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miRNA-375 promotes beta pancreatic differentiation in human induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cells

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Abstract

Islet transplantation is considered as an ultimate option for the treatment of type I diabetes. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) have raised the possibility that patient-specific insulin-secreting cells might be derived from somatic cells through cell fate reprogramming. However, current protocols mostly rely on the use of several cytokines and inhibitors for directing differentiation towards pancreatic fate. Given the high manufacturing cost of these recombinant proteins, this approach is prohibitive for clinical applications. Knowing that microRNAs (miRNAs) are key players in various stages of pancreatic development, we present a novel and cost-effective strategy in which over-expression of miR-375 promotes pancreatic differentiation in hiPSCs in the absence of any other stimulator. We used a polycistronic viral vector expressing Sox2, Klf4, c-Myc, and Oct4 to drive hiPSCs from human foreskin fibroblasts. The established hiPSCs are similar to human embryonic stem cells in many aspects including morphology, passaging, surface and pluripotency markers, and gene expression. For differentiation induction, miR-375 was lentivirally overexpressed in these hiPSCs. Morphological assessment, immunocytochemistry, and expression analysis of islet marker genes confirmed that islet like cells were obtained in miR-375 transduced cells compared to controls. Our differentiated clusters secreted insulin in a glucose-dependant manner, showing in vitro functionality. We demonstrated for the first time that miRNAs might be ideal substitutes to induce pancreatic differentiation in hiPSCs. This work provides a new approach to study the role of miRNAs in pancreatic specification and increase the feasibility of using patient-specific iPSCs for beta cell replacement therapy for type I diabetes.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Grants from the Iranian Stem Cell Council and the Ministry of Science, I.R. Iran.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biology Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

    Reyhaneh Lahmy & Mehrdad Behmanesh

  2. Department of Hematology, School of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Jalal Ale Ahmad Highway, P.O. Box: 14115-111, Tehran, Iran

    Masoud Soleimani

  3. National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Tehran, Iran

    Mohammad H. Sanati

  4. Department of Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering, Stem Cell Technology Research Center, Tehran, Iran

    Fatemeh Kouhkan

  5. Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Naser Mobarra

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  1. Reyhaneh Lahmy
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  2. Masoud Soleimani
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Correspondence to Masoud Soleimani.

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Lahmy, R., Soleimani, M., Sanati, M.H. et al. miRNA-375 promotes beta pancreatic differentiation in human induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cells. Mol Biol Rep 41, 2055–2066 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-014-3054-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-014-3054-4

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