Sofiane Hamidi

Reconstruction and analysis of peri & post-implantation non-human primate development in vitro

We seek to use pluripotent stem cells to model & understand various aspects of early embryo development.

The use of human embryos in research has been subjected to numerous practical, political and ethical considerations. As a consequence, researchers have searched for alternative model systems, which could overcome these and other hurdles on human embryo research, in order to increase our still limited understanding of human development and organogenesis. Among those, pluripotent stem cells, counterparts of the in vivo epiblast, and bottom-up in vitro model systems derived thereof, have proven to be powerful novel tools and promising instruments, which can help to gain unprecedented insights into the molecular and morphological mechanisms and regulations of early human & mammalian embryonic development.

In my previous work at Kumamoto University, using the chick epiblast and mammalian pluripotent stem cells, I have addressed the relationship between epiblast cellular morphology and pluripotency, and proposed that epiblast pluripotency is restricted to an intermediate cellular state residing between a fully mesenchymal and fully epithelial state. My work in the Alev lab at ASHBI will continue to explore the intricate relationship between pluripotency regulation and morphogenesis with a particular focus on the mechanisms associated with the initiation of embryonic morphogenesis. I will hereby establish and utilise in vitro model systems of early embryonic development, with a special focus on gastrulation & primitive streak formation.

Yamanaka, Y., #, Hamidi, S., #, Yoshioka-Kobayashi, K., Munira, S., Sunadome, K., Zhang, Y., Kurokawa, Y., Ericsson, R., Mieda, A., Thompson, JL., Kerwin, J., Lisgo, S., Yamamoto, T., Moris, N., Martinez-Arias, A., Tsujimura, T., Alev, C. (2023). Reconstituting human somitogenesis in vitro. Nature, 614(7948):509-520. doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-05649-2.

Weng, W., Nagai, H., Hamidi, S., Sheng, G. (2020). NPAS4L is involved in avian hemangioblast specification. Haematologica, 105(11):2647-2650. doi: 10.3324/haematol.2019.239434.

Hamidi, S., Nakaya, Y., Nagai, H., Alev, C., Kasukawa, T., Chhabra, S., Lee, R., Niwa, H., Warmflash, A., Shibata, T., Sheng, G. (2020). Mesenchymal-epithelial transition regulates initiation of pluripotency exit before gastrulation. Development, 147(3):dev184960. doi: 10.1242/dev.184960.

Rokeya, S., Suzu, S., Ueno, M., Nasser, H., Koba, R., Bhuyan, F., Noyori, O., Hamidi, S., Sheng, G., Yasuda-Inoue, M., Hishiki, T., Sukegawa, S., Miyagi, E., Strebel, K., Matsushita, S., Shimotohno, K., Ariumi, Y. (2018). Apolipoprotein E is an HIV-1-inducible inhibitor of viral production and infectivity in macrophages. PLOS Pathogens, 14(11):e1007372. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007372.

Hamidi, S., Letourneur, D., Aid, R., Di Stefano, A., Vainchenker, W., Norol, F., Le Visage, C. (2014). Fucoidan promotes early step of cardiac differentiation from human embryonic stem cells and long term maintenance of beating areas. Tissue Eng Part A, 20(7-8):1285-94. doi: 10.1089/ten.TEA.2013.0149.

Saliba, J., Hamidi, S., Lenglet, G., Langlois, T., Yin, J., Secardin, L., Legrand, C., Cabagnols, X., Galy, A., Opolon, P., Benyahia, B., Solary, E., Bernard, O., Chen, L., Debili, N., Raslova, H., Norol, F., Vainchenker, W., Plo, I., DiStefano, A. (2013). Biological Consequences of Heterozygous and Homozygous JAK2V617F States Modeled by Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Derived from Myeloproliferative Neoplasms Patients. PLoS One, 8(9):e74257. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0074257.

Le Visage, C., Gournay, O., Benguirat, N., Hamidi, S., Norol, F. (2012). Mesenchymal stem cell delivery into rat infarcted myocardium using a porous polysaccharide-based scaffold: a quantitative comparison with endocardial injection. Tissue Eng Part A, 18(1-2):35-44. doi: 10.1089/ten.TEA.2011.0053.

Klimchenko, O., Di Stefano, A., Geoerger, B., Hamidi, S., Norol, F. (2011). Monocytic cells derived from human embryonic stem cells and fetal liver share common differentiation pathways and homeostatic functions. Blood, 117(11):3065-75. doi: 10.1182/blood-2010-07-295246.

Joined

Apr. 1, 2021