Center for Regenerative Medicine and Cellular Therapy, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, 300, Taiwan, ROC.
Department of Biological Science and Technology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan, ROC.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2024 Jul 17;16(28):36030-36046. doi: 10.1021/acsami.4c04451. Epub 2024 Jul 1.
Differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is an extremely complex process that has proven difficult to study. In this research, we utilized nanotopography to elucidate details regarding iPSC differentiation by developing a nanodot platform consisting of nanodot arrays of increasing diameter. Subjecting iPSCs cultured on the nanodot platform to a cardiomyocyte (CM) differentiation protocol revealed several significant gene expression profiles that were associated with poor differentiation. The observed expression trends were used to select existing small-molecule drugs capable of modulating differentiation efficiency. BRD K98 was repurposed to inhibit CM differentiation, while iPSCs treated with NSC-663284, carmofur, and KPT-330 all exhibited significant increases in not only CM marker expression but also spontaneous beating, suggesting improved CM differentiation. In addition, quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed to determine the gene regulation responsible for modulating differentiation efficiency. Multiple genes involved in extracellular matrix remodeling were correlated with a CM differentiation efficiency, while genes involved in the cell cycle exhibited contrasting expression trends that warrant further studies. The results suggest that expression profiles determined via short time-series expression miner analysis of nanodot-cultured iPSC differentiation can not only reveal drugs capable of enhancing differentiation efficiency but also highlight crucial sets of genes related to processes such as extracellular matrix remodeling and the cell cycle that can be targeted for further investigation. Our findings confirm that the nanodot platform can be used to reveal complex mechanisms behind iPSC differentiation and could be an indispensable tool for optimizing iPSC technology for clinical applications.
诱导多能干细胞(iPSC)的分化是一个极其复杂的过程,很难进行研究。在这项研究中,我们利用纳米形貌学通过开发由直径逐渐增大的纳米点阵列组成的纳米点平台来阐明 iPSC 分化的细节。将在纳米点平台上培养的 iPSC 进行心肌细胞(CM)分化方案处理,揭示了与分化不良相关的几个重要基因表达谱。观察到的表达趋势被用于选择能够调节分化效率的现有小分子药物。BRD K98 被重新用于抑制 CM 分化,而用 NSC-663284、卡莫氟和 KPT-330 处理的 iPSC 不仅 CM 标志物的表达显著增加,而且自发性搏动也显著增加,表明 CM 分化得到改善。此外,进行了定量聚合酶链反应以确定调节分化效率的基因调控。与细胞外基质重塑相关的多个基因与 CM 分化效率相关,而与细胞周期相关的基因则表现出相反的表达趋势,值得进一步研究。结果表明,通过对纳米点培养的 iPSC 分化进行短时间序列表达 miner 分析确定的表达谱不仅可以揭示能够增强分化效率的药物,还可以突出与细胞外基质重塑和细胞周期等过程相关的关键基因集,这些基因可以作为进一步研究的靶点。我们的研究结果证实,纳米点平台可用于揭示 iPSC 分化背后的复杂机制,并且可能是优化 iPSC 技术用于临床应用的不可或缺的工具。