Islet cells from human embryonic stem cells
AssigneeGeron Corporation
InventorsGregory Fisk, Margaret Inokuma
Life of this patent
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Abstract
This disclosure provides a system for producing pancreatic islet cells from embryonic stem cells. Differentiation is initiated towards endoderm cells, and focused using reagents that promote emergence of islet precursors and mature insulin-secreting cells. High quality populations of islet cells can be produced in commercial quantities for use in research, drug screening, or regenerative medicine.
Claims20
An isolated cell population obtained by differentiating primate pluripotent stem (pPS) cells, in which at least 5% of the cells secrete one or more of the following proteins from an endogenous gene:
- insulin, glucagon, somatostatin, or pancreatic polypeptide.
An isolated cell cluster obtained by differentiating primate pluripotent stem (pPS) cells, comprising cells that secrete insulin, cells that secrete glucagon, and cells that secrete somatostatin.
The cell population of either preceding claim, in which at least 5% of the cells express at least two of the following markers:
- Pdx1, Ngn3, insulin, IAPP, and Nkx6.1.
The method of claim 11, wherein the pPS cells are differentiated to form embryoid bodies, or cells with characteristics of hepatocytes or gut endothelium.
A method for obtaining polypeptide-secreting cells, comprising culturing pPS cells or their progeny in a mixture of islet cell differentiation factors, thereby obtaining a cell population in which at least 5% of the cells secrete at least one of the following proteins from an endogenous gene:
- insulin, glucagon, somatostatin, and pancreatic polypeptide.
The method of claim 11, wherein the mixture of islet cell differentiation factors comprises at least one of the following:
- activin A, nicotinamide, cyclopamine, betacellulin, and IGF-1.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.