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Human pluripotent stem cell-based models suggest preadipocyte senescence as a possible cause of metabolic complications of Werner and Bloom Syndromes.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

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Authors

Goh, Kim Jee 
Chen, Jian-Hua 
Rocha, Nuno 
Semple, Robert K 

Abstract

Werner Syndrome (WS) and Bloom Syndrome (BS) are disorders of DNA damage repair caused by biallelic disruption of the WRN or BLM DNA helicases respectively. Both are commonly associated with insulin resistant diabetes, usually accompanied by dyslipidemia and fatty liver, as seen in lipodystrophies. In keeping with this, progressive reduction of subcutaneous adipose tissue is commonly observed. To interrogate the underlying cause of adipose tissue dysfunction in these syndromes, CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing was used to generate human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) lacking either functional WRN or BLM helicase. No deleterious effects were observed in WRN-/- or BLM-/- embryonic stem cells, however upon their differentiation into adipocyte precursors (AP), premature senescence emerged, impairing later stages of adipogenesis. The resulting adipocytes were also found to be senescent, with increased levels of senescent markers and senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) components. SASP components initiate and reinforce senescence in adjacent cells, which is likely to create a positive feedback loop of cellular senescence within the adipocyte precursor compartment, as demonstrated in normal ageing. Such a scenario could progressively attenuate adipose mass and function, giving rise to "lipodystrophy-like" insulin resistance. Further assessment of pharmacological senolytic strategies are warranted to mitigate this component of Werner and Bloom syndromes.

Description

Keywords

Adipocytes, Bloom Syndrome, CRISPR-Cas Systems, Cell Line, Cellular Senescence, Gene Deletion, Human Embryonic Stem Cells, Humans, Models, Biological, Werner Syndrome

Journal Title

Sci Rep

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2045-2322
2045-2322

Volume Title

10

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC