title: Self-organized amniogenesis by human pluripotent stem cells in a biomimetic implantation-like niche.
abstract: Amniogenesis-the development of amnion-is a critical developmental milestone for early human embryogenesis and successful pregnancy. However, human amniogenesis is poorly understood due to limited accessibility to peri-implantation embryos and a lack of in vitro models. Here we report an efficient biomaterial system to generate human amnion-like tissue in vitro through self-organized development of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) in a bioengineered niche mimicking the in vivo implantation environment. We show that biophysical niche factors act as a switch to toggle hPSC self-renewal versus amniogenesis under self-renewal-permissive biochemical conditions. We identify a unique molecular signature of hPSC-derived amnion-like cells and show that endogenously activated BMP-SMAD signalling is required for the amnion-like tissue development by hPSCs. This study unveils the self-organizing and mechanosensitive nature of human amniogenesis and establishes the first hPSC-based model for investigating peri-implantation human amnion development, thereby helping advance human embryology and reproductive medicine.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Kenichiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Taniguchi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gurdziel
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Ryan F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Townshend
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Xufeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Koh Meng Aw
authors.initials: KMA
authors.lastname: Yong
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Jianming
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Jason R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Spence
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Deborah L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Gumucio
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.|Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.|Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Jianping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fu
mesh_terms: D000650:Amnion / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D040761:Biomimetic Materials; D002460:Cell Line; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D018456:Reproductive Medicine / Q000379:methods; D055153:Stem Cell Niche; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*