PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “stem cell model of development”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed2026

A single small molecule-based human embryo model reveals V-ATPase requirement in mammalian blastocyst cavitation.

Human naïve pluripotent stem cells (nPSCs) can be induced by various combinations of signaling factors to generate blastocyst-like structures, termed blastoids. Despite rapid progress in human blastoid models, their potential to uncover fundamental mechanisms of early human development remains limited, leaving key morphogenetic processes poorly understood. Here, we describe a simple and robust system in which dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) alone induces blastoid formation from human nPSCs. This model recapitulates key pre- and post-implantation features and exhibits enhanced polar trophectoderm (TE) organization, more efficient attachment within an implantation-relevant window, improved epiblast lumenogenesis associated with amniotic cavity formation, and more robust, sustained expansion of embryonic lineages following attachment. Using this system, we reveal a previously unrecognized mechanism underlying TE cavitation and identify lysosome-associated genes - particularly subunits of the proton pump V-ATPase - as essential regulators of blastoid cavitation. DMSO treatment upregulates key V-ATPase subunits (ATP6V0A4 and ATP6V1B1), which are also enriched in the TE of human embryos. Genetic or pharmacological inhibition of V-ATPase activity disrupts lysosomal acidification, blocks intracellular vacuole formation, and impairs blastoid cavitation, whereas overexpression of V-ATPase subunits rescues this phenotype. Furthermore, genetic and pharmacological perturbations of V-ATPase function significantly compromise cavitation in both mouse and human blastocysts. Finally, DMSO treatment induces membrane biomechanical changes characteristic of early embryonic development, suggesting a mode of action distinct from conventional small-molecule, signaling pathway-based induction strategies. This simple DMSO-based blastoid model recapitulates key aspects of human blastocyst development and reveals a conserved requirement for V-ATPase-mediated lysosomal acidification during early mammalian embryogenesis.

Humans↗
PubMed2026

Targeting cancer stem cells predicts response and reverses chemoresistance in ascites-derived ovarian cancer organoids.

BACKGROUND: Ovarian cancer (OC) is frequently diagnosed at an advanced stage, where tumor heterogeneity and rapid development of chemoresistance contribute to a poor prognosis. The lack of reliable predictive biomarkers further hinders the development of effective treatment strategies. Patient-derived organoids (PDOs) have recently emerged as promising preclinical models with the potential to predict therapeutic responses. METHODS: OC PDOs were generated from ascites samples representing diverse histological subtypes. Histological and genomic fidelity to parental tumors was confirmed through histopathological analysis and whole-exome sequencing. Drug sensitivity to cisplatin and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors was evaluated and correlated with 1-year clinical outcomes. We also investigated the therapeutic efficacy of oncolytic herpes simplex virus 2 (OH2) both as a single agent and in combination with cisplatin. The expression of cancer stem cell (CSC) markers CD44 and ALDH1A1 under treatment conditions was analyzed using immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry. RESULTS: PDOs were successfully established with an 86.2% success rate. These PDOs faithfully recapitulated the histopathological and genomic features of their corresponding tumors, maintaining intratumoral heterogeneity, and were amenable to xenotransplantation. Drug sensitivity assays demonstrated that PDOs accurately predicted patient-specific responses to cisplatin and PARP inhibitors. OH2 exhibited direct cytotoxicity in both cisplatin-sensitive and cisplatin-resistant PDOs, reducing cell viability by 20-60%. Notably, the combination treatment with OH2 and cisplatin enhanced antitumor efficacy, resulting in a significant reduction of the CD44+CSC subpopulation. CONCLUSIONS: Ascites-derived OC PDOs represent a robust platform for individualized drug testing. The combination of OH2 and cisplatin offers a novel and effective strategy for circumventing chemoresistance in OC.

Female↗
PubMed2026

Integration of biological avatars and digital twins for "ex vivo clinical trials".

Drug development is slow, costly, and prone to late-stage failure, in part because animal models poorly predict human responses. Two human-relevant technologies are maturing in parallel: biological avatars, defined as patient- or stem-cell-derived models such as organoids and organ-on-a-chip systems, and digital twins, defined as computational models that integrate a patient's molecular and clinical data to forecast treatment responses. We propose the ex vivo clinical trial concept, in which an avatar and a digital twin are coupled in an iterative loop so that laboratory measurements refine the computational prediction and the prediction guides the next experiment, allowing candidate therapies to be tested and prioritised before a patient is exposed. We review the platforms, their predictive performance in cancer, cystic fibrosis, and liver toxicity, the conditions under which they fail, and the qualification, turnaround, and standardisation requirements that must be met before such trials can inform drug development or clinical care.

Biological avatars↗
PubMed1975

The nucleated erythrocyte: a model of cell differentiation.

The process of erythropoiesis is characterized by several distinctive features which render it a very useful model of cell differentiation. Mature erythrocytes arise from stem cells in a series of intermediate stages which are fairly well defined both on morphological and on biochemical grounds. During this development, the erythrocytes genome is gradually inactivated and the cell becomes geared to the production of primarily one gene product, hemoglobin. Recently, erythropoiesis has been closely studied in avian species since it has become technically possible to fractionate the blood of anemic birds into high-yield populations of young, developing and mature red cells. Attention has focused on patterns of RNA synthesis including globin m-RNA, in relation to cytoplasmic constitutents becoming modified for reduced activity. From the point of view of gene regulation, erythrocyte development is especially interesting in non-mammals, where in contrast to mammals, even fully mature red cells retain their nuclei. These erythrocytes rank among the most extreme examples of cell specialization and gene repression known. The nuclei of avian erythrocytes and others, contain a tissue-specific histone protein in addition to the more usual complement of vertebrate histone. This histone (H5, V, F2c) has been extensively investigated with a view to linking its presence to structural and molecular changes involved in the condensation and repression of red cell nuclei. The evidence to dat suggests that H5, in conjunction with tissue-specific changes in non-histone proteins, may be responsible for keeping the genomes of nucleated erythrocytes permanently inactive.

Animals↗
PubMed2022

CRISPRi screens in human iPSC-derived astrocytes elucidate regulators of distinct inflammatory reactive states.

Astrocytes become reactive in response to insults to the central nervous system by adopting context-specific cellular signatures and outputs, but a systematic understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms is lacking. In this study, we developed CRISPR interference screening in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived astrocytes coupled to single-cell transcriptomics to systematically interrogate cytokine-induced inflammatory astrocyte reactivity. We found that autocrine-paracrine IL-6 and interferon signaling downstream of canonical NF-κB activation drove two distinct inflammatory reactive signatures, one promoted by STAT3 and the other inhibited by STAT3. These signatures overlapped with those observed in other experimental contexts, including mouse models, and their markers were upregulated in human brains in Alzheimer's disease and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Furthermore, we validated that markers of these signatures were regulated by STAT3 in vivo using a mouse model of neuroinflammation. These results and the platform that we established have the potential to guide the development of therapeutics to selectively modulate different aspects of inflammatory astrocyte reactivity.

Humans↗
PubMed2026

Endodermal Organoids Along Two Axes: Single-Organ Fidelity, Inter-Organ Reconstruction, and the Unbuilt Gut-Lung Frontier.

Three-dimensional organoids of the gut, liver, and lung have become mainstream models of human development, disease, and therapy. These organs share an embryonic endodermal origin, yet the field measures their progress inconsistently because the word "maturity" carries two unrelated meanings. Herein, we review the organoid work across all three organs and propose that the two orthogonal axes of advancement be analyzed separately. The first axis is single-organ fidelity. Adult stem cell organoids are faithful but partial, reproducing the adult epithelium of their source tissue with genomic stability yet lacking stromal, vascular, immune, and neural compartments. Human pluripotent stem cell organoids are complete but immature, co-emerging with multiple lineages yet arrested in a fetal-like state. The cost of each limitation is organ-dependent, smallest in the intestine, largest for hepatic drug metabolism, and most spatially defined across the proximal and distal lungs. The second axis is inter-organ reconstruction, where progress is strongly asymmetric. The gut-liver axis is comparatively advanced and sustained by linked organoid and microphysiological systems. The gut-lung axis, by contrast, remains the least-developed frontier, and no such linked organoid has yet been built. We therefore frame it as a proposal, using in vivo and correlative evidence to outline the design principles for such a model. Four bottlenecks recur across both axes: limited vascularization; batch-to-batch variability; organ-skewed immune, microbial, and stromal microenvironments; and unidirectional signaling. We argue that benchmarking models against single-cell developmental atlases and prioritizing construction of the gut-lung frontier should guide the field over the next decade.

Intestines↗
PubMed2025

Individualized patient tumor organoids faithfully preserve human brain tumor ecosystems and predict patient response to therapy.

Tumor organoids are important tools for cancer research, but current models have drawbacks that limit their applications for predicting response to therapy. Here, we developed a fast, efficient, and complex culture system (IPTO, individualized patient tumor organoid) that accurately recapitulates the cellular and molecular pathology of human brain tumors. Patient-derived tumor explants were cultured in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cerebral organoids, thus enabling culture of a wide range of human tumors in the central nervous system (CNS), including adult, pediatric, and metastatic brain cancers. Histopathological, genomic, epigenomic, and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analyses demonstrated that the IPTO model recapitulates cellular heterogeneity and molecular features of original tumors. Crucially, we showed that the IPTO model predicts patient-specific drug responses, including resistance mechanisms, in a prospective patient cohort. Collectively, the IPTO model represents a major breakthrough in preclinical modeling of human cancers, which provides a path toward personalized cancer therapy.

Humans↗
PubMed1977

Differentiation in human myeloblastic leukemia studied in cell culture.

Normal adult hemopoiesis orginates in pluripotent stem cells; among the early differentiated descendents of such cells are progenitors committed to the erythropoietic, granulopoietic, or megakaryocytic pathways of myeloid differentiation. These may be detected in cell culture by developmental techniques, in which progenitors form colonies in viscid or semisolid media in response to appropriate stimulation. Certain diseases of hemopoiesis also originate in pluripotent stem cells; these include chronic myeloblastic leukemia, acute myeloblastic leukemia, polycythemia vera, and idiopathic myelofibrosis-the clonal hemopathies. The hypothesis is advanced that the distribution of cell classes among patients with clonal hemopathies is determined both by the differentiation potential of each pluripotent stem cell maintaining an abnormal clone and by random events occurring during clonal expansion. The latter process may account for the large variations observed between patients when committed progenitors are assayed in cultures of marrow from patients with acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML). This variation may also be used to estimate lineage relationships in the clonal hemopathies. When applied to myelopoiesis in AML, obvious differences from the normal are not detected. The analysis is consistent with the view that the blast cell population in AML is distinct from the leukemic myelopoiesis occurring within an abnormal clone. A new assay procedure is described for progenitor cells related to blast cell proliferation. Finally, these concepts are used to develop a model for the pathogenesis and cellular characteristics of AML.

Cells, Cultured↗
PubMed1979

The development of experimental brain tumours a sequential light and electron microscope study of the subependymal plate. II. Microtumours.

Pregnant BD-IX rats were given a single intraperitoneal injection of 30 mg of N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) per kg of body weight on the 15th day of gestation. The offspring were killed at fortnightly intervals between 2 and 20 weeks of age. The subependymal plate region adjacent to the lateral ventricles was examined by light and electron microscopy to study the early stages in the development of brain tumours. Microtumours, composed of subependymal plate cells, glioblasts and various glial cells at different stages of maturation, were found in 16-, 18-, and 20-week-old rats. The most common site for microtumours was the angle of the lateral ventricles between the corpus callosum and caudate nucleus; others were located at the lateral aspect of the ventricles. It is suggested that most, if not all, cerebral gliomas originate from the undifferentiated cells of the subependymal plate: these mitotically active stem cells provide a susceptible target for the carcinogenic stimulus. The morphology of the gliomas developed is determined by the diverging processes of differentiation and anaplasia resulting in a pleomorphic cell population. The relevance of this experimental model to the pathogenesis of human gliomas is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

A rabbit used as a model for testing hematopoietic tissue transplants.

Allogenic transplantations of bone marrow or spleen cells were carried out on rabbits treated with cyclophosphamide. About 50% of the recipients developed chimerism of peripheral blood cells. Chimerism was a passing phenomenon prevailing from 14 to 180 days after grafting. A phenomenon indicating that not all cell lines develop after transplantation from the donor stem cells, was observed. This phenomenon has been called "restricted chimerism". The GvH reaction was of a chronic type. Relative spleen weights were significantly increased in animals receiving the spleen cell grafts, but not in animals receiving bone marrow grafts. A direct positive erythrocyte Coombs test was found in almost all graft recipients. In addition cytotoxic autoantibodies against lymphocytes were present in sera of about 20% of the recipients.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Histogenesis of symmetrical 1,2-dimethylhydrazine-induced neoplasms of the colon in the mouse.

CF-1 female adult mice were given weekly sc injections of 20 mg symmetrical 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-2HCl/kg body weight and killed at various intervals after commencement of the injection. [3H]thymidine (TdR) was given before the animals were killed. The histogenesis of colon neoplasms was investigated by means of autoradiographs prepared from sections of Epon-embedded descending colon, which were stained with periodic acid-Schiff reaction and iron hematoxylin. By 9 weeks after initiation of DMH treatment, the distal 5 cm of the colon became enlarged, the mucosa thickened, and the crypts were elongated and hyperplastic. In the hyperplastic crypts, the number of proliferating cells increased, but the distribution of these cells followed a previously discussed slow cut-off model of Cairnie et al. as for the normal crypts. Differentiation and transformation of epithelial cells occurred, but somewhat aberrantly. Hyperplasia of the crypts occurred diffusely, but neoplastic lesions that began to appear by 9 weeks after the intiial treatment were isolated. An isolated crypt from which a neoplasm developed was first repopulated by what appeared to be altered, undifferentiated "stem" cells. These cells did not differentiate, continued to divide, and eventually upon migration accumulated in the upper part of the crypts, where an earliest identifiable neoplastic lesion was observed. Once such a lesion was formed, it expanded in various directions, depending on the local environments, and formed a polypoid or discoid lesion. The biologic behavior of the neoplasm seemed to be determined by the downward progression of its leading edge. When it penetrated the muscularis mucosae, the neoplasm became highly invasive. In the murine model, the invasive adenocarcinomas were observed by 26 weeks after commencement of DMH treatment.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1978

Recent developments in understanding the pathogenesis of aplastic anemia.

Bone marrow failure in aplastic anemia (AA) could result from abnormalities of hematopoietic stem cells, abnormal control of hematopoiesis, or abnormalities of the hematopoietic environment. Bone marrow transplantation, in vitro marrow culture techniques, and studies in animal models of marrow failure have provided insights on the possible pathogenetic mechanisms underlying AA. Studies in man and in murine models suggest that most often AA results from injuries to hematopoietic stem cells. Despite the intriguing report of abnormal regulatory cells in congenitally anemic mice, instances of marrow failure due to defective humoral or cellular control of hematopoiesis have not been identified in man. In vitro studies employing allogeneic marrow targets have suggested that immune suppression of hematopoiesis may occasionally mediate AA in man. Marrow failure due to abnormalities of the hematopoietic microenvironment has been suggested by experience with bone marrow transplantation, but no direct study of this possibility has been reported. Based on available evidence, it seems likely that AA will prove to be many diseases that share common clinical and morphologic features.

Anemia, Aplastic↗
PubMed2026

hPSC models in cancer mechanisms and therapeutic discovery.

Despite major advances in cancer genomics and immunotherapy, the field remains limited by experimental models that fail to faithfully recapitulate human tumor initiation, genetic context, and immune-tumor interactions. Traditional animal and immortalized cell models often lack predictive power for therapeutic response and toxicity. Recent advances in human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) technology have transformed this landscape, enabling the generation of patient-specific cancer models, multicellular organoids and assembloids, and scalable immune effector cells. These platforms now permit mechanistic dissection of tumorigenesis, reconstruction of human tumor microenvironments, and development of off-the-shelf immunotherapies. This review will synthesize these emerging findings, define key technological and biological gaps, and outline future directions for integrating hPSC-based modeling into precision oncology and translational cancer research.

cancer immunotherapy↗
PubMed2026

An Integrated Proteomics and Genomics Approach to Identify Essential Protein Kinases During Human Trophoblast Development.

In the developing human placenta, three subtypes of trophoblast cells, cytotrophoblasts (CTBs), extravillous trophoblasts (EVTs), and syncytiotrophoblasts (STBs), mediate critical functions essential for a successful pregnancy. CTBs constitute the stem/progenitor compartment and differentiate into STBs and EVTs within the floating and anchoring villi, respectively. STBs establish the maternal-fetal exchange interface and secrete human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a hormone vital for the maintenance of early pregnancy. EVTs anchor the maternal endometrium and invade the uterine tissue to remodel maternal cells, supporting implantation and progression of pregnancy. In this study, we used human trophoblast stem cells (hTSCs) as a model system and performed quantitative, label-free liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to profile the proteome and phosphoproteome in TSC stem state (analogous to undifferentiated CTBs) and following their differentiation to STBs and EVTs. Through a multiomics approach, we integrated our proteomics data with global gene expression profiles to correlate cell-type specific gene and protein expression during human trophoblast development. We also identified global phosphoproteome and analyzed kinases that are specifically active in hTSC stem state, as well as in differentiated STBs and EVTs. We experimentally validated specific kinases, such as BUB1B, PAK6, PKYMT1, and TNIK, that are essential for maintaining the hTSC stem-state. Additionally, atypical protein kinase C isoforms PKCζ are essential for STB development, whereas PTK2B, SRC, TRIO, and LYN are important for EVT development. Our findings highlight key kinases uniquely required for specific stages of trophoblast development during human placentation and suggest that pharmacological inhibition of these kinases could negatively impact the placentation process during pregnancy.

Humans↗
PubMed2025

Identification of Potential Therapeutic Agents for Type I Interferonopathy Using iPSC-Based Disease Modeling.

PURPOSE: Type I interferonopathy encompasses disorders marked by systemic inflammation and neurological involvement, arising from genetic mutations that result in the upregulation of type I IFN signaling through various mechanisms. Currently, therapeutic options are limited, and no standard therapy exists. This study aims to develop a strategy for identifying new therapeutic targets for type I interferonopathy using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). METHODS: The IFIH1 R779H variant was introduced into iPSCs through genome editing. RNA sequencing of iPSC-derived dendritic cells (DCs) was performed, and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. IFN-α secretion, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and mitochondrial oxygen consumption rate (OCR) were analyzed in iPSC-derived DCs. An in silico prediction of compounds binding to the OAS-like domain was conducted. Candidate compounds were evaluated for their ability to inhibit IFN secretion from IFIH1 R779H-mutated iPSC-derived DCs. RESULTS: Transcriptome analysis indicated upregulation of the IFN-related and metabolic pathways. IFIH1 R779H-mutated iPSC-derived DCs exhibited increased OCR and ROS generation, and blocking mitochondrial metabolism significantly reduced excessive IFN-α secretion. Among the DEGs, PML was upregulated, and targeting this gene with arsenic trioxide (ATO), a PML antagonist, suppressed IFN-α secretion from IFIH1 R779H-mutated iPSC-derived DCs. Additionally, bisantrene, phthalylsulfathiazole and ganaplacide were predicted to bind to the RNA binding groove of OAS-like domain of human OASL in silico, effectively inhibiting IFN-α secretion from IFIH1 R779H-mutated DCs. CONCLUSION: Our iPSC-based disease modeling and drug investigation approach provides a robust platform for validating the efficacy and toxicity of candidate therapeutic agents for rare and intractable human diseases such as type I interferonopathy.

Humans↗
PubMed2026

Generation of a hiPSC from a patient with an ITSN1-associated neurodevelopmental disorder spectrum carrying biallelic c.2893_2894insA (p.Tyr965Ter) genetic variant.

De novo truncating variants in ITSN1 are implicated in neurodevelopment disorders spectrum, however, biallelic variants in ITSN1 have not been previously identified. Here we present a hiPSC line generated from a patient dermal fibroblast carrying biallelic variant, c.2893_2894insA (p.Tyr965Ter). The hiPSC line expresses core stemness markers, mycoplasma free with normal karyotype and demonstrate trilineage differentiation capacity. The hiPSC line provides a valuable in-vitro model system to investigate its role in early brain development and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Humans↗
PubMed2026

Identification of Glioblastoma Cell Surface Proteins and Assessment of Their Expression Across Patient-Derived Stem-Like Cell Cultures.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common primary brain cancer in adults and remains fatal, with a median survival of a few months. There is an urgent need to develop novel therapeutic strategies against this aggressive malignancy. Modern cancer research increasingly focuses on personalized therapies tailored toward unique molecular features of each tumor or patient. In this context, cell surface proteins (CSPs) represent an attractive class of therapeutic targets due to their accessibility and central roles in physiological and pathological processes, making them among the most targeted proteins in current drug development. In this study, promising CSPs were identified through an untargeted proteomics approach using high-resolution mass spectrometry on patient-derived GBM stem-like cell (GSC) cultures, complemented by RNA-seq data and computational database analyses. From this primary discovery, five CSPs, namely PTK7, PTPRZ1, OSMR, CSPG4, and IGDCC4, were selected for detailed investigation. A targeted UHPLC-multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) method was developed and optimized to assess their expression and evaluate their abundance variations across different GSC cultures and cell passage levels. Beyond confirming these CSPs as potential therapeutic targets in GBM, our study demonstrates the value of three-dimensional GSC cultures as robust models for biomarker research and target assessment.

Humans↗