Genetic and Functional Differences Between Multipotent Neural and Pluripotent Embryonic Stem Cells
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Colloquium Genetic and functional differences between multipotent neural and pluripotent embryonic stem cells Kevin A. D’Amour and Fred H. Gage* Laboratory of Genetics, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 10010 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037 Stem cells (SCs) are functionally defined by their abilities to KSϩ clone of this region was the kind gift of Angie Rizzino (18). self-renew and generate differentiated cells. Although much effort Details regarding construction of the P͞Sox2-GFP-Ires-Puro has been focused on defining the common characteristics among vector are available on request. various types of SCs, the genetic and functional differences be- Transgenic ESC clones were derived from ROSA26-4 (19) tween multipotent and pluripotent SCs have garnered less atten- ESCs as described (20) and were microinjected into blastocysts tion. We report a direct genetic and functional comparison of to verify ESC clones that exhibited telencephalic-restricted molecularly defined and clonally related populations of neural SCs enhanced GFP (EGFP) expression. (NSCs) and embryonic SCs (ESCs), using the Sox2 promoter for Chimeric fetuses were generated via blastocyst injection of isolation of purified populations by fluorescence-activated cell P͞Sox2-GIP ESCs, collected at embryonic day (E) 14, and exam- sorting. A stringent expression profile comparison of promoter- ined by epifluorescent microscopy to select fetuses exhibiting high defined NSCs and ESCs revealed a striking dissimilarity, and sub- degrees of chimerism (Ն75%). The telencephalon was dissected sequent chimera analyses confirmed the fundamental differences free of the meninges and remaining brain tissue, diced with a scalpel in cellular potency between these populations. This direct com- blade, and digested for 5 min at 37°C in 1 ml of 0.25% wt/vol parison elucidates the molecular basis for the functional differ- trypsin͞0.54 mM EDTA. Then, 3 ml of ovomucoid trypsin inhibitor ences in pluripotent ESCs and multipotent NSCs. (Sigma) at 0.7 mg͞ml in DMEM͞F12 (1:1) was added, and the tissue was partly dissociated by trituration with a fire-polished tem cells (SCs) have become the topic of intense investigation Pasteur pipette. The suspension was pelleted for 2 min at 500 ϫ g. Sas model systems for understanding development and as po- The cell pellet was resuspended and further dissociated with a tential therapeutic agents (1). However, the relationship between fire-polished Pasteur pipette in PBS. The suspension was then pluripotent and multipotent classes of SCs is uncertain, and the filtered through a 35 M cell strainer (Falcon) into a tube con- possibility for cellular interconversion or investigator confusion taining 0.001% vol͞vol DNase I and 5 g͞ml propidium iodide for among these cells is a pressing issue in SC biology. Most recently, analysis by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). some observations of what appears to be exceedingly broad cell fate potential have obscured rather than enlightened our current un- Flow Cytometry. Sorting and analysis of fluorescent cells were derstanding of development (reviewed in ref. 2). These results have performed on a FACStar Plus cell sorter equipped with an argon been controversial (3–6), and the development of techniques for laser (488 nm, 100 mW) and using CELLQUEST software (BD identifying and isolating SCs is a paramount objective for further Biosciences). Cells were gated on forward and side scatter and characterization of this phenomenon (7). dead cells were excluded by eliminating propidium iodide- Because methods for isolating SCs are varied and not well positive events. Immediately after sorting, cells were pelleted for developed, we sought an approach that would allow the isolation 3 min at 500 ϫ g and resuspended in 200 l of medium, and the of both embryonic SCs (ESCs) and neural SCs (NSCs) to density of viable cells was determined by using a hemocytometer. investigate the genetic and functional relationships between For isolation of total RNA, cells were sorted directly into these SC classes. The transcription factor Sox2 has several ideal RNeasy lysis buffer (Qiagen, Valencia, CA) at 4°C to preserve properties for use in comparing ESCs and NSCs. First, Sox2 is the integrity of the RNA. Cells were homogenized by passing strongly associated with the pluripotent phenotype, because it is lysate over a QIAshredder column (Qiagen), and total RNA was expressed in ESCs and gene-deleted mice exhibit embryonic prepared according to the manufacturer’s protocol. lethality at implantation (8, 9). Furthermore, Sox2 is known to act cooperatively at several promoters with Oct4 (10–13), and Real-Time Quantitative PCR (Q-PCR). P͞Sox2-EGFP-positive cells Oct4 is believed to be the master regulator of the pluripotent were isolated by using FACS from neural stem͞progenitor state (14, 15). Second, outside of these pluripotent cells, Sox2 is cultures derived from E14 chimeric fetuses after 5 days in vitro a neural restricted gene (16) and therefore unequivocally iden- (DIV). Gates were set to collect nonoverlapping populations of tifies a neural tissue of origin. This property is useful for further negative, low, and high P͞Sox2-EGFP fluorescence intensity. characterizing the phenomenon of unexpected plasticity in NSC populations (7). Third, a Sox2 regulatory element has been This paper results from the Arthur M. Sackler Colloquium of the National Academy of described that expresses in ESCs as well as in neural progenitor Sciences, ‘‘Regenerative Medicine,’’ held October 18–22, 2002, at the Arnold and Mabel populations (17). Beckman Center of the National Academies of Science and Engineering in Irvine, CA. Abbreviations: SC, stem cell; EGFP, enhanced GFP; En, embryonic day n; ESC, embryonic SC; Materials and Methods FACS, fluorescence-activated cell sorting; ICM, inner cell mass; NSC, neural stem cell; NSCc, Production of Transgenic Mice and Isolation of Cells. The Sox2 cultured NSC; NSCf, freshly isolated NSC. promoter fragment used in these studies consists of the 5.5-kb *To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: [email protected]. BglII fragment immediately 5Ј to the Sox2 gene. A pBluescript © 2003 by The National Academy of Sciences of the USA 11866–11872 ͉ PNAS ͉ September 30, 2003 ͉ vol. 100 ͉ suppl. 1 www.pnas.org͞cgi͞doi͞10.1073͞pnas.1834200100 Downloaded by guest on September 28, 2021 Real-time quantitation was carried out as described (21). The Qualitative RT-PCR Confirmation. Total RNA was isolated from Sox2 primer sequences were forward 5Ј CACAGATGCAAC- P͞Sox2-EGFP-expressing ESCs and NSCs as described for ex- CGATGCA and reverse 5Ј GGTGCCCTGCTGCGAGTA. pression profiling. Next, 4.0 g of total RNA for each cell type was DNase-treated (DNA-free, Ambion, Austin, TX) and di- Immunostaining. Immunocytochemical analysis was performed as vided in half for first-strand cDNA synthesis with or without described (22). reverse transcriptase by using the SuperScript II kit (Invitrogen). One-twentieth of the cDNA reaction was taken for PCR tem- Cell Culture. ESCs were cultured by using standard procedures. plate and amplified for the following number of cycles: Oct4,23 Neural stem͞progenitor cells were cultured on untreated tissue cycles ESC and 30 cycles NSC; Klf2, 40 cycles ESC and NSC; culture plastic in serum-free media composed of DMEM͞F12 NrOb1, 23 cycles ESC and 30 cycles NSC; Klf5, 40 cycles ESC and (1:1) containing N2 or B27 serum supplements (GIBCO) and 2 NSC; Crtr1, 40 cycles ESC and NSC; Klf4, 30 cycles ESC and mM L-glutamine. Mitogenic stimulation was in the presence of NSC; Pem, 30 cycles ESC and NSC; Rex2, 23 cycles ESC and 30 human recombinant EGF and FGF2 (20 ng͞ml each; Pepro- cycles NSC; Foxg1, 30 cycles NSC and ESC; Nr2f1, 40 cycles NSC Tech, Rocky Hill, NJ) and heparin (5 g͞ml). Differentiation and ESC; Zic1, 40 cycles NSC and ESC; Myt1, 23 cycles NSC and was carried out by plating 1 ϫ 105 cells per cm2 on glass chamber 30 cycles ESC. Gapdh and -actin were amplified for 23 cycles in slides coated with laminin and poly-ornithine. Differentiation both NSC and ESC samples. The following primer sets were used: media consisted of N2 supplemented with 0.5% FBS and 1 M Oct4, forward 5Ј-GTGTTCAGCCAGACCACCAT and reverse forskolin. Media were changed every other day, and differenti- 5Ј-GAACCATACTCGAACCACATCC; Klf2, forward 5Ј- ation proceeded for 6–8 days. CCCAGGAAAGAAGACAGGAG and reverse 5Ј-AAAAC- GAAGCAGGCGGCAGA; NrOb1, forward 5Ј-TAGATG- Expression Profiling. P͞Sox2-EGFP-positive cells were isolated GAGAAAGCGGTCGTAG and reverse 5Ј-GCGGGGT- by using FACS from ESC cultures, E14 chimeric fetuses, or neural TAATGGAAAGAGATG; Klf5, forward 5Ј-ATCTGAAA- stem͞progenitor cultures derived from E14 chimeric fetuses. Trip- CACGCGCGCACCAC and reverse 5Ј-GTCTACCACTGAG- licate samples (5 g total RNA) were processed for labeling, GCACTGT; Crtr1, forward 5Ј-CCTATCTCTTCCTGCTGGGT hybridization, and scanning as described (23), using Murine- and reverse 5Ј-GCACAGAGCCCACATACAGA; Klf4, forward U74Av2 high-density oligo arrays (Affymetrix, Santa Clara, CA). 5Ј-ACAAAATGCCAAGGGGTGACTG and reverse 5Ј- Initial quality control data analysis was performed with ref- CCAAGCACCATCATTTAGGCTG; Pem, forward 5Ј-CGTG- erence to Sandberg et al. (24), and determinations of differen- GACAAGAGGAAGCACAA and reverse 5Ј-TCTTCTCCT- tially expressed genes were made by performing gene expression TCGCCTTCTGTTC; Rex2, forward 5Ј-CACAGAAGA- comparisons between each of the three P͞Sox2-defined SC AAGCAGGATCGC and reverse 5Ј-CCTCAGTCTCG- populations