title: Malignant germ cell-like tumors, expressing Ki-1 antigen (CD30), are revealed during in vivo differentiation of partially reprogrammed human-induced pluripotent stem cells.
abstract: Because many of the genes used to produce induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from somatic cells are either outright established oncogenes, such as c-myc and Klf4, or potentially related to tumorigenesis in various cancers, both the safety and the risks of tumorigenesis linked to iPSC generation require evaluation. In this work, we generated, by lentivirus-mediated gene transfer of Oct4, Sox2, Nanog, and Lin28, two types of iPSCs from human mesenchymal stem cells and human amniotic fluid-derived cells: fully reprogrammed iPSCs with silencing of the four transgenes and partially reprogrammed iPSCs that still express one or several transgenes. We assessed the behavior of these cells during both their differentiation and proliferation using in vivo teratoma assays in nonobese diabetic mice with severe combined immunodeficiency. In contrast to fully reprogrammed iPSCs, 43% of partially reprogrammed iPSC cases (6 of 14 teratomas) generated major dysplasia and malignant tumors, with yolk sac tumors and embryonal carcinomas positive for α-fetoprotein, cytokeratin AE1/AE3, and CD30. This correlated with the expression of one or several transgenes used for the reprogramming, down-regulation of CDK 1A mRNA (p21/CDKN1A), and up-regulation of antiapoptotic Bcl-2 mRNA. Therefore, the oncogenicity of therapeutically valuable patient-specific iPSC-derived cells should be scrupulously evaluated before they are used for any clinical applications.
authors.affiliation: Université Paris Descartes, Sorbone Cité, Paris, France. grisceli@igr.fr
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Griscelli
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Féraud
authors.forename: Noufissa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Oudrhiri
authors.forename: Emilie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gobbo
authors.forename: Ibrahim
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Casal
authors.forename: Jean-Claude
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Chomel
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Biéche
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Duvillard
authors.forename: Paule
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Opolon
authors.forename: Ali G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Turhan
authors.forename: Annelise
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bennaceur-Griscelli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D065150:Cellular Reprogramming / Q000502:physiology; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D020868:Gene Silencing; D006801:Humans; D057026:Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000637:transplantation; D059785:Karyotype; D017730:Ki-1 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism*; D000090062:Kruppel-Like Factor 4; D051379:Mice; D016688:Mice, Inbred NOD; D016513:Mice, SCID; D009373:Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D013724:Teratoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D019076:Transgenes / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: C000715467:KLF4 protein, human; D017730:Ki-1 Antigen; C000715468:Klf4 protein, mouse; D000090062:Kruppel-Like Factor 4