In Vitro Generation of Posterior Motor Neurons from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells.

The ability to generate spinal cord motor neurons from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) is of great use for modelling motor neuron-based diseases and cell-replacement therapies. A key step in the design of hPSC differentiation strategies aiming to produce motor neurons involves induction of the appropriate anteroposterior (A-P) axial identity, an important factor influencing motor neuron subtype specification, functionality, and disease vulnerability. Most current protocols for induction of motor neurons from hPSCs produce predominantly cells of a mixed hindbrain/cervical axial identity marked by expression of Hox paralogous group (PG) members 1-5, but are inefficient in generating high numbers of more posterior thoracic/lumbosacral Hox PG(8-13)+ spinal cord motor neurons. Here, we describe a protocol for efficient generation of thoracic spinal cord cells and motor neurons from hPSCs. This step-wise protocol relies on the initial generation of a neuromesodermal-potent axial progenitor population, which is differentiated first to produce posterior ventral spinal cord progenitors and subsequently to produce posterior motor neurons exhibiting a predominantly thoracic axial identity. © 2021 The Authors. Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Differentiation of neuromesodermal progenitors Basic Protocol 2: Posterior ventral spinal cord progenitor differentiation Basic Protocol 3: Posterior motor neuron differentiation.

Wind M ，Tsakiridis A 《-》

Defining the signalling determinants of a posterior ventral spinal cord identity in human neuromesodermal progenitor derivatives.

The anteroposterior axial identity of motor neurons (MNs) determines their functionality and vulnerability to neurodegeneration. Thus, it is a crucial parameter in the design of strategies aiming to produce MNs from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) for regenerative medicine/disease modelling applications. However, the in vitro generation of posterior MNs corresponding to the thoracic/lumbosacral spinal cord has been challenging. Although the induction of cells resembling neuromesodermal progenitors (NMPs), the bona fide precursors of the spinal cord, offers a promising solution, the progressive specification of posterior MNs from these cells is not well defined. Here, we determine the signals guiding the transition of human NMP-like cells toward thoracic ventral spinal cord neurectoderm. We show that combined WNT-FGF activities drive a posterior dorsal pre-/early neural state, whereas suppression of TGFβ-BMP signalling pathways promotes a ventral identity and neural commitment. Based on these results, we define an optimised protocol for the generation of thoracic MNs that can efficiently integrate within the neural tube of chick embryos. We expect that our findings will facilitate the comparison of hPSC-derived spinal cord cells of distinct axial identities.

Wind M ，Gogolou A ，Manipur I ，Granata I ，Butler L ，Andrews PW ，Barbaric I ，Ning K ，Guarracino MR ，Placzek M ，Tsakiridis A ... -  《-》

Dynamic 3D Combinatorial Generation of hPSC-Derived Neuromesodermal Organoids With Diverse Regional and Cellular Identities.

Neuromesodermal progenitors represent a unique, bipotent population of progenitors residing in the tail bud of the developing embryo, which give rise to the caudal spinal cord cell types of neuroectodermal lineage as well as the adjacent paraxial somite cell types of mesodermal origin. With the advent of stem cell technologies, including induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), the modeling of rare genetic disorders can be accomplished in vitro to interrogate cell-type specific pathological mechanisms in human patient conditions. Stem cell-derived models of neuromesodermal progenitors have been accomplished by several developmental biology groups; however, most employ a 2D monolayer format that does not fully reflect the complexity of cellular differentiation in the developing embryo. This article presents a dynamic 3D combinatorial method to generate robust populations of human pluripotent stem cell-derived neuromesodermal organoids with multi-cellular fates and regional identities. By utilizing a dynamic 3D suspension format for the differentiation process, the organoids differentiated by following this protocol display a hallmark of embryonic development that involves a morphological elongation known as axial extension. Furthermore, by employing a combinatorial screening assay, we dissect essential pathways for optimally directing the patterning of pluripotent stem cells into neuromesodermal organoids. This protocol highlights the influence of timing, duration, and concentration of WNT and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling pathways on enhancing early neuromesodermal identity, and later, downstream cell fate specification through combined synergies of retinoid signaling and sonic hedgehog activation. Finally, through robust inhibition of the Notch signaling pathway, this protocol accelerates the acquisition of terminal cell identities. This enhanced organoid model can serve as a powerful tool for studying normal developmental processes as well as investigating complex neurodevelopmental disorders, such as neural tube defects. © 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Robust generation of 3D hPSC-derived spheroid populations in dynamic motion settings Support Protocol 1: Pluronic F-127 reagent preparation and coating to generate low-attachment suspension culture dishes Basic Protocol 2: Enhanced specification of hPSCs into NMP organoids Support Protocol 2: Combinatorial pathway assay for NMP organoid protocol optimization Basic Protocol 3: Differentiation of NMP organoids along diverse cellular trajectories and accelerated terminal fate specification into neurons, neural crest, and sclerotome derivatives.

Whye D ，Wood D ，Kim KH ，Chen C ，Makhortova N ，Sahin M ，Buttermore ED ... -  《-》

Generation of functional posterior spinal motor neurons from hPSCs-derived human spinal cord neural progenitor cells.

Spinal motor neurons deficiency results in a series of devastating disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and spinal cord injury (SCI). These disorders are currently incurable, while human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs)-derived spinal motor neurons are promising but suffered from inappropriate regional identity and functional immaturity for the study and treatment of posterior spinal cord related injuries. In this study, we have established human spinal cord neural progenitor cells (hSCNPCs) via hPSCs differentiated neuromesodermal progenitors (NMPs) and demonstrated the hSCNPCs can be continuously expanded up to 40 passages. hSCNPCs can be rapidly differentiated into posterior spinal motor neurons with high efficiency. The functional maturity has been examined in detail. Moreover, a co-culture scheme which is compatible for both neural and muscular differentiation is developed to mimic the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) formation in vitro. Together, these studies highlight the potential avenues for generating clinically relevant spinal motor neurons and modeling neuromuscular diseases through our defined hSCNPCs.

Xu HJ ，Yao Y ，Yao F ，Chen J ，Li M ，Yang X ，Li S ，Lu F ，Hu P ，He S ，Peng G ，Jing N ... -  《-》

Rostrocaudal patterning and neural crest differentiation of human pre-neural spinal cord progenitors in vitro.

The spinal cord emerges from a niche of neuromesodermal progenitors (NMPs) formed and maintained by WNT/fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signals at the posterior end of the embryo. NMPs can be generated from human pluripotent stem cells and hold promise for spinal cord replacement therapies. However, NMPs are transient, which compromises production of the full range of rostrocaudal spinal cord identities in vitro. Here we report the generation of NMP-derived pre-neural progenitors (PNPs) with stem cell-like self-renewal capacity. PNPs maintain pre-spinal cord identity for 7-10 passages, dividing to self-renew and to make neural crest progenitors, while gradually adopting a more posterior identity by activating colinear HOX gene expression. The HOX clock can be halted through GDF11-mediated signal inhibition to produce a PNP and NC population with a thoracic identity that can be maintained for up to 30 passages.

Cooper F ，Gentsch GE ，Mitter R ，Bouissou C ，Healy LE ，Rodriguez AH ，Smith JC ，Bernardo AS ... -  《Stem Cell Reports》