Cell Transplant. 2017 Mar 28. doi: 10.3727/096368917X695399. [Epub ahead of print]

Transcriptome analysis of the induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived pancreatic β-like cell differentiation.

Huang Y¹, Wan J¹, Guo Y², Zhu S¹, Wang Y¹, Wang L¹, Guo Q¹, Lu Y¹, Wang Z¹.

Abstract

Diabetes affects millions of people worldwide and β cell replacement is one of the promising strategies. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) could differentiate intoany cell type, including pancreatic β cells, providing a well treatment therapy for diabetes. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the differentiation of iPSC-derived β cells were not clear. Here, we generated pancreatic β-like cells frommouse iPSCs by a three-stage protocol and performed deep RNA sequencing to get a transcriptional landscape of iPSC-derived pancreatic β-like cells during the selective differentiation period. We then focused on the differentially expressed genes during the time course in differentiation period and these genes were underwent GO annotation and KEGG pathway analysis. In addition, gene act networks were also constructed for these differentially expressed genes and the expression of pivotalgenes detected by quantitative real-time PCR was well-correlated with RNA-Seq. Overall, our study provides valuable information regarding the transcriptome changes in β cells derived from iPSCs during differentiation, elucidates the biological processand pathways underlying β cell differentiation and promotes identification and functional analysis of potential genes that could be used for improving functional βcell generation from iPSCs.