The Stem Cell Report with Janet Rossant

• Parkinson's Disease, Cell Therapy, and Exercise

  The potential of pluripotent stem cells and the ability to scale and differentiate them to generate large numbers of enriched cell populations has created new opportunities and approaches to treat human disease. Preclinical proof-of-principle data demonstrates that stem cell-derived neural grafts can be used to reverse symptoms of multiple neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s Disease. Cell grafts enriched with dopaminergic neurons, can structurally and functionally integrate in the brain of Parkinson’s Disease models to reverse motor deficits, a finding which has launched several clinical trials. While the results in animal models is essential proof-of-concept, the survival and integration of these cells is suboptimal compared to treatments from fetal-derived ventral midbrain grafts.  An area of preclinical and clinical research showing promise in influencing neuronal survival and plasticity is exercise. The benefits of exercise on neural function and disease progression have been widely reported and they have also been shown to enhance the survival and integration of transplanted cells in models of some neurological diseases. However, there is limited data on the benefit of exercise on the functional outcomes of neural grafts in Parkinson’s Disease models. The guests on today’s program will discuss their recent study looking at the effect of exercise on cellular engraftment and functional recovery in animal models of Parkinson’s Disease and the implications for clinical outcomes. GuestsClare Parish, PhD, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and University of Melbourne, Australia Niamh Moriarty, PhD, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and University of Melbourne, AustraliaSupporting ContentPaper link: Exercise promotes the functional integration of human stem cell-derived neural grafts in a rodent model of Parkinson’s disease HostJanet Rossant, Editor-in-Chief, Stem Cell Reports and The Gairdner FoundationAbout Stem Cell ReportsStem Cell Reports is the open access, peer-reviewed journal of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) for communicating basic discoveries in stem cell research, in addition to translational and clinical studies. Stem Cell Reports focuses on original research with conceptual or practical advances that are of broad interest to stem cell biologists and clinicians.X: @StemCellReportsAbout ISSCRWith nearly 5,000 members from more than 80 countries, the International Society for Stem Cell Research (@ISSCR) is the preeminent global, cross-disciplinary, science-based organization dedicated to stem cell research and its translation to the clinic. The ISSCR mission is to promote excellence in stem cell science and applications to human health.ISSCR StaffKeith Alm, Chief Executive OfficerYvonne Fisher, Managing Editor, Stem Cell ReportsKym Kilbourne, Director of Media and Strategic CommunicationsMegan Koch, Senior Marketing ManagerJack Mosher, Scientific AdvisorHunter Reed, Senior Marketing Coordinator

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• Leaving an Imprint: The Function, Impact, and Detection of Epigenetic Marks

  Parent-specific epigenetic marks (imprints) leading to parent-specific gene expression are crucial for normal growth and development, yet their mechanisms of establishment and maintenance are not fully understood. In humans, approximately 200 imprinted genes have been discovered, and improper imprinting can manifest in growth restriction, obesity, intellectual disabilities, behavioral abnormalities, and an increased risk of certain cancers. While the use of pluripotent stem cells, especially those in the naïve state, have advanced aspects of modeling early development, a persistent issue hampering bona fide naïve hPSCs is the erosion of imprints. Our guests on today's episode will discuss genomic imprinting, its function, impact, and a new reporter system of imprinted gene expression in hPSCs that enables real-time visualization of loss-of-imprinting at single-cell resolution. This assay provides an important tool to help discover how to improve the imprint fidelity of naïve hPSCs and hence their application for studies of human development and regeneration. Guests Thorold Theunissen, PhD, Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University in St Louis, USA Gal Keshet, The Azrieli Center for Stem Cells and Genetic Research, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, IsraelSupporting ContentTracking and mitigating imprint erasure during induction of naïve human pluripotency at single-cell resolutionHostJanet Rossant, Editor-in-Chief, Stem Cell Reports and The Gairdner FoundationAbout Stem Cell ReportsStem Cell Reports is the open access, peer-reviewed journal of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) for communicating basic discoveries in stem cell research, in addition to translational and clinical studies. Stem Cell Reports focuses on original research with conceptual or practical advances that are of broad interest to stem cell biologists and clinicians.X: @StemCellReportsAbout ISSCRWith nearly 5,000 members from more than 80 countries, the International Society for Stem Cell Research (@ISSCR) is the preeminent global, cross-disciplinary, science-based organization dedicated to stem cell research and its translation to the clinic. The ISSCR mission is to promote excellence in stem cell science and applications to human health.ISSCR StaffKeith Alm, Chief Executive OfficerYvonne Fisher, Managing Editor, Stem Cell ReportsKym Kilbourne, Director of Media and Strategic CommunicationsMegan Koch, Senior Marketing ManagerJack Mosher, Scientific AdvisorHunter Reed, Senior Marketing CoordinatorVoice WorkBen Snitkoff

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• Don’t Dull the SPARCL: The Lung Microvasculature and its Role in Development

  The mature lung in both humans and mice is highly vascularized, with approximately 30% of all cells being endothelial cells (ECs). The blood vessels have a physiological role in gas exchange within the tissue, but the vascular cells have additional role(s) beyond supplying oxygen and nutrients to the tissue.  For example, the adult lung endothelium responds to injury by activating pathways for alveolar re epithelialization and during embryonic development, disrupting vascularization ex vivo affects the stereotypical pattern of airway branching, consistent with a perfusion-independent crosstalk between the endothelium and epithelium. Today’s guests explore the molecular contribution of ECs and pericytes to the differentiation of distal airway progenitor cells into mature alveolar epithelial cells and will discuss the broader role of the vascular system in the maturation and regeneration or the lung. GuestsPaolo Panza is with the Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Germany. He previously was a postdoctoral fellow in Didier Stainier’s laboratory at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research and received his PhD from University of Tübingen, Germany. Professor Panza is the first author of the recently published paper, The lung microvasculature promotes alveolar types 2 cell differentiation via secreted SPARCL1, which forms the basis of our discussion today. Mingxia Gu is an Associate Professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. She received her PhD from a joint training program between Peking University, Beijing, China and Stanford University, USA, and was a postdoctoral fellow in Marlene Rabinovitch’s laboratory at Stanford. The Gu laboratory studies the regeneration lung, and vasculature among other tissues. Professor Gu is an elected Fellow of the American Heart Association and a member of Early Career Editorial Board for Stem Cell Reports.HostJanet Rossant, Editor-in-Chief, Stem Cell Reports and The Gairdner FoundationSupporting ContentThe lung microvasculature promotes alveolar type 2 cell differentiation via secreted SPARCL1, Stem Cell Reports About Stem Cell ReportsStem Cell Reports is the open access, peer-reviewed journal of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) for communicating basic discoveries in stem cell research, in addition to translational and clinical studies. Stem Cell Reports focuses on original research with conceptual or practical advances that are of broad interest to stem cell biologists and clinicians.X: @StemCellReportsAbout ISSCRWith nearly 5,000 members from more than 80 countries, the International Society for Stem Cell Research (@ISSCR) is the preeminent global, cross-disciplinary, science-based organization dedicated to stem cell research and its translation to the clinic. The ISSCR mission is to promote excellence in stem cell science and applications to human health.ISSCR StaffKeith Alm, Chief Executive OfficerYvonne Fisher, Managing Editor, Stem Cell ReportsKym Kilbourne, Director of Media and Strategic CommunicationsMegan Koch, Marketing ManagerJack Mosher, Scientific AdvisorHunter Reed, Senior Marketing CoordinatorVoice WorkBen Snitkoff

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• A Look Into the Future of Stem Cell Reports: A Conversation with Janet Rossant

  In this special edition of the podcast, we will talk with the new Editor-in-Chief Janet Rossant and hear about her vision for the journal, its promising future, and what she sees as some of the exciting prospects over the horizon for stem cell research. We will also talk with Yvonne Fisher, the journal’s Managing Editor, and Jack Mosher of the ISSCR, about the evolution of the journal and its role in the Society. GuestsJanet Rossant is the new Editor-in-Chief of Stem Cell Reports. She holds an appointment as the Chief of Research Emeritus and Senior Scientist at The Hospital for Sick Children and is the President and Scientific Director of the Gairdner Foundation. Widely recognized as an expert in embryonic development, Professor Rossant has been recognized for her contributions to science with awards, including the Ross G. Harrison Medal (lifetime achievement award) from the International Society of Developmental Biologists, the March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology, the Conklin Medal from the Society for Developmental Biology, and the 2018 L’Oréal For Women in Science Award. She is a Fellow of the Royal Societies of both London and Canada, and an International member of the US National Academy of Sciences. She previously served as President of the ISSCR. Learn more about Stem Cell Reports editorial team. Yvonne Fisher is the Managing Editor of Stem Cell Reports. Yvonne received her PhD from Frankfurt University and did her postdoctoral work in the laboratory of Henrik Semb at the University of Lund in Sweden. Yvonne is the longest serving member of the journal, serving as Managing Editor since the journal’s inception in 2012. Jack Mosher is the Scientific Advisor for the International Society for Stem Cell Research. He received his PhD from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and was a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Sean Morrison at the University of Michigan. Jack serves numerous roles for the Society including administrative oversight of Stem Cell Reports.  HostMartin Pera, Editor-in-Chief, Stem Cell Reports and The Jackson LaboratoryX: @martinperaJAXAbout Stem Cell ReportsStem Cell Reports is the open access, peer-reviewed journal of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) for communicating basic discoveries in stem cell research, in addition to translational and clinical studies. Stem Cell Reports focuses on original research with conceptual or practical advances that are of broad interest to stem cell biologists and clinicians.X: @StemCellReportsAbout ISSCRWith nearly 5,000 members from more than 80 countries, the International Society for Stem Cell Research (@ISSCR) is the preeminent global, cross-disciplinary, science-based organization dedicated to stem cell research and its translation to the clinic. The ISSCR mission is to promote excellence in stem cell science and applications to human health.ISSCR StaffKeith Alm, Chief Executive OfficerYvonne Fisher, Managing Editor, Stem Cell ReportsKym Kilbourne, Director of Media and Strategic CommunicationsMegan Koch, Marketing ManagerJack Mosher, Scientific AdvisorHunter Reed, Senior Marketing CoordinatorVoice WorkBen Snitkoff

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• SeqVerify: A New Easily Accessible Tool for Comprehensive Cell Line Quality Assessment

  During the last decade, advances in genome editing and pluripotent stem cell (PSC) culture have let researchers generate edited PSC lines to study a wide variety of biological questions. However, abnormalities in cell lines such as aneuploidy, mutations, on-target and off-target editing errors, and microbial contamination can arise during PSC culture or due to undesired editing outcomes. To ensure valid experimental results and the safety of PSC-derived therapeutics, it is important to detect these abnormalities and choose PSC lines without them. Existing quality control methods typically focus on detecting one type of abnormality. Whole genome sequencing is an all-in-one detection method for any abnormality involving changes to DNA sequences but until now it has required considerable computational expertise. Today’s guests will discuss a new computational tool, SeqVerify, that analyzes short-read WGS data for quality control of wild-type or edited PSCs. The platform provides an end-to-end analysis framework that can be a valuable quality control method for researchers working with PSCs, and more broadly, for cell line quality control in general. GuestsGeorge Church, PhD Harvard University, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Wyss Harvard Institute. Merrick Smela, PhD, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University. HostMartin Pera, Editor-in-Chief, Stem Cell Reports and The Jackson LaboratoryX: @martinperaJAXSupporting Content SeqVerify: An accessible analysis tool for cell line genomic integrity, contamination, and gene editing outcomes, Stem Cell ReportsAbout Stem Cell ReportsStem Cell Reports is the open access, peer-reviewed journal of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) for communicating basic discoveries in stem cell research, in addition to translational and clinical studies. Stem Cell Reports focuses on original research with conceptual or practical advances that are of broad interest to stem cell biologists and clinicians.X: @StemCellReportsAbout ISSCRWith nearly 5,000 members from more than 80 countries, the International Society for Stem Cell Research (@ISSCR) is the preeminent global, cross-disciplinary, science-based organization dedicated to stem cell research and its translation to the clinic. The ISSCR mission is to promote excellence in stem cell science and applications to human health.ISSCR StaffKeith Alm, Chief Executive OfficerYvonne Fisher, Managing Editor, Stem Cell ReportsKym Kilbourne, Director of Media and Strategic CommunicationsMegan Koch, Marketing ManagerJack Mosher, Scientific AdvisorHunter Reed, Senior Marketing CoordinatorVoice WorkBen Snitkoff

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