Published in Cell Stem Cell
COVID-19 has unfortunately halted lab work, conferences, and in-person networking, which is especially detrimental to researchers just starting their labs. Through social media and our reviewer networks, we met some early-career stem cell investigators impacted by the closures. Here, they introduce themselves and their research to our readers.
Published in Cell Stem Cell
Bergert et al. use biophysical methods to investigate the role of cell surface mechanics during stem cell differentiation. They show that naive cells release their plasma membrane from the underlying actin cortex when transitioning to a primed state. Preventing this detachment forces cells to retain a naive pluripotent identity.
Published in Cell Stem Cell
In this study, Chalut and colleagues investigate how changes in cell surface mechanics drive early differentiation in embryonic stem cells and show that preventing this change leads to developmental defects. They identify a membrane tension gated increase in endocytosis as a key mechanism regulating an ERK-regulated cell fate transition.
Published in Cell Stem Cell
Adusumilli et al. show that quiescent stem cells in the adult hippocampus are marked by very high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Physical activity triggers a Nox2-dependent increase and consecutive reduction of intracellular ROS, which recruits stem cells into the cell cycle and thereby increases hippocampal neurogenesis.
Published in Cell stem cell
Previous analysis of RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data from human naive pluripotent stem cells reported multiple point "mutations" in cancer-related genes and implicated selective culture conditions. We observed, however, that those mutations were only present in co-cultures with mouse feeder cells. Inspection of reads containing the polymorphisms reve...
Published in Cell Stem Cell
Shi and colleagues used hiPSC-derived neurons, astrocytes, and brain organoids to model SARS-CoV-2 neurotropism. They found that ApoE4/4 genotype led to an increased rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection in both neurons and astrocytes, and ApoE4 astrocytes exhibited a more severe response. Moreover, remdesivir could inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection in neurons a...
Published in Cell Stem Cell
To study infection response to SARS-CoV-2, Youk et al. developed a 3D culture model of human alveolar stem cells in chemically defined conditions. They reveal that SARS-CoV-2 productively infects alveolar type 2 cells, resulting in an innate immune response. Full infection of individual cells was exhibited from a single viral entry.
Published in Cell Stem Cell
Simoneau and Ott discuss various stem-cell-derived models used to elucidate susceptibility of different organ systems to SARS-CoV-2, exploring their permissiveness to viral infection, consequent innate immune responses, and the disruption of essential cellular functions.
Published in Cell stem cell
SARS-CoV-2 infection has led to a global health crisis, and yet our understanding of the disease and potential treatment options remains limited. The infection occurs through binding of the virus with angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) on the cell membrane. Here, we established a screening strategy to identify drugs that reduce ACE2 levels in h...
Published in Cell Stem Cell
COVID-19 has unfortunately halted lab work, conferences, and in-person networking, which is especially detrimental to researchers just starting their labs. Through social media and our reviewer networks, we met some early-career stem cell investigators impacted by the closures. Here, they introduce themselves and their research to our readers.
