UB - University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

CBE Home > News and Events > Seminar Series > Seminar

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) hold great promises as sources of therapeutics due to their ability to self-renew, and differentiate into specialized cell types. One potential application in the field of diabetes is for hESCs to serve as a source of insulin-producing cells for transplantation. To date, available protocols for the differentiation of hESCs towards insulin producing cells are characterized by low yields. This implicates that expansion of hESCs or their derivatives to large quantities is highly desirable. Here, we explored the use of microcarriers for the propagation of hESCs in bioreactor. Microcarriers provide a high surface area-to-volume ratio, and the surface area available for growth is easily adjustable. We further developed a robust method for directing the fate of hESCs towards that of pancreatic islet (PI) cells. Subsequently, this differentiation protocol was employed to our microcarrier-bioreactor culture. Current work focusing on the expansion and differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells will also be discussed.