasets to reconstruct a regulatory network underpinning OL differentiation. From this network, we identified families of feedforward loops comprising the transcription factors (TFs) Olig2, Sox10, and Tcf7l2 and their targets. Among the targets, we found eight other TFs related to OL differentiation, suggesting a hierarchical architecture in which some TFs (Olig2, Sox10, and Tcf7l2) regulate via feedforward loops the expression of others (Sox2, Sox6, Sox11, Nkx2-2, Nkx6-2, Hes5, Myt1, and Myrf). Model simulations with a kinetic model reproduced the mechanisms of OL differentiation only when in the model, Sox10-mediated repression of Tcf7l2 by miR-338/miR-155 was introduced, a prediction confirmed in genetic functional experiments. Additional model simulations suggested that OLs from dorsal regions emerge through BMP/Sox9 signaling.

Do Neural Stem Cells Have a Choice? Heterogenic Outcome of Cell Fate Acquisition in Different Injury Models.

The adult mammalian central nervous system (CNS) is generally considered as repair restricted organ with limited capacities to regenerate lost cells and to successfully integrate them into damaged nerve tracts. Despite the presence of endogenous immature cell types that can be activated upon injury or in disease cell replacement generally remains insufficient, undirected, or lost cell types are not properly generated. This limitation also accounts for the myelin repair capacity that still constitutes the default regenerative activity at least in inflammatory demyelinating conditions. Ever since the discovery of endogenous neural stem cells (NSCs) residing within specific niches of the adult brain, as well as the description of procedures to either isolate and propagate or artificially induce NSCs from various origins ex vivo, the field has been rejuvenated. Various sources of NSCs have been investigated and applied in current neuropathological paradigms aiming at the replacement of lost cells and the restoration of functionality based on successful integration. Whereas directing and supporting stem cells residing in brain niches constitutes one possible approach many investigations addressed their potential upon transplantation. Given the heterogeneity of these studies related to the nature of grafted cells, the local CNS environment, and applied implantation procedures we here set out to review and compare their applied protocols in order to evaluate rate-limiting parameters. Based on our compilation, we conclude that in healthy CNS tissue region specific cues dominate cell fate decisions. However, although increasing evidence points to the capacity of transplanted NSCs to reflect the regenerative need of an injury environment, a still heterogenic picture emerges when analyzing transplantation outcomes in injury or disease models. These are likely due to methodological differences despite preserved injury environments. Based on this meta-analysis, we suggest future NSC transplantation experiments to be conducted in a more comparable way to previous studies and that subsequent analyses must emphasize regional heterogeneity such as accounting for differences in gray versus white matter.

Imaging of Intracellular ATP in Organotypic Tissue Slices of the Mouse Brain using the FRET-based Sensor ATeam1.03YEMK.

Neuronal activity in the central nervous system (CNS) evokes a high demand on cellular energy provided by the breakdown of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). A large share of ATP is needed to re-install ion gradients across plasma membranes degraded by electrical signaling of neurons. There is evidence that astrocytes - while not generating fast electrical signals themselves - undergo increased production of ATP in response to neuronal activity and support active neurons by providing energy metabolites to them. The recent development of genetically encoded sensors for different metabolites now enables the study of such metabolic interactions between neurons and astrocytes. Here, we describe a protocol for cell-type specific expression of the ATP-sensitive Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer- (FRET-) sensor ATeam1.03YEMK in organotypic tissue slice cultures of the mouse hippocampus and cortex using adeno-associated viral vectors (AAV). Furthermore, we demonstrate how this sensor can be employed for dynamic measurement of changes in cellular ATP levels in neurons and astrocytes upon increases in extracellular potassium and following induction of chemical ischemia (i.e., an inhibition of cellular energy metabolism).

Human mesenchymal factors induce rat hippocampal- and human neural stem cell dependent oligodendrogenesis.

The generation of new oligodendrocytes is essential for adult brain repair in diseases such as multiple sclerosis. We previously identified the multifunctional p57kip2 protein as a negative regulator of myelinating glial cell differentiation and as an intrinsic switch of glial fate decision in adult neural stem cells (aNSCs). In oligodendroglial precursor cells (OPCs), p57kip2 protein nuclear exclusion was recently found to be rate limiting for differentiation to proceed. Furthermore, stimulation with mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-derived factors enhanced oligodendrogenesis by yet unknown mechanisms. To elucidate this instructive interaction, we investigated to what degree MSC secreted factors are species dependent, whether hippocampal aNSCs respond equally well to such stimuli, whether apart from oligodendroglial differentiation also tissue integration and axonal wrapping can be promoted and whether the oligodendrogenic effect involved subcellular translocation of p57kip2. We found that CC1 positive oligodendrocytes within the hilus express nuclear p57kip2 protein and that MSC dependent stimulation of cultured hippocampal aNSCs was not accompanied by nuclear p57kip2 exclusion as observed for parenchymal OPCs after spontaneous differentiation. Stimulation with human MSC factors was observed to equally promote rat stem cell oligodendrogenesis, axonal wrapping and tissue integration. As forced nuclear shuttling of p57kip2 led to decreased CNPase- but elevated GFAP expression levels, this indicates heterogenic oligodendroglial mechanisms occurring between OPCs and aNSCs. We also show for the first time that dominant pro-oligodendroglial factors derived from human fetal MSCs can instruct human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived NSCs to differentiate into O4 positive oligodendrocytes.

Long-term changes of patient-reported quality of life after major trauma: The importance of the time elapsed after injury.

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have identified various risk factors for a poor health-related quality of life (HRQOL) after severe trauma. The relative importance of the time elapsed after injury, however, is unknown and results of clinical studies have been conflicting. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed in two trauma centres using data from the German TraumaRegister DGU®, which contained prospectively collected information on the type and severity of the injury, on critical care, and on outcome. To evaluate HRQOL in patients surviving more than 500days after the injury, we used a self-rating instrument, the EQ-5D which contains a visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS), and which allows the calculation of a global outcome indicator, the EQ-D5 index value. Complex statistical models were used to evaluate independent associations between the time elapsed after injury and a poor HRQOL. RESULTS: Of 380 contacted patients, follow-up assessments could be obtained in 168 patients (44.2%) 3.6±1.6 (SD) years after the injury. There was a linear association between the time elapsed after the injury and the% of contacted patients not participating in the study (p=0.013). In participating subjects, average EQ-5D index value was 0.599±0.299, and average EQ-VAS rating 67.8±22.0. A very poor quality of life (EQ-5D index value<0.6, EQ-VAS rating≤50) could be found in 43.5% and 28.0% of the patients, respectively. After adjusting for multiple confounders, the number of days elapsed after injury showed a complex non-linear and independent association with a poor HRQOL (low EQ-5D index value: p=0.027; low EQ-VAS rating: p=0.008). Frequencies of a poor HRQOL reached their minimum about four to five years after the injury and increased thereafter. CONCLUSIONS: There is an independent, U-shaped association between the frequency of extreme values of HRQOL and the time elapsed after injury. Time patterns of HRQOL may be sensitive to increasing rates of attrition since patients with a good outcome are less likely to respond to questionnaires. Time from injury should be incorporated into all future cross sectional studies trying to identify predictors of HRQOL.

Heterogeneous populations of neural stem cells contribute to myelin repair.

As ingenious as nature's invention of myelin sheaths within the mammalian nervous system is, as fatal can be damage to this specialized lipid structure. Long-term loss of electrical insulation and of further supportive functions myelin provides to axons, as seen in demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), leads to neurodegeneration and results in progressive disabilities. Multiple lines of evidence have demonstrated the increasing inability of oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) to replace lost oligodendrocytes (OLs) in order to restore lost myelin. Much research has been dedicated to reveal potential reasons for this regeneration deficit but despite promising approaches no remyelination-promoting drugs have successfully been developed yet. In addition to OPCs neural stem cells of the adult central nervous system also hold a high potential to generate myelinating OLs. There are at least two neural stem cell niches in the brain, the subventricular zone lining the lateral ventricles and the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus, and an additional source of neural stem cells has been located in the central canal of the spinal cord. While a substantial body of literature has described their neurogenic capacity, still little is known about the oligodendrogenic potential of these cells, even if some animal studies have provided proof of their contribution to remyelination. In this review, we summarize and discuss these studies, taking into account the different niches, the heterogeneity within and between stem cell niches and present current strategies of how to promote stem cell-mediated myelin repair.

Fingolimod induces the transition to a nerve regeneration promoting Schwann cell phenotype.

Successful regeneration of injured peripheral nerves is mainly attributed to the plastic behavior of Schwann cells. Upon loss of axons, these cells trans-differentiate into regeneration promoting repair cells which provide trophic support to regrowing axons. Among others, activation of cJun was revealed to be involved in this process, initiating the stereotypic pattern of Schwann cell phenotype alterations during Wallerian degeneration. Nevertheless, the ability of Schwann cells to adapt and therefore the nerve's potential to regenerate can be limited in particular after long term denervation or in neuropathies leading to incomplete regeneration only and thus emphasizing the need for novel therapeutic approaches. Here we stimulated primary neonatal and adult rat Schwann cells with Fingolimod/FTY720P and investigated its impact on the regeneration promoting phenotype. FTY720P activated a number of de-differentiation markers including cJun and interfered with maturation marker and myelin expression. Functionally, FTY720P treated Schwann cells upregulated growth factor expression and these cells enhanced dorsal root ganglion neurite outgrowth on inhibitory substrates. Our results therefore provide strong evidence that FTY720P application supports the generation of a repair promoting cellular phenotype and suggest that Fingolimod could be used as treatment for peripheral nerve injuries and diseases.

Intrinsically active and pacemaker neurons in pluripotent stem cell-derived neuronal populations.

Neurons generated from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) self-organize into functional neuronal assemblies in vitro, generating synchronous network activities. Intriguingly, PSC-derived neuronal assemblies develop spontaneous activities that are independent of external stimulation, suggesting the presence of thus far undetected intrinsically active neurons (IANs). Here, by using mouse embryonic stem cells, we provide evidence for the existence of IANs in PSC-neuronal networks based on extracellular multielectrode array and intracellular patch-clamp recordings. IANs remain active after pharmacological inhibition of fast synaptic communication and possess intrinsic mechanisms required for autonomous neuronal activity. PSC-derived IANs are functionally integrated in PSC-neuronal populations, contribute to synchronous network bursting, and exhibit pacemaker properties. The intrinsic activity and pacemaker properties of the neuronal subpopulation identified herein may be particularly relevant for interventions involving transplantation of neural tissues. IANs may be a key element in the regulation of the functional activity of grafted as well as preexisting host neuronal networks.