Optimized Protocol for Generating Functional Pancreatic Insulin-secreting Cells from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
Summary
This article presents a protocol for directed differentiation and functional analysis of β-cell like cells. We describe optimal culture conditions and passages for human pluripotent stem cells before generating insulin-producing pancreatic cells. The six-stage differentiation progresses from definitive endoderm formation to functional β-cell like cells secreting insulin in response to glucose.
Abstract
Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) can differentiate into any kind of cell, making them an excellent alternative source of human pancreatic β-cells. hPSCs can either be embryonic stem cells (hESCs) derived from the blastocyst or induced pluripotent cells (hiPSCs) generated directly from somatic cells using a reprogramming process. Here a video-based protocol is presented to outline the optimal culture and passage conditions for hPSCs, prior to their differentiation and subsequent generation of insulin-producing pancreatic cells. This methodology follows the six-stage process for β-cell directed differentiation, wherein hPSCs differentiate into definitive endoderm (DE), primitive gut tube, posterior foregut fate, pancreatic progenitors, pancreatic endocrine progenitors, and ultimately pancreatic β-cells. It is noteworthy that this differentiation methodology takes a period of 27 days to generate human pancreatic β-cells. The potential of insulin secretion was evaluated through two experiments, which included immunostaining and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion.
Introduction
Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) have the unique ability to differentiate into various cell types, making them a viable alternative to human pancreatic β-cells1. These hPSCs are categorized into two types: embryonic stem cells (hESCs), derived from the blastocyst2, and induced pluripotent cells (hiPSCs), generated by reprogramming somatic cells directly3. The development of techniques to differentiate hPSCs into β-cells, has important implications for both fundamental research and clinical practice1,4. Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease affecting >400 million people worldwide and results from the inability of the body to regulate glycemia due to malfunction or loss of pancreatic β-cells5. The limited availability of pancreatic islet cells for transplantation has hindered the development of cell replacement therapies for diabetes2,4,6,7. The ability to generate glucose-responsive insulin-secreting cells using hPSCs serves as a useful cellular model for studying human islet development and function. It can also be used to test potential therapeutic candidates for diabetes treatment in a controlled environment. Moreover, hPSCs have the potential to produce pancreatic islet cells that are genetically identical to the patient, reducing the risk of immune rejection after transplantation2,4,7.
In recent years, there have been significant advancements in the refinement of hPSC culture and differentiation protocols, resulting in increased efficiency and reproducibility of the differentiation process toward generating pancreatic β-cells8,9.
The following protocol outlines the essential stages of directed differentiation of pancreatic β-cells. It involves the regulation of specific cell signaling pathways at distinct time points. It is based on the protocol developed by Sui L. et al.10 (2018) for the generation of hPSCs into pancreatic β-cells. The protocol was adjusted to recent updates from Sui L. et al.11 (2021), as the latest research emphasizes the significance of using aphidicolin (APH) treatment to enhance the differentiation of β-cells. The current protocol includes the addition of APH to the medium during the later stages of the process. Furthermore, modifications have been made to the composition of the medium during the early stages of differentiation compared to the initial protocol. A notable change is the addition of Keratinocyte Growth Factor (KGF) on Day 6 and continuing until Day 8. The keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) is introduced from day 6 to day 8, which slightly differs from the initial protocol10, where KGF was not included in the stage 4 medium.
The first and essential step in the generation of β-cell-like cells is the directed differentiation of hPSCs into definitive endoderm (DE), a primitive germ layer that gives rise to the epithelial lining of various organs, including the pancreas. After the formation of DE, the cells undergo differentiation into the primitive gut tube, which is followed by the specification of the posterior foregut fate. The posterior foregut then develops into pancreatic progenitor cells, which have the potential to differentiate into all cell types of the pancreas, including the endocrine and exocrine cells. The subsequent stage in the process involves pancreatic endocrine progenitors giving rise to the hormone-secreting cells found in the islets of Langerhans. In the end, the differentiation process reaches its final stage by producing fully functional pancreatic β-cell like cells9,10. It is important to note that this process is complex and often requires optimization of the culture conditions, such as specific growth factors and extracellular matrix components, to improve the efficiency and specificity of differentiation9,10. Furthermore, generating functional β-cell like cells from hPSCs in vitro is still a major challenge. Ongoing research focuses on improving differentiation protocols and enhancing the maturation and function of the resulting β-cells9.
In this protocol, the use of gentle cell dissociation during the culture and passage of hPSCs is essential to maintain cell viability and pluripotency, significantly improving the efficiency of differentiation into pancreatic β-cells. Additionally, each stage-specific medium has been meticulously optimized following the protocol developed by Sui L. et al.10 to promote a high yield of insulin-secreting cells in clusters that closely resemble the human islet.
Protocol
Representative Results
Discussion
The successful differentiation of hPSCs into pancreatic β-cells depends on optimizing all aspects of routine culturing and passage of the selected hPSCs. This includes ensuring that the cell line has a normal karyotype, is negative for mycoplasma infection, and is free of plasmid or viral vector genomes. Furthermore, when using hiPSCs, it is important to avoid using the earliest passage which are still undergoing reprogramming, for pilot experiments. These experiments should be conducted on a small scale to identify…
Acknowledgements
Ines Cherkaoui was supported by a Diabetes UK studentship (BDA 18/0005934) to GAR, who also thanks the Wellcome Trust for an Investigator Award (212625/Z/18/Z), UKRI MRC for a Programme grant (MR/R022259/1), Diabetes UK for Project grant (BDA16/0005485), CRCHUM for start-up funds, Innovation Canada for a John R. Evans Leader Award (CFI 42649), NIH-NIDDK (R01DK135268) for a project grant, and CIHR, JDRF for a team grant (CIHR-IRSC:0682002550; JDRF 4-SRA-2023-1182-S-N). Camille Dion and Dr Harry Leitch for their help with human hiPSCs generation and culture, the NIHR Imperial BRC (Biomedical Research Centre) Organoid facility, London.
Materials
| 1.5 mL TubeOne Microcentrifuge Tube | Starlabs | S1615-5500 | |
| 6-well Cell culture plate | ThermoFisher Scientific | 165218 | |
| AggreWell 400 6-well plate | STEMCELL Technologies | 34425 | |
| Anti-Glucagon | Sigma-aldrich | G2654-100UL | |
| Anti-Insulin | Dako | A0564 | |
| Anti-NKX6.1 | Novus Biologicals | NBP1-49672SS | |
| Anti-PDX1 | Abcam | ab84987 | |
| Aphidicolin | Sigma-Aldrich | A4487 | |
| B-27 Supplement (50X), serum free | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 17504044 | |
| Bovine Serum Albumin, fatty acid free | Sigma-Aldrich | A3803-100G | |
| Calcium chloride dihydrate | Sigma-Aldrich | C3306 | |
| Calcium/Magnesium free D-PBS | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 14190144 | |
| Cyclopamine-KAAD | Calbiochem | 239804 | |
| D-(+)-Glucose,BioXtra | Sigma-Aldrich | G7528 | |
| Disodium hydrogen phosphate, anhydrous | Sigma-Aldrich | 94046-100ML- | |
| DMEM plus GlutaMAX | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 10566016 | For Washing Medium 2: DMEM plus GlutaMAX 1% PS. |
| DMEM/F-12 (Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium/Nutrient Mixture F-12) | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 10565-018 | |
| Epredi SuperFrost Plus Adhesion slides | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 10149870 | |
| Ethanol | VWR | 20821.33 | |
| Fetal Bovine Serum | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 10270098 | |
| Gamma-Secretase Inhibitor XX | Thermo Fisher Scientific | J64904 | |
| Geltrex LDEV-Free Reduced Growth Factor Basement | Thermo Fisher Scientific | A1413302 | Geltrex 1:1 into cold DMEM/F-12 medium to provide a final dilution of 1:100. |
| Goat Anti-Guinea pig, Alexa Fluor 555 | Thermo Fisher Scientific | A-21435 | |
| Goat Anti-Guinea pig, Alexa Fluor 647 | Abcam | ab150187 | |
| Goat anti-Mouse Secondary Antibody, Alexa Fluor 633 | Thermo Fisher Scientific | A-21052 | |
| Goat anti-Rabbit IgG Secondary Antibody, Alexa Fluor 568 | Thermo Fisher Scientific | A-11011 | |
| Heparin | Sigma-Aldrich | H3149 | |
| HEPES buffer | Sigma-Aldrich | H3375-500G | |
| Hoechst 33342, Trihydrochloride | Thermo Fisher Scientific | H1399 | |
| Human FGF-7 (KGF) Recombinant Protein | Thermo Fisher Scientific | PHG0094 | |
| Hydrogen chloride | Sigma-Aldrich | 295426 | |
| ImmEdge Hydrophobic Barrier PAP Pen | Agar Scientific | AGG4582 | |
| LDN193189 | Sigma-Aldrich | SML0559-5MG | |
| Magnesium chloride hexahydrate | Sigma-Aldrich | M9272-500G | |
| OCT Compound 118 mL | Agar Scientific | AGR1180 | |
| PBS Tablets, Phosphate Buffered Saline, Fisher BioReagents | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 7647-14-5 | |
| Penicillin-Streptomycin (PS) | Thermo Fisher Scientific, | 15070-063 | |
| Potassium chloride | Sigma-Aldrich | 7447-40-7 | |
| Recombinant Human EGF Protein | R&D Systems | 236-EG-200 | |
| Rectangular cover glasses, 22×50 mm | VWR | 631-0137 | |
| RepSox (Hydrochloride) | STEMCELL Technologies | 72394 | |
| RPMI 1640 Medium, GlutaMAX Supplement | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 61870036 | For Washing Medium 1: RPMI 1640 plus GlutaMAX 1% PS. |
| Shandon Immu-mount | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 9990402 | |
| Sodium bicarbonate | Sigma-Aldrich | S6014-500G | |
| Sodium chloride | Sigma-Aldrich | S3014 | |
| Sodium dihydrogen phosphate anhydrous | Sigma-Aldrich | 7558-80-7 | |
| STEMdiff Endoderm | STEMCELL Technologies | 5110 | |
| StemFlex Medium | Thermo Fisher Scientific | A3349401 | Thaw the StemFlex Supplement overnight at 4°C, transfer any residual liquid of the supplement bottle to StemFlex Basal Medium. |
| Stemolecule All-Trans Retinoic Acid | Reprocell | 04-0021 | |
| Thyroid Tormone 3 (T3) | Sigma-Aldrich | T6397 | |
| Trypan Blue Solution, 0.4% | ThermoFisher Scientific | 15250061 | |
| TrypL Express Enzyme (1X) | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 12604013 | |
| TWEEN 20 | Sigma-Aldrich | P2287-500ML | |
| Ultra-Low Adherent Plate for Suspension Culture | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 38071 | |
| UltraPure DNase/RNase-Free Distilled Water | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 10977015 | |
| Y-27632 (Dihydrochloride) | STEMCELL Technologies | 72302 | |
| Zinc Sulfate | Sigma-Aldrich | Z4750 |
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