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The human brain undergoes rapid development at mid-gestation from a pool of neural stem and progenitor cells (NSPCs) that give rise to the neurons, oligodendrocytes, and astrocytes of the mature brain. Functional study of these cell types has been hampered by a lack of precise purification methods. We describe a method for prospectively isolating ten distinct NSPC types from the developing human brain using cell-surface markers. CD24−THY1−/lo cells were enriched for radial glia, which robustly engrafted and differentiated into all three neural lineages in the mouse brain. THY1hi cells marked unipotent oligodendrocyte precursors committed to an oligodendroglial fate, and CD24+THY1−/lo cells marked committed excitatory and inhibitory neuronal lineages. Notably, we identify and functionally characterize a transcriptomically distinct THY1hiEGFRhiPDGFRA− bipotent glial progenitor cell (GPC), which is lineage-restricted to astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, but not to neurons. Our study provides a framework for the functional study of distinct cell types in human neurodevelopment. [Display omitted] • Purification, functional validation of 10 NSPC types in human neurodevelopment • Index-sorting maps transcriptome onto immunophenotype to derive a gating strategy • Identification of transcriptomically, functionally defined glial progenitor cell (GPC) • GPCs likely arise from oRG, giving rise to oligodendrocytes/astrocytes but not neurons A framework for the prospective isolation of neural stem and progenitor cells from the developing human brain is provided to facilitate the functional study of distinct cell types in human neurodevelopment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The developmental origin of blood-forming hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) is a longstanding question. Here, our non-invasive genetic lineage tracing in mouse embryos pinpoints that artery endothelial cells generate HSCs. Arteries are transiently competent to generate HSCs for 2.5 days (∼E8.5-E11) but subsequently cease, delimiting a narrow time frame for HSC formation in vivo. Guided by the arterial origins of blood, we efficiently and rapidly differentiate human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) into posterior primitive streak, lateral mesoderm, artery endothelium, hemogenic endothelium, and >90% pure hematopoietic progenitors within 10 days. hPSC-derived hematopoietic progenitors generate T, B, NK, erythroid, and myeloid cells in vitro and, critically, express hallmark HSC transcription factors HLF and HOXA5-HOXA10, which were previously challenging to upregulate. We differentiated hPSCs into highly enriched HLF+ HOXA+ hematopoietic progenitors with near-stoichiometric efficiency by blocking formation of unwanted lineages at each differentiation step. hPSC-derived HLF+ HOXA+ hematopoietic progenitors could avail both basic research and cellular therapies., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests Stanford University has filed patent applications related to blood and immune cell differentiation. J.L.F. is presently at Walking Fish Therapeutics, A.C. is presently at Orca Bio, and T.N. is presently at Century Therapeutics, but J.L.F., A.C., and T.N. contributed to this work while they were at Stanford University; none of these companies were involved in the present work., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Neuroendocrine carcinomas, such as neuroendocrine prostate cancer and small-cell lung cancer, commonly have a poor prognosis and limited therapeutic options. We report that ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCHL1), a deubiquitinating enzyme, is elevated in tissues and plasma from patients with neuroendocrine carcinomas. Loss of UCHL1 decreases tumor growth and inhibits metastasis of these malignancies. UCHL1 maintains neuroendocrine differentiation and promotes cancer progression by regulating nucleoporin, POM121, and p53. UCHL1 binds, deubiquitinates, and stabilizes POM121 to regulate POM121-associated nuclear transport of E2F1 and c-MYC. Treatment with the UCHL1 inhibitor LDN-57444 slows tumor growth and metastasis across neuroendocrine carcinomas. The combination of UCHL1 inhibitors with cisplatin, the standard of care used for neuroendocrine carcinomas, significantly delays tumor growth in pre-clinical settings. Our study reveals mechanisms of UCHL1 function in regulating the progression of neuroendocrine carcinomas and identifies UCHL1 as a therapeutic target and potential molecular indicator for diagnosing and monitoring treatment responses in these malignancies., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests E.C. is a consultant for Dotquant and received research funding under institutional SRAs from AbbVie, Astra Zeneca, Janssen Research, Gilead, Zenith Epigenetics, Forma Therapeutics, Bayer, Kronos, Foghorn, and MacroGenics. M.D. is a consultant for Regeneron, Beigene, Astra Zeneca, Sanofi/Genzyme, Eurofins, Janssen, and Genentech (uncompensated) and performs research at Merck, Genentech, CellSight, Novartis, AbbVie, United Therapeutics, Varian, Verily, and Celgene. J.H. is a consultant for or owns shares in Kingmed, MoreHealth, OptraScan, Genetron, Omnitura, Vetonco, York Biotechnology, Genecode, VIVA Biotech, and Sisu Pharma and received grants from Zenith Epigenetics, BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc., and Fortis Therapeutics. T.S. is a consultant for Dren Bio., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Prospective isolation of defined cell types is critical for the functional study of stem cells, especially in primary human tissues. Here, we present a protocol for purifying 10 transcriptomically and functionally distinct neural stem and progenitor cell types from the developing human brain using fluorescence-activated cell sorting. We describe steps for tissue dissociation, staining, and cell sorting as well as downstream functional experiments for measuring clonogenicity, differentiation, and engraftment potential of purified populations. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Liu et al. (2023). 1 ., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests D.D.L., J.Q.H., R.S., N.U., and I.L.W. are listed as inventors on a pending patent related to this protocol. I.L.W. is a co-founder of Bitterroot Bio, Inc. and Pheast, Inc., neither of which are related to the current protocol. I.L.W. was an initial co-founder and N.U. a former employee of StemCells, Inc., but they are not currently consultants or employees at the company or its successor., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

As our closest living relatives, non-human primates uniquely enable explorations of human health, disease, development, and evolution. Considerable effort has thus been devoted to generating induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from multiple non-human primate species. Here, we establish improved culture methods for chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and pig-tailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina) iPSCs. Such iPSCs spontaneously differentiate in conventional culture conditions, but can be readily propagated by inhibiting endogenous WNT signaling. As a unique functional test of these iPSCs, we injected them into the pre-implantation embryos of another non-human species, rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Ectopic expression of gene BCL2 enhances the survival and proliferation of chimpanzee and pig-tailed macaque iPSCs within the pre-implantation embryo, although the identity and long-term contribution of the transplanted cells warrants further investigation. In summary, we disclose transcriptomic and proteomic data, cell lines, and cell culture resources that may be broadly enabling for non-human primate iPSCs research., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)