Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells derived from hemogenic endothelial cells

1. A method for making human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) for cellular replacement therapy, the method comprising in vitro transfection of human hemogenic endothelial cells (HE) with an exogenous gene coding copy of each of the following transcription factors ETS-related gene (ERG), Homeobox protein A9 (HOXA9), Homeobox protein A5 (HOXA5), Ligand Dependent Nuclear Receptor Corepressor (LCOR) and Runt Related Transcription Factor 1 (RUNX1),

wherein the human HE cells are derived from embryoid bodies (EB) produced from human iPSCs or human ESCs,

wherein the transcription factors are expressed in the transfected human HE cells, thereby producing a population of multilineage human HSCs and HSPCs for cellular replacement therapy.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, prior to in vitro transfection, the steps of:

a. generating embryonic bodies (EB) from human pluripotent stem cells; and

b. isolating human hemogenic endothelial cells (HE) from the resultant population of EB.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the EB are generated or induced from human pluripotent stem cells (PSC) by culturing or exposing the PSC to morphogens for about 8 days.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the population of human PSC is a population of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) or human embryonic stem cells (ESC).

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the induced pluripotent stem cells are produced by introducing reprogramming factors OCT4, SOX2, KLF4 and optionally (i) c-MYC or (ii) nanog and LIN28 into human somatic cells.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the human somatic cells are selected from the group consisting of peripheral blood circulating cells, B lymphocytes (B-cells), T lymphocytes, (T-cells), fibroblasts, and keratinocytes.

7. The method of claim 2 , wherein the EBs are:

a. less than 800 microns in size and are selected;

b. are compactly adhered to each other and requires trypsin digestion in order to dissociate the cells to individual cells; and/or

c. are dissociated prior to the isolation of HE.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the HE are:

a. isolated immediately from selected and dissociated EB; and/or

b. FLK1+, CD34+, CD43−, and CD235A−.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the multilineage human HSCs are CD34+CD38−CD45+.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the multilineage human HSPCs and/or hematopoietic cells are CD34+CD45+.

11. An engineered cell or population of engineered cells derived from a population of human HE and produced by the method of claim 1 .

12. A composition comprising the population of engineered cells of claim 11 .

13. A pharmaceutical composition comprising the population of engineered cells of claim 11 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of inducing endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition (EHT) in culture in the transfected HE to obtain human hematopoietic stem cells,

wherein the endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition occurs by culturing the isolated HE in the presence of thrombopoietin (TPO), interleukin (IL)-3, stem cell factor (SCF), IL-6, IL-11, insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1, erythropoietin (EPO), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)4, Fms related tyrosine kinase 3 ligand (Flt-3L), sonic hedgehog (SHH), angiotensin II, and chemical AGTR1 (angiotensin II receptor type I) blocker losartan potassium.