title: Differential effect of activin on mouse embryonic stem cell differentiation in insulin-secreting cells under nestin-positive selection and spontaneous differentiation protocols.
abstract: Parallel to the importance of the development of cell therapies to treat diabetes is the production of sufficient numbers of pancreatic endocrine cells that function like primary islets. To increase the efficiency of endocrine pancreatic-like cell differentiation from mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs), we applied activin-B to nestin-positive selection (protocol 1) and spontaneous differentiation (protocol 2) in different groups including: [A] activin-B, or [B] basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and/or [C] activin-B+bFGF. The differentiated cells expressed most pancreatic-related genes. The number of insulin- and C peptide-positive cells, as well as dithizone-positive clusters in group A of protocol 1 was higher than in the other groups. Significant insulin concentrations in protocol 1 were produced when glucose was added to the medium, in comparison with protocol 2. Moreover, insulin release was increased significantly in group A of protocol 1 even with lower glucose. In conclusion, Addition of activin-B in a nestin-positive selection protocol increased the insulin-secreting cells in comparison with the same protocol with bFGF and/or spontaneous differentiation in presence of bFGF and/or activin-B alone. However, improvements of the current method are required to generate a sufficient source of true beta-cells for the treatment of diabetes mellitus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Stem Cells, Royan Institute, PO Box 19395-4644, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Hanieh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jafary
authors.forename: Bagher
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Larijani
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Farrokhi
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pirouz
authors.forename: Sepideh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mollamohammadi
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Baharvand
mesh_terms: D028341:Activins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 / Q000494:pharmacology; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism*; D050417:Insulin-Secreting Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D007381:Intermediate Filament Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D064231:Nestin
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin; D007381:Intermediate Filament Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C577485:Nes protein, mouse; D064231:Nestin; C044147:activin B; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2; D028341:Activins