Mol Pharm. 2019 Jan 2. doi: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.8b01126. [Epub ahead of print]

Hyaluronic acid promotes differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells from different sources towards pancreatic progenitors within 3D alginate matrices.

Cañibano-Hernández A, Saenz Del Burgo L, Espona-Noguera A, Orive G, Hernandez RM, Ciriza J, Pedraz JEL.

Abstract

Islet transplantation has shown to be a successful alternative in Type 1 Diabetes treatment, but donor scarcity precludes its worldwide clinical translation. Stem cells are an unlimited source that could circumvent the lack of donors if complete differentiation into insulin-producing cells (IPCs) would be solved. We have performed the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from different sources into IPCs within 3D alginate matrices. We quantified an increased insulin release at the final stage of differentiation compared to undifferentiated MSCs, more pronounced in IPCs differentiated from pancreatic-derived MSCs tissues. Moreover, the addition of hyaluronic acid (HA) in alginate microcapsules enhanced, even more, the insulin release from the final IPCs, independently of the MSCs source. We can conclude that MSCs can be differentiated into IPCs within alginate microcapsules, enhancing insulin release when HA is present in the 3D alginate matrices.