title: Highly Efficient Differentiation of Endothelial Cells from Pluripotent Stem Cells Requires the MAPK and the PI3K Pathways.
abstract: Pluripotent stem cells are a promising source of endothelial cells (ECs) for the treatment of vascular diseases. We have developed a robust protocol to differentiate human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and embryonic stem cells (hESCs) into ECs with high purities (94%-97% CD31+and 78%-83% VE-cadherin+) in 8 days without cell sorting. Passaging of these cells yielded a nearly pure population of ECs (99% of CD31+and 96.8% VE-cadherin+). These ECs also expressed other endothelial markers vWF, Tie2, NOS3, and exhibited functions of ECs such as uptake of Dil-acetylated low-density lipoprotein and formation of tubes in vitro or vessels in vivo on matrigel. We found that FGF2, VEGF, and BMP4 synergistically induced early vascular progenitors (VPs) from hiPSC-derived mesodermal cells. The MAPK and PI3K pathways are crucial not only for the initial commitment to vascular lineages but also for the differentiation of vascular progenitors to ECs, most likely through regulation of the ETS family transcription factors, ERG and FLI1. We revealed novel roles of the p38 and JNK MAPK pathways on EC differentiation. Furthermore, inhibition of the ERK pathway markedly promoted the differentiation of smooth muscle cells. Finally, we demonstrate that pluripotent stem cell-derived ECs are capable of forming patent blood vessels that were connected to the host vasculature in the ischemic limbs of immune deficient mice. Thus, we demonstrate that ECs can be efficiently derived from hiPSCs and hESCs, and have great potential for vascular therapy as well as for mechanistic studies of EC differentiation. Stem Cells 2017;35:909-919.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Stem Cell Program.|Department of Biological Sciences, Humboldt State University, Arcata, California, USA.
authors.forename: Aja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Harding
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Stem Cell Program.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cortez-Toledo
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Stem Cell Program.
authors.forename: Nataly L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Magner
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Stem Cell Program.
authors.forename: Julie R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Beegle
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Stem Cell Program.
authors.forename: Dane P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Coleal-Bergum
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of California Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, California, USA.
authors.forename: Dake
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of California Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, California, USA.
authors.forename: Aijun
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2985-3627
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Stem Cell Program.
authors.forename: Jan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Nolta
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Stem Cell Program.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002460:Cell Line; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000201:enzymology*; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D000066449:Human Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology; D006801:Humans; D057026:Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000166:cytology; D051379:Mice; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D032389:Myocytes, Smooth Muscle / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D013997:Time Factors; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000378:metabolism; D060449:Wnt Signaling Pathway
chemical_list: D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases
keywords: Embryonic stem cells; Endothelial differentiation; Induced pluripotent stem cells; Signal transduction