WO 2010/069008 Al
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
(12) INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION PUBLISHED UNDER THE PATENT COOPERATION TREATY (PCT) (19) World Intellectual Property Organization International Bureau (10) International Publication Number (43) International Publication Date 24 June 2010 (24.06.2010) WO 2010/069008 Al (51) International Patent Classification: (81) Designated States (unless otherwise indicated, for every C12N 5/074 (2010.01) kind of national protection available): AE, AG, AL, AM, AO, AT, AU, AZ, BA, BB, BG, BH, BR, BW, BY, BZ, (21) International Application Number: CA, CH, CL, CN, CO, CR, CU, CZ, DE, DK, DM, DO, PCT/AU2009/001665 DZ, EC, EE, EG, ES, FI, GB, GD, GE, GH, GM, GT, (22) International Filing Date: HN, HR, HU, ID, IL, IN, IS, JP, KE, KG, KM, KN, KP, 2 1 December 2009 (21 .12.2009) KR, KZ, LA, LC, LK, LR, LS, LT, LU, LY, MA, MD, ME, MG, MK, MN, MW, MX, MY, MZ, NA, NG, NI, (25) Filing Language: English NO, NZ, OM, PE, PG, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, RU, SC, SD, (26) Publication Language: English SE, SG, SK, SL, SM, ST, SV, SY, TJ, TM, TN, TR, TT, TZ, UA, UG, US, UZ, VC, VN, ZA, ZM, ZW. (30) Priority Data: 2008906529 19 December 2008 (19.12.2008) AU (84) Designated States (unless otherwise indicated, for every kind of regional protection available): ARIPO (BW, GH, (71) Applicants (for all designated States except US): GRIF¬ GM, KE, LS, MW, MZ, NA, SD, SL, SZ, TZ, UG, ZM, FITH UNIVERSITY [AU/AU]; 170 Kessels Road, ZW), Eurasian (AM, AZ, BY, KG, KZ, MD, RU, TJ, Nathan, Queensland 4 111 (AU). THE UNIVERSITY TM), European (AT, BE, BG, CH, CY, CZ, DE, DK, EE, OF QUEENSLAND [AU/AU]; St Lucia, Queensland ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, LT, LU, LV, 4072 (AU). MC, MK, MT, NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI, SK, SM, TR), OAPI (BF, BJ, CF, CG, CI, CM, GA, GN, GQ, GW, (72) Inventors; and ML, MR, NE, SN, TD, TG). (75) Inventors/Applicants (for US only): BROWNE, Cather¬ ine [AU/AU]; 170 Kessels Road, Nathan, Queensland Published: 4 111 (AU). MACKAY-SIM, Alan [AU/AU]; 170 — with international search report (Art. 21(3)) Kessels Road, Nathan, Queensland 4 111 (AU). — before the expiration of the time limit for amending the (74) Agent: FISHER ADAMS KELLY; Level 29 Comalco claims and to be republished in the event of receipt of Place, 12 Creek Street, Brisbane, Queensland 4000 (AU). amendments (Rule 48.2(h)) (54) Title: A GERMLINE COMPETENT CELL DERIVED FROM ADULT TISSUE (57) Abstract: An adult mammalian stem cell is provid ed which is pluripotent and non-teratogenic in immune deficient animals. The mammalian stem cell is obtainable by culturing olfactory epithelium in the presence of one or more of FGF2, FGF9, SCF, LIF, TGF- β2 and BMP-4. The mammalian stem cell expresses low levels of Sox2 and Oct4 mRNA and higher levels of SPl and ANP32A mRNA. The mammalian stem cell expresses one or more proteins such as OCT-3./4, SOX2, NANOG, KLF4, MVH, KIT, NESTIN and also selected CD anti gens. The mammalian stem cell may be useful in compo sitions and methods for treating diseases or conditions responsive to cell-based therapies, including but not lim ited spinal repair, heart muscle regeneration, skin repair, bone-marrow transplantation and repair of neural degen eration. The mammalian stem cell and non-human mam mals generated therefrom may be useful in drug screen ing, disease modelling and identifying cell differentiation CeI pathways. «007 WiO IHO IHI PH 21 IHI i/io/im 20 I µ 1 TITLE A GERMLINE COMPETENT CELL DERIVED FROM ADULT TISSUE FIELD THIS INVENTION relates to pluripotent mammalian cells and to methods of isolating, culturing and using same. BACKGROUND Pluripotent cells are cells that have the potential to differentiate into all cell types found in an adult organism, except for certain placental tissue and umbilicus. These cells naturally occur in the inner cell mass of an embryo and they differentiate to form three embryonic germ layers: ectoderm, endoderm and mesoderm. It is from these three germ layers that all adult tissues in a human are formed. There is considerable interest in using pluripotent cells in drug development and discovery, gene therapy and cell and tissue therapy. There has been clinical application of these cells in in vitro fertilisation and tissue and cellular regeneration and replacement therapies. Pluripotent cells known to date may be classified into 3 groups. The first of these includes cells derived predominantly from embryonic tissue such as: (i) embryonic stem cells (ESCs), which are derived by long-term culture of cells from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst (Thomson et al. 1998 Science 282:1 145-1 147); and (ii) embryonic germ cells (EG cells), which are derived from migratory primordial germ cells found in the region of the hind gut in transit to the genitalgonadal ridge in E8.5 - E9.5 mouse foetuses (Shamblott et al. 1998 PNAS USA 10:13726-31). EG cells of a late embryo have many of the properties of ESCs. The primordial germ cells in an embryo develop into stem cells that in an adult generate the gametes. These cells are generally derived from embryos (created naturally or via cloning), fetal tissue or via the mixing of nucleus and cytoplasm of multiple species. Reprogramming of somatic cells to cells exhibiting pluripotent properties has been achieved by nuclear transplantation of a somatic nucleus into an enucleated egg. There are ethical issues that arise from the derivation of these cells. A second group includes those cells obtained by introducing defined transcription factors into somatic cells. Cells formed by expression of a combination of transcription factors (e.g SOX2, OCT-3/4, NANOG and KLF4) expressed from a retrovirus or other compounds are referred to as "induced pluripotent stem cells" or "iPS cells" (Takahashi & Yamanaka, 2006, Cell 126:663-676). Until recently, adult stem cells have been thought not to be pluripotent although recent studies have cast some doubt on this thinking. In this context some adult stem cells are thought to represent a third class of pluripotent cells. The in vivo developmental potency of a given cell may be determined by assessing for germline competency or, for teratoma formation in an immune deficient animal. A "germline competent" cell is capable of giving rise to functional gametes. One form of assessing germline competence includes injecting a candidate cell into a blastocyst and determining whether Fl derived from an intercross involving a founder derived from the blastocyst contains the genetic complement of the candidate cell. Germline competency is a defining feature of all pluripotent cells. The capacity to form a teratoma - a tumour containing tissue that is characteristic of endodermal, ectodermal and mesodermal lineages- is also understood to indicate that the candidate cell has pluripotency in vivo. All pluripotent cells known to date - ESCs, EG cells and iPS cells - have this defining property. It is generally understood that teratoma formation occurs as a consequence of a "reprogramming" of the cell during culture to differentiate when placed in an environment in the absence of LIF. That is, the differentiation is a function of the cell itself, rather than stimuli from the tissue environment in which it is placed. As an example, inner cell mass cells generally do not form teratomas whereas ESCs do. Teratoma formation is generally understood to be a significant limitation to the use of all pluripotent cells identified to date in clinical applications. More particularly, it is generally understood that there is a significant risk that pluripotent cells identified to date will cause teratomas or other forms of neoplasia or unregulated cell or tissue growth if used in clinical applications. SUMMARY The present invention is broadly directed to a mammalian pluripotent stem cell that is obtainable from adult cells and/or tissues. A preferred advantage of the mammalian pluripotent stem cell is that it does not form teratomas. In one aspect, there is provided an isolated mammalian cell having the developmental potency of an embryonic stem cell (ESC), characterised in that the isolated mammalian cell does not form a teratoma when provided in an immune deficient animal. Suitably, the isolated mammalian cell is a germline competent, pluripotent stem cell. The isolated mammalian cell may be further characterized by a presence, absence, relatively high or relatively low level of expression of one or more genes or proteins set forth in Tables 1-12. In particular embodiments, the invention provides: (i) an isolated human cell designated Human XY pOS-17 deposited at the European Collection of Cell Cultures (ECACC) on December 16 2009 with accession number 09121602; (ii) an isolated mouse cell designated B6 Rosa26-EGFP XY Pos deposited at the European Collection of Cell Cultures (ECACC) on December 16 2009 with accession number 09121601; and/or (i) an isolated rat cell designated SD Rat XY pOS deposited at the European Collection of Cell Cultures (ECACC) on December 16 2009 with accession number 09121603. In another aspect, the invention provides a method of producing a mammalian cell, said method including the step of culturing a one or more cells or tissues obtained from a mammal in a medium including one or more of FGF9, FGF2, SCF and LIF, to thereby produce the isolated mammalian cell. In one particular embodiment, the method includes culturing neurospheres or a neurosphere-like cellular mass in a medium comprising one or more of FGF2, FGF9, SCF and/or leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF). In a particular embodiment of this aspect relating to human cells, the medium includes one or more of FGF2, FGF9, SCF, LIF, TGF-β2 and/or BMP-4.