Selective targeting of cancer stem cells (CSCs) offers promise for a new generation of therapeutics. However, assays for both human CSCs and normal stem cells that are amenable to robust biological screens are limited. Using a discovery platform that reveals differences between neoplastic and normal human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC), we identify small molecules from libraries of known compounds that induce differentiation to overcome neoplastic self-renewal. Surprisingly, thioridazine, an antipsychotic drug, selectively targets the neoplastic cells, and impairs human somatic CSCs capable of in vivo leukemic disease initiation while having no effect on normal blood SCs. The drug antagonizes dopamine receptors that are expressed on CSCs and on breast cancer cells as well. These results suggest that dopamine receptors may serve as a biomarker for diverse malignancies, demonstrate the utility of using neoplastic hPSCs for identifying CSC-targeting drugs, and provide support for the use of differentiation as a therapeutic strategy.

The clinical applicability of direct cell fate conversion depends on obtaining tissue from patients that is easy to harvest, store, and manipulate for reprogramming. Here, we generate induced neural progenitor cells (iNPCs) from neonatal and adult peripheral blood using single-factor OCT4 reprogramming. Unlike fibroblasts that share molecular hallmarks of neural crest, OCT4 reprogramming of blood was facilitated by SMAD+GSK-3 inhibition to overcome restrictions on neural fate conversion. Blood-derived (BD) iNPCs differentiate in vivo and respond to guided differentiation in vitro, producing glia (astrocytes and oligodendrocytes) and multiple neuronal subtypes, including dopaminergic (CNS related) and nociceptive neurons (peripheral nervous system [PNS]). Furthermore, nociceptive neurons phenocopy chemotherapy-induced neurotoxicity in a system suitable for high-throughput drug screening. Our findings provide an easily accessible approach for generating human NPCs that harbor extensive developmental potential, enabling the study of clinically relevant neural diseases directly from patient cohorts.

Human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) provide an invaluable source for regenerative medicine, but are limited by proficient lineage-specific differentiation. Here we reveal that hiPSCs derived from human fibroblasts (Fibs) versus human cord blood (CB) exhibit indistinguishable pluripotency, but harbour biased propensities for differentiation. Genes associated with germ layer specification were identical in Fib-or CB-derived iPSCs, whereas lineage-specific marks emerge upon differentiation induction of hiPSCs that were correlated to the cell of origin. Differentiation propensities come at the expense of other lineages and cannot be overcome with stimuli for alternative cell fates. Although incomplete DNA methylation and distinct histone modifications of lineage-specific loci correlate to lineagespecific transcriptome priming, transitioning hiPSCs into naive state of pluripotency removes iPSC-memorized transcriptome. Upon re-entry to the primed state, transcriptome memory is restored, indicating a human-specific phenomenon whereby lineage gated developmental potential is not permanently erased, but can be modulated by the pluripotent state.

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) have been reported in naive and primed states. However, the ability to generate mature cell types remains the imperative property for utility of hPSCs. Here, we reveal that the naive state enhances self-renewal while restricting lineage differentiation in vitro to neural default fate. Molecular analyses indicate expression of multiple lineage-associated transcripts in naive hPSCs that failed to predict biased functional differentiation capacity. Naive hPSCs can be converted to primed state over long-term serial passage that permits recovery of multi-germ layer differentiation. Suppression of OCT4 but not NANOG allows immediate recovery directly from naive state. To this end, we identified chemical inhibitors of OCT4 that restore naive hPSC differentiation. Our study reveals unique cell-fate restrictions in human pluripotent states and provides an approach to overcome these barriers that harness both efficient naive hPSC growth while maintaining in vitro differentiation essential for hPSC applications.

Current treatments that use hematopoietic progenitor cell (HPC) transplantation in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients substantially reduce the risk of relapse, but are limited by the availability of immune compatible healthy HPCs. Although cellular reprogramming has the potential to provide a novel autologous source of HPCs for transplantation, the applicability of this technology toward the derivation of healthy autologous hematopoietic cells devoid of patient-specific leukemic aberrations from AML patients must first be evaluated. Here, we report the generation of human AML patient-specific hematopoietic progenitors that are capable of normal in vitro differentiation to myeloid lineages and are devoid of leukemia-associated aberration found in matched patient bone marrow. Skin fibroblasts were obtained from AML patients whose leukemic cells possessed a distinct, leukemia-associated aberration, and used to create AML patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Through hematopoietic differentiation of AML patient iPSCs, coupled with cytogenetic interrogation, we reveal that AML patient-specific HPCs possess normal progenitor capacity and are devoid of leukemia-associated mutations. Importantly, in rare patient skin samples that give rise to mosaic fibroblast cultures that continue to carry leukemia-associated mutations; healthy hematopoietic progenitors can also be generated via reprogramming selection. Our findings provide the proof of principle that cellular reprogramming can be applied on a personalized basis to generate healthy HPCs from AML patients, and should further motivate advances toward creating transplantable hematopoietic stem cells for autologous AML therapy. Stem Cells 2013;33:1839–1849