Cell stem cellPub Date : 2025-07-03DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2025.06.005
Hidetaka Hara, Yi Wang
{"title":"Beyond transplantation: Gene-edited pig liver supports function in a human host","authors":"Hidetaka Hara, Yi Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.stem.2025.06.005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2025.06.005","url":null,"abstract":"A recent study in <em>Nature</em> demonstrates that a gene-edited pig liver can function in a brain-dead human for short-term support. This highlights the potential of xenogeneic liver transplantation as bridge therapy and opens new directions in regenerative medicine and cross-species organ engineering.","PeriodicalId":9665,"journal":{"name":"Cell stem cell","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":23.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144547567","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cell stem cellPub Date : 2025-07-03DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2025.06.001
Chao Zhang, Yun Xia
{"title":"Toward building kidney organoids with plumbing: Fusion of nephron with ureteric bud","authors":"Chao Zhang, Yun Xia","doi":"10.1016/j.stem.2025.06.001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2025.06.001","url":null,"abstract":"The fusion of distal nephron and ureteric bud represents a critical developmental milestone required for establishing a functional kidney plumbing system. In this issue of <em>Cell Stem Cell</em>, Shi et al.<span><span><sup>1</sup></span></span> report a protocol for generating human kidney organoids with an integrated collecting system by recapitulating this key developmental fusion event.","PeriodicalId":9665,"journal":{"name":"Cell stem cell","volume":"35 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":23.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144547566","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cell stem cellPub Date : 2025-07-03DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2025.06.008
Laura Volta, Chiara F. Magnani
{"title":"The future belongs to those who believe in multiplex CAR T engineering","authors":"Laura Volta, Chiara F. Magnani","doi":"10.1016/j.stem.2025.06.008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2025.06.008","url":null,"abstract":"Toxicity and immune evasion have hindered the success of CAR T cells in HER2-positive solid tumors. In this issue of <em>Cell Stem Cell,</em> Hosking et al. present an iPSC-derived CAR T cell product engineered for tumor-selective targeting, resistance to the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, enhanced persistence and trafficking, and mitigation of antigen escape.","PeriodicalId":9665,"journal":{"name":"Cell stem cell","volume":"28 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":23.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144547568","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cell stem cellPub Date : 2025-07-02DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2025.06.006
Katie A. Matatall, Trisha K. Wathan, Minh Nguyen, Hu Chen, Alexandra McDonald, Guantong Qi, Julia A. Belk, Marcus A. Florez, Duy T. Le, Temitope Olarinde, Caitlyn Vlasschaert, Marco M. Buttigieg, Chih-wei Fan, Saul Carcamo, Ruoqiong Cao, Daniel E. Kennedy, Arushana A. Maknojia, Apoorva Thatavarty, Josaura V. Fernandez Sanchez, Hind Bouzid, Katherine Y. King
{"title":"TET2-mutant myeloid cells mitigate Alzheimer’s disease progression via CNS infiltration and enhanced phagocytosis in mice","authors":"Katie A. Matatall, Trisha K. Wathan, Minh Nguyen, Hu Chen, Alexandra McDonald, Guantong Qi, Julia A. Belk, Marcus A. Florez, Duy T. Le, Temitope Olarinde, Caitlyn Vlasschaert, Marco M. Buttigieg, Chih-wei Fan, Saul Carcamo, Ruoqiong Cao, Daniel E. Kennedy, Arushana A. Maknojia, Apoorva Thatavarty, Josaura V. Fernandez Sanchez, Hind Bouzid, Katherine Y. King","doi":"10.1016/j.stem.2025.06.006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2025.06.006","url":null,"abstract":"Clonal hematopoiesis (CH) is associated with many age-related diseases, but its interaction with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) remains unclear. Here, we show that TET2-mutant CH is associated with a 47% reduced risk of late-onset AD (LOAD) in the UK Biobank, whereas other drivers of CH do not confer protection. In a mouse model of AD, transplantation of Tet2-mutant bone marrow reduced cognitive decline and β-amyloid plaque formation, effects not observed with Dnmt3a-mutant marrow. Bone-marrow-derived microglia-like cells were detected at an increased rate in Tet2-mutant marrow recipients, and TET2-mutant human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived microglia were more phagocytic and hyperinflammatory than DNMT3A-mutant or wild-type microglia. Strikingly, single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) revealed that macrophages and patrolling monocytes were increased in brains of mice transplanted with Tet2-mutant marrow in response to chemokine signaling. These studies reveal a TET2-specific protective effect of CH on AD pathogenesis mediated by peripheral myeloid cell infiltration.","PeriodicalId":9665,"journal":{"name":"Cell stem cell","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":23.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144533906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cell stem cellPub Date : 2025-06-24DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2025.06.004
Thomas A. Rando, Anne Brunet, Margaret A. Goodell
{"title":"Hallmarks of stem cell aging","authors":"Thomas A. Rando, Anne Brunet, Margaret A. Goodell","doi":"10.1016/j.stem.2025.06.004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2025.06.004","url":null,"abstract":"As organisms age, somatic stem cells progressively lose their ability to sustain tissue homeostasis and support regeneration. Although stem cells are relatively shielded from some cellular aging mechanisms compared with their differentiated progeny, they remain vulnerable to both intrinsic and extrinsic stressors. In this review, we delineate five cardinal features that characterize aged stem cells and examine how these alterations underlie functional decline across well-studied stem cell compartments. These hallmarks not only provide insight into the aging process but also serve as promising targets for therapeutic strategies aimed at rejuvenating stem cell function and extending tissue health span.","PeriodicalId":9665,"journal":{"name":"Cell stem cell","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":23.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144371171","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cell stem cellPub Date : 2025-06-24DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2025.06.002
J. Jeya Vandana, Jiajun Zhu, Alice Maria Giani, Tuo Zhang, Lauretta A. Lacko, Dongliang Leng, D. Leland Taylor, Brian N. Lee, Zhaowei Han, Tiancheng Jiao, Yuanhao Huang, Meiqi Zhao, Xinyi Liu, Angie Chi Nok Chong, Dongxiang Xue, Zihe Meng, Jenny Z. Xiang, Chendong Pan, Wei Wang, Ali Naji, Shuibing Chen
{"title":"ChemPerturb-seq screen identifies a small molecule cocktail enhancing human beta cell survival after subcutaneous transplantation","authors":"J. Jeya Vandana, Jiajun Zhu, Alice Maria Giani, Tuo Zhang, Lauretta A. Lacko, Dongliang Leng, D. Leland Taylor, Brian N. Lee, Zhaowei Han, Tiancheng Jiao, Yuanhao Huang, Meiqi Zhao, Xinyi Liu, Angie Chi Nok Chong, Dongxiang Xue, Zihe Meng, Jenny Z. Xiang, Chendong Pan, Wei Wang, Ali Naji, Shuibing Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.stem.2025.06.002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2025.06.002","url":null,"abstract":"Traditional chemical screens have focused on a single assay per screen, making them labor intensive and costly. Here, we combined a chemical screen with single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to perform Chemical Perturb-seq (ChemPerturb-seq), enabling a systematic analysis of the molecular changes of human beta cells upon individual small molecule treatments. Using this platform, we performed an <em>in vivo</em> barcoded screen and discovered a small molecule cocktail, including beta-lipotropin 61-91, insulin growth factor-1, and prostaglandin E2, with which preconditioning human beta cells and primary islets significantly enhanced function and survival when transplanted subcutaneously to female, but not to male, mice. We identified two additional molecules, serotonin and histamine, that promote islet function when transplanted subcutaneously to male mice using ChemPerturb-seq. Such small molecule cocktails could be applied to improve the current FDA-approved islet transplantation procedure. Finally, we developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered website, ChemPerturbDB, which provides user-friendly open access analysis of the extensive ChemPerturb-seq dataset.","PeriodicalId":9665,"journal":{"name":"Cell stem cell","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":23.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144371170","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cell stem cellPub Date : 2025-06-24DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2025.05.015
Deepti Lall, Michael J. Workman, Samuel Sances, Briana N. Ondatje, Shaughn Bell, George Lawless, Amanda Woodbury, Dylan West, Amanda Meyer, Andrea Matlock, Vineet Vaibhav, Jennifer E. Van Eyk, Clive N. Svendsen
{"title":"An organ-chip model of sporadic ALS using iPSC-derived spinal cord motor neurons and an integrated blood-brain-like barrier","authors":"Deepti Lall, Michael J. Workman, Samuel Sances, Briana N. Ondatje, Shaughn Bell, George Lawless, Amanda Woodbury, Dylan West, Amanda Meyer, Andrea Matlock, Vineet Vaibhav, Jennifer E. Van Eyk, Clive N. Svendsen","doi":"10.1016/j.stem.2025.05.015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2025.05.015","url":null,"abstract":"Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder in which motor neurons (MNs) of the brain and spinal cord degenerate, leading to paralysis. Generating MNs from patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) may help elucidate early stages of disease. Here, we combined MNs from patients with early-onset disease with brain microvascular endothelial-like cells in a microfluidic device we termed spinal cord chips (SC-chips) and added media flow, which enhanced neuronal maturation and improved cellular health. Bulk transcriptomic and proteomic analyses of SC-chips revealed differences between control and ALS samples, including increased levels of neurofilaments. Single-nuclei RNA sequencing revealed the presence of two MN subpopulations and an ALS-specific dysregulation of glutamatergic and synaptic signaling. This ALS SC-chip model generates a diversity of mature MNs to better understand ALS pathology in a model that has an active blood-brain barrier-like system for future drug screening.","PeriodicalId":9665,"journal":{"name":"Cell stem cell","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":23.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144370930","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cell stem cellPub Date : 2025-06-18DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2025.06.007
Irene V. Choi, Rachel K. Zwick
{"title":"To play Paneth or goblet: Shapeshifting secretory cells read the room","authors":"Irene V. Choi, Rachel K. Zwick","doi":"10.1016/j.stem.2025.06.007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2025.06.007","url":null,"abstract":"(Cell Stem Cell <em>32</em>, 861–863; June 5, 2025)","PeriodicalId":9665,"journal":{"name":"Cell stem cell","volume":"240 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":23.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144319579","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cell stem cellPub Date : 2025-06-13DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2025.05.014
Liyan Gong, Yadong Zhang, Yonglin Zhu, Umji Lee, Allen Chilun Luo, Xiang Li, Xi Wang, Danyang Chen, William T. Pu, Ruei-Zeng Lin, Minglin Ma, Miao Cui, Kaifu Chen, Kai Wang, Juan M. Melero-Martin
{"title":"Rapid generation of functional vascular organoids via simultaneous transcription factor activation of endothelial and mural lineages","authors":"Liyan Gong, Yadong Zhang, Yonglin Zhu, Umji Lee, Allen Chilun Luo, Xiang Li, Xi Wang, Danyang Chen, William T. Pu, Ruei-Zeng Lin, Minglin Ma, Miao Cui, Kaifu Chen, Kai Wang, Juan M. Melero-Martin","doi":"10.1016/j.stem.2025.05.014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2025.05.014","url":null,"abstract":"Vascular organoids (VOs) are valuable tools for studying vascular development, disease, and regenerative medicine. However, controlling endothelial and mural compartments independently remains challenging. Here, we present a streamlined method to generate VOs from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) via orthogonal activation of the transcription factors (TFs) ETV2 and NKX3.1 using Dox-inducible or modRNA systems. This approach enables efficient co-differentiation of endothelial cells (iECs) and mural cells (iMCs), producing functional 3D VOs in 5 days without ECM embedding. VOs matured further upon ECM exposure, forming larger, structured vessels. Single-cell RNA sequencing revealed vascular heterogeneity, and temporal regulation of TF expression allowed modulation of arterial and angiogenic iEC phenotypes. <em>In vivo</em>, VOs engrafted into immunodeficient mice, formed perfused vasculature, and promoted revascularization in models of hind limb ischemia and pancreatic islet transplantation. These findings establish a rapid and versatile VO platform with broad potential for vascular modeling, disease studies, and regenerative cell therapy.","PeriodicalId":9665,"journal":{"name":"Cell stem cell","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":23.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144278515","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cell stem cellPub Date : 2025-06-12DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2025.05.012
Yu Xin Wang, Adelaida R. Palla, Andrew T.V. Ho, Daniel C.L. Robinson, Meenakshi Ravichandran, Glenn J. Markov, Thach Mai, Chris Still, Akshay Balsubramani, Surag Nair, Colin A. Holbrook, Ann V. Yang, Peggy E. Kraft, Shiqi Su, David M. Burns, Nora D. Yucel, Lei S. Qi, Anshul Kundaje, Helen M. Blau
{"title":"Multiomic profiling reveals that prostaglandin E2 reverses aged muscle stem cell dysfunction, leading to increased regeneration and strength","authors":"Yu Xin Wang, Adelaida R. Palla, Andrew T.V. Ho, Daniel C.L. Robinson, Meenakshi Ravichandran, Glenn J. Markov, Thach Mai, Chris Still, Akshay Balsubramani, Surag Nair, Colin A. Holbrook, Ann V. Yang, Peggy E. Kraft, Shiqi Su, David M. Burns, Nora D. Yucel, Lei S. Qi, Anshul Kundaje, Helen M. Blau","doi":"10.1016/j.stem.2025.05.012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2025.05.012","url":null,"abstract":"Repair of muscle damage declines with age due to the accumulation of dysfunctional muscle stem cells (MuSCs). Here, we uncover that aged MuSCs have blunted prostaglandin E2 (PGE2)-EP4 receptor signaling, which causes precocious commitment and mitotic catastrophe. Treatment with PGE2 alters chromatin accessibility and overcomes the dysfunctional aged MuSC fate trajectory, increasing viability and triggering cell cycle re-entry. We employ neural network models to learn the complex logic of transcription factors driving the change in accessibility. After PGE2 treatment, we detect increased transcription factor binding at sites with CRE and E-box motifs and reduced binding at sites with AP1 motifs, overcoming the changes that occur with age. We find that short-term exposure of aged MuSCs to PGE2 augments their long-term regenerative capacity upon transplantation. Strikingly, PGE2 injections following myotoxin- or exercise-induced injury overcome the aged niche, leading to enhanced regenerative function of endogenous tissue-resident MuSCs and an increase in strength.","PeriodicalId":9665,"journal":{"name":"Cell stem cell","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":23.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144269215","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}