Andrew S. Brack

Highly efficient reprogramming to pluripotency and directed differentiation of human cells with synthetic modified mRNA.

Clinical application of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is limited by the low efficiency of iPSC derivation and the fact that most protocols modify the genome to effect cellular reprogramming. Moreover, safe and effective means of directing the fate of patient-specific iPSCs toward clinically useful cell types are lacking. Here we describe a simple, nonintegrating strategy for reprogramming cell fate based on administration of synthetic mRNA modified to overcome innate antiviral responses. We show that this approach can reprogram multiple human cell types to pluripotency with efficiencies that greatly surpass established protocols. We further show that the same technology can be used to efficiently direct the differentiation of RNA-induced pluripotent stem cells (RiPSCs) into terminally differentiated myogenic cells. This technology represents a safe, efficient strategy for somatic cell reprogramming and directing cell fate that has broad applicability for basic research, disease modeling, and regenerative medicine.

A Temporal Switch from Notch to Wnt Signaling in Muscle Stem Cells Is Necessary for Normal Adult Myogenesis

The temporal switch from progenitor cell proliferation to differentiation is essential for effective adult tissue repair. We previously reported the critical role of Notch signaling in the proliferative expansion of myogenic progenitors in mammalian postnatal myogenesis. We now show that the onset of differentiation is due to a transition from Notch signaling to Wnt signaling in myogenic progenitors and is associated with an increased expression of Wnt in the tissue and an increased responsiveness of progenitors to Wnt. Crosstalk between these two pathways occurs via GSK3beta, which is maintained in an active form by Notch but is inhibited by Wnt in the canonical Wnt signaling cascade. These results demonstrate that the temporal balance between Notch and Wnt signaling orchestrates the precise progression of muscle precursor cells along the myogenic lineage pathway, through stages of proliferative expansion and then differentiation, during postnatal myogenesis.

The aged niche disrupts muscle stem cell quiescence

The niche is a conserved regulator of stem cell quiescence and function. During ageing, stem cell function declines. To what extent and by what means age-related changes within the niche contribute to this phenomenon are unknown. Here we demonstrate that the aged muscle stem cell niche, the muscle fibre, expresses Fgf2 under homeostatic conditions, driving a subset of satellite cells to break quiescence and lose their self-renewing capacity. We show in mice that relatively dormant aged satellite cells robustly express sprouty 1 (Spry1), an inhibitor of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signalling. Increasing FGF signalling in aged satellite cells under homeostatic conditions by removing Spry1 results in the loss of quiescence, satellite cell depletion and diminished regenerative capacity. Conversely, reducing niche-derived FGF activity through inhibition of Fgfr1 signalling or overexpression of Spry1 in satellite cells prevents their depletion. These experiments identify an age-dependent change in the stem cell niche that directly influences stem cell quiescence and function.

Tissue-Specific Stem Cells: Lessons from the Skeletal Muscle Satellite Cell

In 1961, the satellite cell was first identified when electron microscopic examination of skeletal muscle demonstrated a cell wedged between the plasma membrane of the muscle fiber and the basement membrane. In recent years it has been conclusively demonstrated that the satellite cell is the primary cellular source for muscle regeneration and is equipped with the potential to self renew, thus functioning as a bona fide skeletal muscle stem cell (MuSC). As we move past the 50(th) anniversary of the satellite cell, we take this opportunity to discuss the current state of the art and dissect the unknowns in the MuSC field.

GDF11 Increases with Age and Inhibits Skeletal Muscle Regeneration.

Age-related frailty may be due to decreased skeletal muscle regeneration. The role of TGF-β molecules myostatin and GDF11 in regeneration is unclear. Recent studies showed an age-related decrease in GDF11 and that GDF11 treatment improves muscle regeneration, which were contrary to prior studies. We now show that these recent claims are not reproducible and the reagents previously used to detect GDF11 are not GDF11 specific. We develop a GDF11-specific immunoassay and show a trend toward increased GDF11 levels in sera of aged rats and humans. GDF11 mRNA increases in rat muscle with age. Mechanistically, GDF11 and myostatin both induce SMAD2/3 phosphorylation, inhibit myoblast differentiation, and regulate identical downstream signaling. GDF11 significantly inhibited muscle regeneration and decreased satellite cell expansion in mice. Given early data in humans showing a trend for an age-related increase, GDF11 could be a target for pharmacologic blockade to treat age-related sarcopenia.

Intrinsic Changes and Extrinsic Influences of Myogenic Stem Cell Function During Aging

The myogenic stem cell (satellite cell) is almost solely responsible for the remarkable regeneration of adult skeletal muscle fibers after injury. The availability and the functionality of satellite cells are the determinants of efficient muscle regeneration. During aging, the efficiency of muscle regeneration declines, suggesting that the functionality of satellite cells and their progeny may be altered. Satellite cells do not sit in isolation but rather are surrounded by, and influenced by, many extrinsic factors within the muscle tissue that can alter their functionality. These factors likely change during aging and impart both reversible and irreversible changes to the satellite cells and on their proliferating progeny. In this review, we discuss the possible mechanisms of impaired muscle regeneration with respect to the biology of satellite cells. Future studies that enhance our understanding of the interactions between stem cells and the environment in which they reside will offer promise for therapeutic applications in age-related diseases.

Evidence that satellite cell decrement contributes to preferential decline in nuclear number from large fibres during murine age-related muscle atrophy.

Skeletal muscle fibres are multinucleate syncitial cells that change size during adult life depending on functional demand. The relative contribution of change in nuclear number and/or cell growth to fibre size change is unclear. We report that nuclei/unit length decreases in larger fibres during skeletal muscle ageing. This leads to an increased size of nuclear domain (quantity of cytoplasm/number of nuclei within that cytoplasm). Initially, larger fibres have more satellite cells than small fibres, but this advantage is lost as satellite cells decline with age. These changes are accompanied by an overall decline in fibre size, returning domain size to the normal range. Exacerbated loss of fibre nuclei per unit length during ageing of myoD-null mice provides the first experimental support for the hypothesis that a satellite cell defect causes inadequate nuclear replacement. We propose a model in which a decline in satellite cell function and/or number during ageing leads to a loss of nuclei from large fibres and an associated domain size increase that triggers cytoplasmic atrophy through the normal cell-size-regulating machinery.

Sprouty1 Regulates Reversible Quiescence of a Self-Renewing Adult Muscle Stem Cell Pool during Regeneration

Summary Satellite cells are a heterogeneous population of skeletal muscle specific stem cells capable of self-renewal and differentiation after transplantation. Whether quiescent satellite cells can self-renew and contribute to muscle fiber repair in their endogenous environment in normal regenerating muscle has remained unknown. The transcription factor Pax7 is expressed in satellite cells and is critical for establishing the adult satellite cell pool. Using a temporally-inducible genetic lineage tracing approach (Pax7-CreERtm; R26R-lacZ) to fate-map adult satellite cells, we show that in response to injury quiescent adult Pax7+ cells enter the cell cycle; a subpopulation return to quiescence to fully replenish the satellite cell compartment and the others contribute to de novo muscle fiber formation. We demonstrate that Sprouty1 (Spry1), an inhibitor of receptor tyrosine kinase signaling, is robustly expressed in quiescent Pax7+ satellite cells in uninjured adult muscle, down-regulated in proliferating myogenic cells in injured muscles, and re-induced as Pax7+ cells return to quiescence in regenerated muscles. We show through deletion of Spry1 specifically in cycling adult Pax7+ satellite cells, that Spry1 is required for the return to quiescence and homeostasis of the self-renewing Pax7+ satellite cell pool during repair. Satellite cells unable to return to quiescence succumb to apoptosis leading to a diminished self-renewing Pax7-derived satellite cell pool. Our results define a novel role for Spry1 in adult stem cell biology and tissue repair.

An HMGA2-IGF2BP2 Axis Regulates Myoblast Proliferation and Myogenesis

A group of genes that are highly and specifically expressed in proliferating skeletal myoblasts during myogenesis was identified. Expression of one of these genes, Hmga2, increases coincident with satellite cell activation, and later its expression significantly declines correlating with fusion of myoblasts into myotubes. Hmga2 knockout mice exhibit impaired muscle development and reduced myoblast proliferation, while overexpression of HMGA2 promotes myoblast growth. This perturbation in proliferation can be explained by the finding that HMGA2 directly regulates the RNA-binding protein IGF2BP2. Add-back of IGF2BP2 rescues the phenotype. IGF2BP2 in turn binds to and controls the translation of a set of mRNAs, including c-myc, Sp1, and Igf1r. These data demonstrate that the HMGA2-IGF2BP2 axis functions as a key regulator of satellite cell activation and therefore skeletal muscle development.

BCL9 is an essential component of canonical Wnt signaling that mediates the differentiation of myogenic progenitors during muscle regeneration

Muscle stem cells and their progeny play a fundamental role in the regeneration of adult skeletal muscle. We have previously shown that activation of the canonical Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway in adult myogenic progenitors is required for their transition from rapidly dividing transient amplifying cells to more differentiated progenitors. Whereas Wnt signaling in Drosophila is dependent on the presence of the co-regulator Legless, previous studies of the mammalian ortholog of Legless, BCL9 (and its homolog, BCL9-2), have not revealed an essential role of these proteins in Wnt signaling in specific tissues during development. Using Cre-lox technology to delete BCL9 and BCL9-2 in the myogenic lineage in vivo and RNAi technology to knockdown the protein levels in vitro, we show that BCL9 is required for activation of the Wnt/beta-catenin cascade in adult mammalian myogenic progenitors. We observed that the nuclear localization of beta-catenin and downstream TCF/LEF-mediated transcription, which are normally observed in myogenic progenitors upon addition of exogenous Wnt and during muscle regeneration, were abrogated when BCL9/9-2 levels were reduced. Furthermore, reductions of BCL9/9-2 inhibited the promotion of myogenic differentiation by Wnt and the normal regenerative response of skeletal muscle. These results suggest a critical role of BCL9/9-2 in the Wnt-mediated regulation of adult, as opposed to embryonic, myogenic progenitors.