人體複雜的蛋白和基因網絡相互作用緣起於受精卵的第一次分裂,逐步構建形成組織器官。在這個過程中,每一個步驟都像鐘擺一樣,節拍正確才能最終形成新的生命。但是,人們目前對人類早期發育的理解有限,且缺乏能夠重現這些複雜生物過程的研究模型。
近日,來自日本京都大學等機構的研究人員利用人誘導性多能幹細胞(induced pluripotent stem cell,iPSC)重建出人體分節時鐘(segmentation clock),為研究胚胎發育提供了重要模型。相關研究結果發表在Nature期刊上。被稱為「體節發生」的過程負責讓胚胎發育出「體節」,決定了身體的基本節段模式,幫助椎骨和肋骨的形成。體節的出現是由分節時鐘決定的,分節時鐘是一種控制和指導它們出現的遺傳振蕩器。在這項新的研究中,研究人員利用人iPSC形成體節中胚層細胞(pre-somitic mesoderm,PSM),即體節的前體細胞,進而培育出PSM及其後代培養物。研究發現,節律模式表達的基因不僅在實驗的五個小時內振蕩,而且還揭示了分節時鐘的新遺傳成分,即分節時鐘的第二個特徵——表達波。進一步地,研究人員使用基因編輯技術評估了與脊柱變形有關的關鍵基因的功能,如HES7和DKK1等。這些基因的突變會極大地改變分節時鐘的同步和振蕩規律。該研究還培育了源自攜帶遺傳缺陷的患者的iPSC細胞,鑑定並校正了突變基因。
該研究展示了利用幹細胞重現人類胚胎發育和其他複雜生物過程的重要應用,為人們重建和分析胚胎發育過程及細節提供了重要理論方法。
推薦閱讀原文:
Recapitulating the human segmentation clock with pluripotent stem cells.
Pluripotent stem cells are increasingly used to model different aspects of embryogenesis and organ formation. Despite recent advances in in vitro induction of major mesodermal lineages and cell types, experimental model systems that can recapitulate more complex features of human mesoderm development and patterning are largely missing. Here we used induced pluripotent stem cells for the stepwise in vitro induction of presomitic mesoderm and its derivatives to model distinct aspects of human somitogenesis. We focused initially on modelling the human segmentation clock, a major biological concept believed to underlie the rhythmic and controlled emergence of somites, which give rise to the segmental pattern of the vertebrate axial skeleton. We observed oscillatory expression of core segmentation clock genes, including HES7 and DKK1, determined the period of the human segmentation clock to be around five hours, and demonstrated the presence of dynamic travelling-wave-like gene expression in in vitro-induced human presomitic mesoderm. Furthermore, we identified and compared oscillatory genes in human and mouse presomitic mesoderm derived from pluripotent stem cells, which revealed species-specific and shared molecular components and pathways associated with the putative mouse and human segmentation clocks. Using CRISPR-Cas9-based genome editing technology, we then targeted genes for which mutations in patients with segmentation defects of the vertebrae, such as spondylocostal dysostosis, have been reported (HES7, LFNG, DLL3 and MESP2). Subsequent analysis of patient-like and patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells revealed gene-specific alterations in oscillation, synchronization or differentiation properties. Our findings provide insights into the human segmentation clock as well as diseases associated with human axial skeletogenesis.
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