Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 28, 2026

Efficient Neural Differentiation using Single-Cell Culture of Human Embryonic Stem Cells
11:17

Efficient Neural Differentiation using Single-Cell Culture of Human Embryonic Stem Cells

Published on: January 18, 2020

10.9K

Single-Cell RNA Sequencing of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation Delineates Adverse Effects of Nicotine on

Hongchao Guo1, Lei Tian1, Joe Z Zhang1

  • 1Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, 265 Campus Drive G1120B, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.

Stem Cell Reports
|March 5, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Nicotine exposure harms developing fetuses by disrupting cell communication and function. This study reveals nicotine

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Toxicology
  • Stem Cell Biology

Background:

  • Nicotine, a primary tobacco component, poses significant risks to fetal development, including gestational complications and organ damage.
  • The precise mechanisms by which nicotine impacts human embryonic development remain largely unelucidated.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effects of nicotine on human embryonic development at the single-cell level.
  • To identify nicotine-induced molecular and cellular changes in human embryonic stem cell-derived embryoid bodies (EBs).

Main Methods:

  • Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) was employed on human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived EBs exposed to nicotine.
  • Cell viability, reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, cell cycling, and calcium (Ca2+) signaling were assessed.

Main Results:

  • Nicotine exposure induced lineage-specific responses and disrupted cell-to-cell communication within EBs.
  • Reduced cell viability, increased ROS production, and altered cell cycling were observed in nicotine-treated EBs.
  • Abnormal Ca2+ signaling was detected in muscle cells and hESC-derived cardiomyocytes following nicotine exposure.

Conclusions:

  • Nicotine exerts direct adverse effects on hESC differentiation, impacting embryonic development at a single-cell resolution.
  • The findings provide a novel single-cell-level understanding of nicotine's toxicity on human embryonic development.
  • This study offers a new methodological approach for assessing the in utero toxicity of drugs and environmental factors.
Keywords:
differentiationembryonic developmentembryonic stem cellsnicotinesingle-cell RNA sequencingsmoking

More Related Videos

Differentiation of Embryonic Stem Cells into Oligodendrocyte Precursors08:11

Differentiation of Embryonic Stem Cells into Oligodendrocyte Precursors

Published on: May 19, 2010

15.8K
Derivation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells by Immunosurgery11:56

Derivation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells by Immunosurgery

Published on: December 13, 2007

34.7K

Related Concept Videos

Embryonic Stem Cells00:58

Embryonic Stem Cells

Embryonic stem (ES) cells are undifferentiated pluripotent cells, meaning they can produce any cell type in the body. This gives them tremendous potential in science and medicine since they can generate specific cell types for use in research or to replace body cells lost due to damage or disease.
32.4K
Embryonic Stem Cells00:57

Embryonic Stem Cells

Embryonic stem (ES) cells were first discovered in mice in 1981 by Martin Evans. In 1998, James Thomson identified a method to isolate embryonic stem cells from humans. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are obtained from 3-5 day old embryos that remain unused after an in vitro fertilization procedure.
ES cells are grown in a culture medium where they can divide indefinitely, creating ES cell lines. Under certain conditions, ES cells can differentiate, either spontaneously into a variety of...
5.0K
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells01:13

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that divide and produce different types of cells. Ordinarily, cells that have differentiated into a specific cell type are post-mitotic—that is, they no longer divide. However, scientists have found a way to reprogram these mature cells so that they “de-differentiate” and return to an unspecialized, proliferative state. These cells are also pluripotent like embryonic stem cells—able to produce all cell types—and are therefore...
28.0K
Local Anesthetics: Adverse Effects01:12

Local Anesthetics: Adverse Effects

While local anesthetics are generally safe and well-tolerated, they can occasionally cause adverse effects that vary in severity. Local anesthetics can induce toxicity at two distinct levels. They can either produce local effects through direct contact with the neural elements or be absorbed into the bloodstream from the injection site, leading to systemic effects.
Once absorbed into the systemic circulation, local anesthetics can affect the organs that depend on the functioning of sodium...
796
Adult Stem Cells01:33

Adult Stem Cells

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that divide and produce more stem cells or progenitor cells that differentiate into mature, specialized cell types. All the cells in the body are generated from stem cells in the early embryo, but small populations of stem cells are also present in many adult tissues including the bone marrow, brain, skin, and gut. These adult stem cells typically produce the various cell types found in that tissue—to replace cells that are damaged or to continuously...
33.8K
RNA Polymerase II Accessory Proteins02:36

RNA Polymerase II Accessory Proteins

Proteins that regulate transcription can do so either via direct contact with RNA Polymerase or through indirect interactions facilitated by adaptors, mediators, histone-modifying proteins, and nucleosome remodelers. Direct interactions to activate transcription is seen in bacteria as well as in some eukaryotic genes. In these cases, upstream activation sequences are adjacent to the promoters, and the activator proteins interact directly with the transcriptional machinery. For example, in...
10.9K