title: Differentiation of human embryonic stem cells into cone photoreceptors through simultaneous inhibition of BMP, TGFβ and Wnt signaling.
abstract: Cone photoreceptors are required for color discrimination and high-resolution central vision and are lost in macular degenerations, cone and cone/rod dystrophies. Cone transplantation could represent a therapeutic solution. However, an abundant source of human cones remains difficult to obtain. Work performed in model organisms suggests that anterior neural cell fate is induced 'by default' if BMP, TGFβ and Wnt activities are blocked, and that photoreceptor genesis operates through an S-cone default pathway. We report here that Coco (Dand5), a member of the Cerberus gene family, is expressed in the developing and adult mouse retina. Upon exposure to recombinant COCO, human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) differentiated into S-cone photoreceptors, developed an inner segment-like protrusion, and could degrade cGMP when exposed to light. Addition of thyroid hormone resulted in a transition from a unique S-cone population toward a mixed M/S-cone population. When cultured at confluence for a prolonged period of time, COCO-exposed hESCs spontaneously developed into a cellular sheet composed of polarized cone photoreceptors. COCO showed dose-dependent and synergistic activity with IGF1 at blocking BMP/TGFβ/Wnt signaling, while its cone-inducing activity was blocked in a dose-dependent manner by exposure to BMP, TGFβ or Wnt-related proteins. Our work thus provides a unique platform to produce human cones for developmental, biochemical and therapeutic studies and supports the hypothesis that photoreceptor differentiation operates through an S-cone default pathway during human retinal development.
authors.affiliation: Stem Cell and Developmental Biology Laboratory, Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, 5415 Boul. l'Assomption, Montréal, Canada H1T 2M4.
authors.forename: Shufeng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Stem Cell and Developmental Biology Laboratory, Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, 5415 Boul. l'Assomption, Montréal, Canada H1T 2M4.
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Flamier
authors.affiliation: Stem Cell and Developmental Biology Laboratory, Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, 5415 Boul. l'Assomption, Montréal, Canada H1T 2M4.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abdouh
authors.affiliation: Stem Cell and Developmental Biology Laboratory, Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, 5415 Boul. l'Assomption, Montréal, Canada H1T 2M4.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tétreault
authors.affiliation: Stem Cell and Developmental Biology Laboratory, Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, 5415 Boul. l'Assomption, Montréal, Canada H1T 2M4.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barabino
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India.
authors.forename: Shashi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wadhwa
authors.affiliation: Stem Cell and Developmental Biology Laboratory, Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, 5415 Boul. l'Assomption, Montréal, Canada H1T 2M4 Department of Neuroscience, University of Montréal, Montréal H3T 1J4, Canada Department of Ophthalmology, University of Montréal, Montréal H3T 1J4, Canada gbernier.hmr@ssss.gouv.qc.ca.
authors.forename: Gilbert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bernier
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D002460:Cell Line; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D012160:Retina / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D017949:Retinal Cone Photoreceptor Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects*; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000378:metabolism; D051153:Wnt Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins; C119003:Dte protein, mouse; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D051153:Wnt Proteins
keywords: Cerl2; Coco; Cone photoreceptors; Dand5; Differentiation; Human; Mouse; Retina; hES cells