Endogenous Nodal switches Wnt interpretation from posteriorization to germ layer differentiation in geometrically constrained human pluripotent cells
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PROVIDER: PRJNA1096648 | ENA |
REPOSITORIES: ENA
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Project description:The Wnt pathway is essential for inducing the primitive streak, the precursor of the mesendoderm, as well as setting anterior-posterior coordinates. How Wnt coordinates these diverse activities remains incompletely understood. Here, we show that in Wnt-treated human pluripotent cells, endogenous Nodal signaling is a crucial switch between posteriorizing and primitive streak-including activities. While treatment with Wnt posteriorizes cells in standard culture, in micropatterned colonies, higher levels of endogenously induced Nodal signaling combine with exogenous Wnt to drive endoderm differentiation. Inhibition of Nodal signaling restores dose-dependent posteriorization by Wnt. In the absence of Nodal inhibition, micropatterned colonies undergo spontaneous, elaborate morphogenesis concomitant with endoderm differentiation even in the absence of added extracellular matrix proteins like Matrigel. Our study shows how Wnt and Nodal combinatorially coordinate germ layer differentiation with AP patterning and establishes a system to study a natural self-organizing morphogenetic event in in vitro culture.
| S-EPMC10979992 | biostudies-literature
Project description:We conducted bulk RNA sequencing on cells sorted by fluorescence from micropatterned colonies treated with FGF8 and different concentrations of WNT3a, using a SOX2::mCitrine cell line to distinguish between SOX2 positive and negative cells. The sequencing revealed that SOX2 negative cells exhibited a definitive endoderm identity, while SOX2 positive cells showed epiblast identity.
2024-04-09 | GSE263291 | GEO
Project description:The Nodal/Activin morphogens are secreted signaling molecules that form concentration gradients during early embryogenesis providing stem cells with positional information and differentiation instructions important for embryonic patterning. The molecular basis driving stem cell interpretation of signaling gradients and the undertaking of distinct cell fate decisions remains poorly understood. We show that perturbation of endogenous Nodal/Activin signaling in ES cells leads to exit from self renewal towards mesendodermal differentiation at high signaling and trophectoderm induction during low signaling. ChIP-seq of Phospho-Smad2, the downstream transcription factor of the Nodal/Activin pathway reveals binding to distinct subsets of target genes in a dose dependent manner including the promoter region of the Oct4 master regulator of stemness. Consequently, both Oct4 mRNA and protein levels are directly driven by graded Nodal/Activin signaling. Hence stem cells interpret and carry out differential Nodal/Activin signaling instructions via a corresponding gradient of Smad2 phosphorylation that selectively titers self renewal against alternative differentiation programs.
2011-01-31 | GSE23581 | GEO
Project description:Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are recently characterized players that are involved in the regulatory circuitry of self-renewal in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). However, the specific roles of lncRNAs in this circuitry are poorly understood. Here, we determined that growth-arrest-specific transcript 5 (GAS5), which is a known tumor suppressor and growth arrest gene, is abundantly expressed in the cytoplasm of hESCs and essential for hESC self-renewal. GAS5 depletion in hESCs significantly impaired their pluripotency and self-renewal ability, whereas GAS5 overexpression in hESCs accelerated the cell cycle, enhanced their colony formation ability and increased pluripotency marker expression. By RNA sequencing and bioinformatics analysis, we determined that GAS5 activates NODAL-SMAD2/3 signaling by sustaining the expression of NODAL, which plays a key role in hESC self-renewal but not in somatic cell growth. Further studies indicated that GAS5 functions as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) to protect NODAL mRNA against degradation and that GAS5 transcription is directly controlled by the core pluripotency transcriptional factors (TFs). Taken together, we suggest that the core TFs, GAS5 and NODAL-SMAD2/3 form a feed-forward loop to maintain the hESC self-renewal process. These findings are specific to ESCs and did not occur in the somatic cell lines we tested; therefore, our findings also provide evidence that the functions of lncRNAs vary in different biological contexts.
2016-03-17 | GSE66993 | GEO
Project description:Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are recently characterized players that are involved in the regulatory circuitry of self-renewal in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). However, the specific roles of lncRNAs in this circuitry are poorly understood. Here, we determined that growth-arrest-specific transcript 5 (GAS5), which is a known tumor suppressor and growth arrest gene, is abundantly expressed in the cytoplasm of hESCs and essential for hESC self-renewal. GAS5 depletion in hESCs significantly impaired their pluripotency and self-renewal ability, whereas GAS5 overexpression in hESCs accelerated the cell cycle, enhanced their colony formation ability and increased pluripotency marker expression. By RNA sequencing and bioinformatics analysis, we determined that GAS5 activates NODAL-SMAD2/3 signaling by sustaining the expression of NODAL, which plays a key role in hESC self-renewal but not in somatic cell growth. Further studies indicated that GAS5 functions as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) to protect NODAL mRNA against degradation and that GAS5 transcription is directly controlled by the core pluripotency transcriptional factors (TFs). Taken together, we suggest that the core TFs, GAS5 and NODAL-SMAD2/3 form a feed-forward loop to maintain the hESC self-renewal process. These findings are specific to ESCs and did not occur in the somatic cell lines we tested; therefore, our findings also provide evidence that the functions of lncRNAs vary in different biological contexts. We analyzed long non-coding RNAs in two hESC cell lines (X-01 and H1), and found GAS5 is highly expressed and functional in maintaining hESC self-renewal. We generate stable overexpressed or knockdown hESC cell lines using lentiviral approach. We transfected cells initialy after passage, and lentiviruses are added with daily medium change for three days (at a final concentration of 10^5 IU/ml). Puromycin is added for selection and supplied with daily medium change. Stable cell lines are established after two passages and verified under fluorescence scope. Total RNAs and miRNAs are extracted separately of all three cell lines (LV-NC, LV-GAS5 and LV-shGAS5) and put to sequencing.
2016-03-17 | E-GEOD-66993 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:The Nodal/Activin morphogens are secreted signaling molecules that form concentration gradients during early embryogenesis providing stem cells with positional information and differentiation instructions important for embryonic patterning. The molecular basis driving stem cell interpretation of signaling gradients and the undertaking of distinct cell fate decisions remains poorly understood. We show that perturbation of endogenous Nodal/Activin signaling in ES cells leads to exit from self renewal towards mesendodermal differentiation at high signaling and trophectoderm induction during low signaling. ChIP-seq of Phospho-Smad2, the downstream transcription factor of the Nodal/Activin pathway reveals binding to distinct subsets of target genes in a dose dependent manner including the promoter region of the Oct4 master regulator of stemness. Consequently, both Oct4 mRNA and protein levels are directly driven by graded Nodal/Activin signaling. Hence stem cells interpret and carry out differential Nodal/Activin signaling instructions via a corresponding gradient of Smad2 phosphorylation that selectively titers self renewal against alternative differentiation programs. 3 pSmad2 ChIP samples corresponding to ES cells pretreated for 6 hours in 10uM SB followed by 18 hours in 25ng/ml Activin, 1/5000 DMSO and 10uM SB in 20% KSR media. Controls include the corresponding input DNA for each treatment.
2011-01-31 | E-GEOD-23581 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Nodal and Activin are morphogens of the TGFbeta superfamily of signaling molecules that direct differential cell fate decisions in a dose- and distance-dependent manner. During early embryonic development the Nodal/Activin pathway is responsible for the specification of mesoderm, endoderm, node and mesendoderm. In contradiction to this drive towards cellular differentiation, the pathway also plays important roles in the maintenance of self-renewal and pluripotency in embryonic and epiblast stem cells. The molecular basis behind stem cell interpretation of Nodal/Activin signaling gradients and the undertaking of disparate cell fate decisions remains poorly understood. Here, we show that any perturbation of endogenous signaling levels in mouse ES cells leads to their exit from self renewal towards divergent differentiation programs. Increasing Nodal signals above basal levels by direct stimulation with Activin promotes differentiation towards the mesendodermal lineages while repression of signaling with the specific Nodal/Activin receptor inhibitor SB431542 induces trophectodermal differentiation. To address how quantitative Nodal/Activin signals are translated qualitatively into distinct cell fates decisions, we performed chromatin immunoprecipitation of phospho-Smad2 the primary downstream transcriptional factor of the Nodal/Activin pathway followed by massively parallel sequencing and show that phospho-Smad2 binds to and regulates distinct subsets of target genes in a dose-dependent manner. Crucially, Nodal/Activin signaling directly controls the Oct4 master regulator of pluripotency by graded phospho-Smad2 binding in the promoter region. Hence stem cells interpret and carry out differential Nodal/Activin signaling instructions via a corresponding gradient of Smad2 phosphorylation that selectively titrates self-renewal against alternative differentiation programs by direct regulation of distinct target gene subsets and Oct4 expression. Four biological replicates consisting of 4 different passages of E14TG2a ES cells at P20, P21, P23 and P24
2011-06-30 | E-GEOD-23239 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Nodal and Activin are morphogens of the TGFbeta superfamily of signaling molecules that direct differential cell fate decisions in a dose- and distance-dependent manner. During early embryonic development the Nodal/Activin pathway is responsible for the specification of mesoderm, endoderm, node and mesendoderm. In contradiction to this drive towards cellular differentiation, the pathway also plays important roles in the maintenance of self-renewal and pluripotency in embryonic and epiblast stem cells. The molecular basis behind stem cell interpretation of Nodal/Activin signaling gradients and the undertaking of disparate cell fate decisions remains poorly understood. Here, we show that any perturbation of endogenous signaling levels in mouse ES cells leads to their exit from self renewal towards divergent differentiation programs. Increasing Nodal signals above basal levels by direct stimulation with Activin promotes differentiation towards the mesendodermal lineages while repression of signaling with the specific Nodal/Activin receptor inhibitor SB431542 induces trophectodermal differentiation. To address how quantitative Nodal/Activin signals are translated qualitatively into distinct cell fates decisions, we performed chromatin immunoprecipitation of phospho-Smad2 the primary downstream transcriptional factor of the Nodal/Activin pathway followed by massively parallel sequencing and show that phospho-Smad2 binds to and regulates distinct subsets of target genes in a dose-dependent manner. Crucially, Nodal/Activin signaling directly controls the Oct4 master regulator of pluripotency by graded phospho-Smad2 binding in the promoter region. Hence stem cells interpret and carry out differential Nodal/Activin signaling instructions via a corresponding gradient of Smad2 phosphorylation that selectively titrates self-renewal against alternative differentiation programs by direct regulation of distinct target gene subsets and Oct4 expression.
2011-06-30 | GSE23239 | GEO
Project description:The biology underlying nodal metastasis is poorly understood. Transcriptome profiling has helped to characterize both primary tumors seeding nodal metastasis and the metastasis themselves. The interpretation of these data, however, is not without ambiguities. Here we profiled the transcriptomes of 17 papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) nodal metastases, associated primary tumors and primary tumors from N0 patients. We also included patient-matched normal thyroid and lymph node samples as controls to address some limits of previous studies. We found that the transcriptomes of patient-matched primary tumors and metastases were more similar than of unrelated metastases/primary pairs, a result also reported in other organ systems, and that part of this similarity reflected patient background. We found that the comparison of patient-matched primary tumors and metastases was heavily confounded by the presence of lymphoid tissues in the metastasis samples. An original data adjustment procedure was developed to circumvent this problem. It revealed a differential expression of stroma-related gene expression signatures also regulated in other organ systems. The comparison of N0 vs. N+ primary tumors uncovered a signal irreproducible across independent PTC datasets. This signal was also detectable when comparing the normal thyroid tissues adjacent to N0 and N+ tumors, suggesting a cohort specific bias also likely to be present in previous studies with similar statistical power. Classification of N0 vs. N+ yielded an accuracy of 63%, but additional statistical controls not presented in previous studies, revealed that this is likely to occur by chance alone. To address this issue, we used large datasets from The Cancer Genome Atlas and showed that N0 vs. N+ classification rates could not be reached randomly for most cancers. Yet, it was significant, but of limited accuracy (<70%) for thyroid, breast and head and neck cancers. We profiled the transcriptomes of 11 primary PTCs with no detectable nodal invasion, 17 primary PTCs with nodal invasion and 17 patient-matched nodal metastases. We also profiled a number of control samples. These included 24 patient-matched normal thyroid tissues (11 from N0, 13 from N+ patients), and 4 normal lymph nodes; technical and biological replicates including additional nodal metastasis for 3 patients, adjacent blocks for 5 primary tumors, 4 normal thyroid tissues and 1 nodal metastasis.
2015-09-01 | E-GEOD-60542 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:This SuperSeries is composed of the following subset Series: GSE32231: Molecular characterization of Nodal marginal zone lymphoma [Gene Expression] GSE32232: microRNA-expression profile in a series of Nodal marginal zone lymphoma patients [miRNA expression] Refer to individual Series
2011-09-20 | E-GEOD-32233 | biostudies-arrayexpress