Potential for pancreatic maturation of differentiating human embryonic stem cells is sensitive to the specific pathway of definitive endoderm commitment.

ABSTRACT: This study provides a detailed experimental and mathematical analysis of the impact of the initial pathway of definitive endoderm (DE) induction on later stages of pancreatic maturation. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) were induced to insulin-producing cells following a directed-differentiation approach. DE was induced following four alternative pathway modulations. DE derivatives obtained from these alternate pathways were subjected to pancreatic progenitor (PP) induction and maturation and analyzed at each stage. Results indicate that late stage maturation is influenced by the initial pathway of DE commitment. Detailed quantitative analysis revealed WNT3A and FGF2 induced DE cells showed highest expression of insulin, are closely aligned in gene expression patterning and have a closer

SUBMITTER: Jaramillo M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3990550 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature