The Most Read Cell Stem Cell Articles in July

Cell Stem Cell  is one of the two newly added members in Cell Press in 2007, (the other is the Cell Host & Microbe). The magazine covers stem cell research ranging from basic cellular and developmental mechanisms to medical software, clinical applications. It is particularly concerned about the latest achievements in embryonic stem cells, tissue-specific, and cancer stem cells. Since its foundation, Cell Stem Cell attracts much attention, and its impact factor increases rapidly—from 0 to 16.826, and reached 25.315.

In July, the most talked about articles in Cell Stem Cell  include:

1. TPO-Induced Metabolic Reprogramming Drives Liver Metastasis of Colorectal Cancer CD110+ Tumor-Initiating Cells

The Chinese scientists found that TICs homodimerization receptor CD110 drive the expression of TPO in migration of colorectal cancer liver metastases. The balance of TPO/CD110 positive and negative signals in downstream signaling axis is a necessary condition to achieve self-renewal of hematopoietic stem cells. Considering the TICs and stem cells have many common features, and the liver is the main organ for generation of TPO, they speculate that TPO is a vital microenvironment components for liver metastases of colorectal cancer.

2. Programming and Reprogramming Cellular Age in the Era of Induced Pluripotency

Scientist Lorenz Studer, Elsa Vera and Daniela Cornacchia from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have reviewed to build some of the strategies of late-onset disease models by programming and reprogramming cellular age.

For example, some of the research team used a small molecule screening to accelerate the differentiation of human embryonic stem cells; but these methods do not promote cell maturation. On iPSCs, the laboratory used a way to let them be exposed to some of the toxin to pressure the cell. Another strategy is the expression of several genes known to cause premature aging disease.

The authors wrote that, being able to guide fate and aging of iPSC-derived stem cell lineage, will allow us to build models of human diseases with an unprecedented precision. Such research will produce more disease-related phenotypes, and find new types of therapeutic compounds to target some of the aging-related cell behavior. To program and reprogram cellular age as we need is an important step in the cracks on the road towards aging secret.

3. Efficient Detection and Purification of Cell Populations Using Synthetic MicroRNA Switches

Researchers have developed new technologies for detection and sorting of living cells through miRNA. In comparison to the cell surface receptor, MiRNA is better. It can significantly improve the purification level.

The newly developed miRNA switch is a synthetic mRNA sequences, including a miRNA coding sequence and an open reading frame ORF of a particular gene, for instance, encoding a fluoresce or regulatory proteins which promotes cell death. If miRNA recognition sequence is in conjunction with cell miRNA, expression of regulatory proteins would be suppressed, thereby separate from other cells.

4. An iCRISPR Platform for Rapid, Multiplexable, and Inducible Genome Editing in Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

By the use of CRISPR and TALEN, both hot genome editing technology, the researchers have developed a human pluripotent stem cell genome editing platform, named as iCRISPR. iCRISPR enabled rapid and highly efficient generation of biallelic knockout hPSCs for loss-of-function studies, as well as homozygous knockin hPSCs with specific nucleotide alterations for precise modeling of disease conditions.

Through further experiments, the researchers verified the effectiveness of the one-step generation of double- and triple-gene knockout hPSC lines, as well as stage-specific inducible gene knockout during hPSC differentiation, which is of great significance for biological research.