The events regulating the earliest stages of hematopoietic commitment and development in humans are poorly understood, given the inaccessibility of the early embryo. The capacity of embryonic stem (ES) cells to differentiate in culture and recapitulate the critical programs responsible for early blood cell development provides a powerful model for gaining a better understanding of these processes. Studies with mouse ES cells have demonstrated that regulation of hematopoietic development in ES cell-derived embryoid bodies (EBs) is similar to that of the early embryo. The experiments in this proposal will translate findings from the mouse system to human ES cell differentiation with the ultimate goal of establishing a model for investigating the earliest stages of human hematopoietic development. In the first aim of this proposal, different stages of hematopoietic development will be characterized within the developing human EBs. These analyses are essential, as they will define the developmental program that gives rise to the human hematopoietic system. The focus of the second aim is to define the molecules that regulate blood cell development in human EBs. Uncovering the key factors in this process is important, as these findings will provide the first insights into the regulation of early human hematopoietic development. In addition, this information will enable us to establish optimal protocols for hematopoietic development within the EBs. The goal of the third aim of the proposal is to identify and characterize the long-term repopulating stem cell (LTRSC) in the human EBs. While challenging, these studies are important, as the identification of LTRSC in these cultures would provide a model system for investigating events that regulate their generation, self-renewal and maturation. In addition, the development of LTRSC from EBs would provide a novel source of these cells for transplantation. The studies in the first three aims will be carried out with the two different cell lines, WA01 and ES02. In the final aim, we will compare the hematopoietic potential of 12 different huES cell lines, to determine the efficiency of each to generate the populations identified in the previous three aims. The following lines will be used for this aim; WA01, WA07, WA09, ES02, ES03, ES04, TE-03, TE-06, MI01, UC01, BG02, BG03. Findings from these studies will provide new and important information on the origins and developmental regulation of the human hematopoietic system and in doing so will identify the hemangioblast, the primitive erythroid lineage and the earliest stages of definitive hematopoiesis. This information will provide the first insights into the regulation of mesoderm induction and hematopoietic specification during human embryonic development. Generation of LTRSC from human ES cells could ultimately expand the number of patients and the spectrum of diseases treated by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HL080627-02
Application #
7034631
Study Section
Hematopoiesis Study Section (HP)
Program Officer
Thomas, John
Project Start
2005-04-01
Project End
2007-03-31
Budget Start
2006-04-01
Budget End
2007-03-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2006
Total Cost
$436,576
Indirect Cost
Name
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
078861598
City
New York
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10029
Kattman, Steven J; Witty, Alec D; Gagliardi, Mark et al. (2011) Stage-specific optimization of activin/nodal and BMP signaling promotes cardiac differentiation of mouse and human pluripotent stem cell lines. Cell Stem Cell 8:228-40
Grigoriadis, Agamemnon E; Kennedy, Marion; Bozec, Aline et al. (2010) Directed differentiation of hematopoietic precursors and functional osteoclasts from human ES and iPS cells. Blood 115:2769-76
Kennedy, Marion; D'Souza, Sunita L; Lynch-Kattman, Macarena et al. (2007) Development of the hemangioblast defines the onset of hematopoiesis in human ES cell differentiation cultures. Blood 109:2679-87