1 Department of Pathology, University of Florida College of Medicine, PO Box 100275, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
2 Laboratory of Animal Molecular Technology, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Ikoma, Nara 630-0192, Japan
* Author for correspondence (e-mail: terada{at}pathology.ufl.edu)
Accepted 10 August 2004
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Summary |
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Key words: Embryonic stem cell, Differentiation, Primitive endoderm, Aggregation, Nanog
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Introduction |
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Although LIF is a key factor in maintaining ES cells in an undifferentiated state, the removal of LIF is not essential for initial specification of the primitive endoderm layer in embryonic development. During gestation, LIF is secreted from the oviduct and upregulated during the blastocyst stage (E3.5). The extraembryonic endoderm layer is formed during this stage and in the presence of LIF (Shen and Leder, 1992). In agreement with this, previous studies have demonstrated that aggregated ES cells can give rise to primitive endoderm even in the presence of LIF (Murray and Edgar, 2001
; Shen and Leder, 1992
). However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are not fully understood.
Molecular mechanisms for self-renewal of pluripotent ES cells have been extensively studied using monolayer culture of murine ES cells. LIF was identified as a factor secreted by MEFs, and sufficient to maintain self-renewal of murine ES cells without the feeder layer in the presence of fetal calf serum (Smith et al., 1988; Williams et al., 1988
). STAT3 activation was then shown to be the responsible downstream pathway of the LIF/gp130 signaling for ES-cell self-renewal (Niwa et al., 1998
; Matsuda et al., 1999
). More recently, supplementation with BMP4 inhibited differentiation of ES cells in a cooperative manner with LIF, and substituted for fetal calf serum (Ying et al., 2003
). In addition to these external factors, a novel homeodomain transcription factor, Nanog, was recently discovered and shown to be an essential factor in maintaining pluripotency of ES cells (Chambers et al., 2003
; Mitsui et al., 2003
). Interestingly, knockout disruption of the Nanog gene resulted in differentiation of ES cells, primarily into the primitive endoderm lineage, suggesting that Nanog is a crucial factor that prevents ES cells from differentiating into primitive endoderm. With these as background, we investigated molecular events occurring during aggregation-mediated cell-fate determination of ES cells into primitive endoderm.
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Materials and Methods |
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Plasmid construction and transfection
Transgenic ES cells were created that contained a fusion gene between the promoter of the gene encoding -fetoprotein (Afp) and the gene encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP) (Afp-GFP). A vector containing the fusion gene (pAfp-GFP) (Hamazaki and Terada, 2003
) was cloned into pMP8NEB
LacZ vector using NotI-MluI site. The linearized vector was introduced into hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT) deficient ES R1 cells (Misra et al., 2001
) by electroporation. Hypoxanthine-aminopterin-thymidine (HAT)-resistant colonies were screened for cells with successful homologous recombination.
Inducible Nanog-overexpressing ES cells (TRE-Nanog ES cells) were created as follows. The open reading frame of Nanog cDNA was generated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using LA-Taq polymerase (TAKARA Bio, Otsu, Japan) from cDNA prepared from R1 ES cells. Primers used were; 5'-AAACGCGGATCCATGAGTGTGGGTCTTCCTGGT, and 5'-ACGCGTCGACTCATATTTCACCTGGTGGAGTCA. The PCR fragment was ligated into the BamHI-SalI restriction site of the pTRE2hyg expression vector (Clontech, Palo Alto, CA), which contained a tetracycline-responsive element. This vector was introduced into tetracycline-regulated ES cells (Era and Witte, 2000) by Fugene 6 (Roche, Indianapolis, IN) and selected with hygromycin B (200 µg ml1) (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA). Tetracycline-dependent expression of Nanog was confirmed by the ability to maintain ES-cell morphology in the absence of LIF and to differentiate by addition of 1 µg ml1 doxycycline (Sigma).
RT-PCR
For reverse-transcription PCR (RT-PCR), total RNA was extracted by using RNA aqueous kit (Ambion, Austin, TX). cDNA was synthesized by using SuperScript II first-strand synthesis system with oligo(dT) (Gibco BRL). PCR was performed by using Taq DNA polymerase (Eppendorf, Westbury, NY). For each gene, the DNA primers were originated from different exons to ensure that the PCR product represents the specific mRNA species and not genomic DNA.
Immunofluorescence staining
ES cell aggregates were washed once with PBS, and fixed in 3.7% formamide/PBS for 15 minutes at room temperature. Fixed cells were embedded in Tissue-Tek OCT compound (Tissue-Tek; Sakura, Torrance, CA) and frozen in a dry-ice/isopentane bath. Cryostat section (7 µm) were treated with 0.5% Triton-X100 in PBS for 5 minutes and blocked with 5% bovine serum albumin in PBS for 1 hour at room temperature. Cells were further incubated with mouse monoclonal anti-mouse-Oct4 antibody (C-10) (Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Santa Cruz, CA), goat polyclonal anti-mouse-osteopontin antibody (R&D Systems, Minneapolis, MN) or goat polyclonal anti-mouse-HNF4 antibody (C-19) (Santa Cruz Biotechnology) for 2 hours at room temperature. After four washes with PBS, cells were incubated with anti-mouse-IgG or anti-goat-IgG antibodies conjugated to fluorescein isothiocyanate (Jackson Immunoresearch Laboratories, West Grove, PA). After four washes with PBS, cells were mounted by Vectashield containing 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (Vector Laboratories, Burlingame, CA).
Cell sorting
A single cell suspension was prepared from aggregates of ES cells by treating them with 0.05% trypsin (Gibco BRL). Dissociated cells were separated by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) using a Vantage machine (Becton Dickinson, Franklin Lakes, NJ). Data analysis was performed by using CellQuest Acquisition software (Becton Dickinson).
Whole-mount X-Gal staining
ES cell aggregates were fixed in solution containing 2% formaldehyde, 0.2% glutaraldehyde, 5 mM EGTA, 2 mM MgCl2 and 0.02% NP-40 for 10 minutes at room temperature. After washing twice with PBS containing 0.1% Tween-20 (PBST), the samples were stained in 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-D-galactoside (X-Gal) mix [5 mM K3Fe(CN)6, 5 mM K4Fe(CN)6, 2 mM MgCl2, 10% dimethyl sulfoxide, 0.01% sodium deoxycholate, 0.02% NP-40, 1 mg ml1 X-gal] for 8-12 hours at 37°C and then rinsed in PBST. Post-stain fix was performed in 3.7% formaldehyde at 4°C overnight and followed by paraffin embedding. Sections (7 µm) were counterstained with Eosin Y.
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Results |
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Gene expression was then examined in embryoid bodies for genes related to the undifferentiated phenotype of ES cells and differentiation into various lineages (Fig. 1B). Genes indicating visceral endoderm differentiation, such as hepatocyte nuclear factor (HNF) families and transthyretin were upregulated even in the presence of LIF, consistent with the results shown in Fig. 1A. Differentiation into other lineages such as primitive ectoderm and mesoderm was also examined by expression of FGF5 and Wnt3, respectively (Haub and Goldfarb, 1991; Liu et al., 1999
). In contrast to endoderm markers, FGF5 and Wnt3 expression was induced in embryoid bodies only when LIF was withdrawn. Rex1, BMP4 and Nanog, which are expressed in undifferentiated ES cells, were rapidly downregulated upon withdrawal of LIF but sustained in the presence of LIF.
LIF is known to activate both the JAK/STAT and Ras/mitogen-activated-protein-kinase (MAPK) signal-transduction pathways in ES cells (Niwa et al., 1998; Ernst et al., 1996
). Activation of STAT3 alone was shown to be sufficient to maintain pluripotency in the monolayer culture of ES cells (Matsuda et al., 1999
). Ras/MAPK signal was proposed to induce differentiation rather than self-renewal of ES cells (Burdon et al., 1999
). Because Ras/MAPK activation through LIF might affect endoderm differentiation in the context of cell aggregates, we tested whether cell-aggregation-induced endoderm differentiation was indeed independent of the STAT3 activity. To activate STAT3 directly, we used ES cells containing a vector expressing a fusion protein of STAT3 and the ligand-binding domain of the estrogen receptor (STAT3ER ES cells) (Matsuda et al., 1999
; Oka et al., 2002
). In these cells, a synthetic ligand of estrogen, 4-hydroxytamoxifen (4HT) is able to maintain the STAT3ER ES cells in an undifferentiated state in the absence of LIF. By using these ES cells, we examined visceral endoderm gene expression upon aggregation in the presence of 4HT (Fig. 1C). Even when STAT3 was continuously activated by 4HT, the differentiation toward endoderm proceeded upon aggregation.
BMP4 was recently reported to be a cofactor that is required to suppress differentiation of ES cells in the presence of LIF and that can substitute for the requirement for fetal calf serum for ES-cell maintenance (Ying et al., 2003). We tested the effect of additional BMP4 on visceral endoderm differentiation using STAT3ER ES cells. As shown in Fig. 1C, supplementation with BMP4 did not prevent ES-cell differentiation into visceral endoderm. In summary, the soluble factors, which have been known to be essential factors for maintaining ES cells, LIF/STAT3 and BMP4, failed to block initiation of visceral endoderm differentiation upon aggregation.
To define further the molecular events occurring in embryoid bodies, particularly in the presence of LIF, we sorted the outer endoderm layer cells and other inner cells by taking advantage of Afp-GFP expression (Fig. 2A). The cell aggregates were dissociated using trypsin and subjected to FACS. Based on the forward-scatter and side-scatter analysis, the GFP-negative cells were shown to be relatively homogeneous compared with the GFP-positive cells, which exhibited larger cells and coarser nuclear configuration. RT-PCR analysis for those isolated cell populations demonstrated that visceral endoderm marker genes including GATA4/6, HNF families, transthyretin and Afp were exclusively expressed in the GFP-positive population. Furthermore, we could also detect gene expression of BMP2 and Ihh, which are known to be secreted from visceral endoderm and are crucial for mesoderm differentiation of epiblasts (Dyer et al., 2001; Maye et al., 2000
). ES-specific genes including Nanog (with exception of Oct-4) were downregulated in this GFP-positive population. Although Oct-4 gene expression was detectable by RT-PCR, the downstream target gene of Oct-4 (which encodes osteopontin) was downregulated in the GFP-positive cells. Therefore, we further investigated protein expression of Oct-4 by immunofluorescence staining and revealed that Oct-4 expression was remarkably reduced in the outer layer of aggregates, implying post-transcriptional suppression (Fig. 2B) (Xu et al., 2004
). By contrast, HNF4 was detected primarily in the GFP-positive outer layer of the aggregates.
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Among several essential molecules for maintaining pluripotency of ES cells, we were particularly interested in Nanog as a potential negative regulator of primitive endoderm differentiation. The gene-targeting study revealed that Nanog-deficient blastocysts failed to develop inner cell mass and predominantly differentiated into extraembryonic endoderm lineage (Chambers et al., 2003; Mitsui et al., 2003
). Because the isolated GFP-positive endoderm cells demonstrated significant reduction of Nanog expression, we further confirmed that downregulation of Nanog in the outer layer cells by using Nanog heterozygous-null ES cells, in which Nanog homeodomain locus was targeted by IRES ß-geo (internal ribosomal entry site, ß-galactosidase/neomycin-resistance gene) cassette (Fig. 3) (Mitsui et al., 2003
). In these ES cells, ß-galactosidase expression represents endogenous Nanog expression. Consistent with the FACS data above, Nanog expression was downregulated only in the outer layer of the aggregates in the presence of LIF within 2 days. X-Gal staining was sustained in the inner mass of aggregates over 4 days. By contrast, X-gal staining eventually disappeared in whole aggregates within 2 days in the absence of LIF.
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We then examined whether induced overexpression of Nanog could inhibit the visceral endoderm differentiation upon ES-cell aggregation. We constructed a vector in which Nanog expression was driven by tetracycline-responsive promoter and introduced this into tetracycline-regulated ES cells (tet-off system) (Era and Witte, 2000). We cloned a stable ES-cell line (TRE-Nanog ES cells) that could be maintained in an undifferentiated state in the absence of doxycycline and differentiate in the presence of doxycycline (Fig. 4A). By using the TRE-Nanog ES cells, we examined visceral endoderm differentiation upon aggregation in the presence of LIF. Interestingly, the aggregates remained as smooth spheres lacking a distinguished outer layer when Nanog was constitutively expressed. There were no obvious changes in cell growth or apoptosis in these aggregates (Fig. 4B). When gene expression was examined in these aggregates, overexpression of Nanog (absence of doxycycline) completely inhibited the production of endoderm markers such as GATA4/6, HNF families and transthyretin (Fig. 4C). Nanog overexpression inhibited the differentiation even without LIF. This result demonstrated that Nanog downregulation was indispensable for visceral endoderm differentiation of ES cells upon aggregation.
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Discussion |
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BMP4 has recently been identified as another essential factor for ES-cell self-renewal in monolayer culture (Ying et al., 2003). It works as a cofactor to suppress the differentiation of ES cells, especially into neuroectoderm lineage, by activating the Smads/Id pathway in the presence of LIF. In aggregation culture, the addition of BMP4 to the culture medium did not alter the differentiation preference of ES cells towards the primitive endoderm, regardless of the presence of LIF. Thus, even the combination of both LIF and BMP4 was insufficient to inhibit primitive-endoderm differentiation upon ES-cell aggregation. It should be noted here that BMP4 is known rather to induce visceral endoderm differentiation in the absence of LIF (Coucouvanis and Martin, 1999
; Turksen and Troy, 2001
).
We further investigated here how Nanog was involved in primitive-endoderm specification upon aggregation. The present study clearly demonstrated that cell aggregation by itself induced Nanog repression at the outer layer. Furthermore, by using the inducible Nanog overexpression system, we proved that this Nanog downregulation was essential for subsequent ES-cell differentiation into primitive endoderm upon aggregation. These cell-aggregation-based changes in vitro should represent the process of cell-lineage specification in the inner cell mass of blastocysts. Importantly, Nanog repression occurred solely by cell aggregation, independent of the LIF/STAT3 or BMP4 pathways. The data strongly suggested that there should be a novel regulatory mechanism by which cell aggregation repressed Nanog expression (Fig. 5).
Aggregation itself would generate polarity that would separate a single outer layer cells and other inner cells. Obviously, the inner cells stayed as pluripotent stem cells in the presence of LIF/STAT3. Indeed, in Fig. 2, when the inner (GFP-negative) cells were re-aggregated, they again formed the GFP-positive outer layer (data not shown). The outer layer cells, by contrast, will have membrane polarization. E-Cadherin has been specifically implicated in the segregation of extraembryonic cells during preimplantation mouse development, at both trophectoderm segregation in compaction and endoderm segregation in the inner cell mass (Damsky et al., 1993). Of interest, the outer layer of the embryoid bodies forms a tight junction, whereas the monolayer culture of ES cells express a very low level of claudins (Kubota et al., 2001
) (data not shown). Polar distribution of E-cadherin might lead to signals such as activation of Cdc42/Rac and atypical protein kinases C as well as membrane sequestration of ß-catenin (Etienne-Manneville and Hall, 2002
).
A recent report has also claimed that forced expression of an active Ras mutant in ES cells caused downregulation of Nanog expression and led to an endoderm phenotype (Yoshida-Koide et al., 2004). Aggregation-based polarity might activate the Ras pathway, leading to repression of the Nanog gene. Of interest, ES cells with a deletion of Grb2, an upstream activator of the Sos1/Ras pathway, are known to fail to generate primitive endoderm (Cheng et al., 1998
). Such possibilities are now under investigation. Cell-fate specification following aggregation is a process repeatedly seen during embryogenesis. The aggregation-based in vitro ES-cell differentiation into primitive endoderm would serve as a useful model to study molecular mechanisms underlying this universal process in development.
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Acknowledgments |
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References |
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