Stage of Program: Basic or Applied Basic Research (DISC1 and many 1.0 Projects)
Assessing the role of Eph/ephrin signaling in hESC growth and differentiation
An important aspect of understanding stem cell biology is to have a basic understanding of the processes that balance stem cell self-renewal and differentiation. Stem cell proliferation and differentiation signals are at least partially regulated by direct contact between cells. For example, stem cells normally reside in a specific microenvironment, or “niche”, that integrates specific […]
Retinoic Acid-FGF Antagonism during Motor Neuron Differentiation of Human ES Cells
Retinoic acid is a metabolic derivative of vitamin A that has recently been shown to stimulate differentiation of human embryonic stem cells into motor neurons. However, almost nothing is known about how retinoic acid may perform this function. The recent discovery that retinoic acid antagonizes the action of fibroblast growth factor suggests a possible mechanism […]
MicroRNAs in Human Stem Cell Differentiation and Mental Disorders
Many mental disorders are closely associated with problems that occur during brain development in early life. For instance, by 2 years of age, autistic children have larger brains than normal kids, likely due to, at least in part, excess production of neurons and support cells, the building blocks of the nervous system. In autistic brains, […]
Force, Dimensionality and Stem Cell Fate
Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are cells derived from human embryos early in development before their fate has been sealed. These cells grow and differentiate in response to a variety of stimuli to eventually give rise to all of the differentiated tissues in the body. By exploiting the remarkable potential of hESCs to differentiate into […]
Role of Chromatin Modifiers in Regulating Human Embryonic Stem Cell Pluripotency
The life of every human starts with a fertilized egg. This single cell starts to divide and, in a truly amazing process, gives rise to a developed human being. Although each cell of a developed organism is a progeny of this single zygote, and shares the same genetic information with every other cell, cells differentiate […]
Reprogramming Differentiated Human Cells to a Pluripotent State
If the therapeutic potential of human embryonic stem (ES) cells is to be realized, the ability to produce pluripotent stem cells with defined genetic backgrounds is essential. Pluripotent cells, through differentiation, have the ability to become any cell type. For basic and applied research, access to human ES cells derived from patients with specific diseases […]
Analysis of Candidate Neural Crest Cells Derived from Human ES Cells
Little is known about human Neurla Crest (NC) cells, a transient population of cells briefly present during very early human development; the reason why these cells are extremely difficult to obtain and study. In the model organism NC cells generate an amazing array of tissues, including peripheral and enteric nervous systems, cranial bones and cartilage, […]
Screening for Oncogenic Epigenetic Alterations in Human ES Cells
Embryonic stem cell-based therapies hold great promise for the treatment of many human diseases. These therapeutic strategies involve the culture and manipulation of embryonic stem cells grown outside the human body. Culture conditions outside the human body can encourage the development of changes to the cells that facilitate rapid and sustained cell growth. Some of […]
Profiling surface glycans and glycoprotein expression of human embryonic stem cells
Human embryonic stem cells can be changed into virtually any cell type in the adult body. Because of this unique capability, these cells have the potential to cure a vast majority of existing human disorders. Several hurdles exist, however, which need to be overcome before results from the exciting field of stem cell research can […]
Non-coding RNA as tool for the active control of stem cell differentiation
Stem cells are multipotent, meaning that they can develop into any cell type of the human body. Biomedical applications propose that, after introduction into humans, stem cells could replenish damaged or lost cells in human bodies and thereby cure human diseases such as Parkinson, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes. One prerequisite for the success of the biomedical […]