Multiplexed microfluidic platform for stem-cell derived pancreatic islet ß cells.

Stem cell-derived ß cells offer an alternative to primary islets for biomedical discoveries as well as a potential surrogate for islet transplantation. The expense and challenge of obtaining and maintaining functional stem cell-derived ß cells calls for a need to develop better high-content and high-throughput culture systems. Microphysiological systems (MPS) are promising high-content in vitro platforms, but scaling for high-throughput screening and discoveries remain a challenge. Traditionally, simultaneous multiplexing of liquid handling and cell loading poses a challenge in the design of high-throughput MPS. Furthermore, although MPS for islet ß culture/testing have been developed, studies on multi-day culture of stem-cell derived ß cells in MPS have been limited. We present a scalable, multiplexed islet ß MPS device that incorporates microfluidic gradient generators to parallelize fluid handling for culture and test conditions. We demonstrated the viability and functionality of the stem cell-derived enriched ß clusters (eBCs) for a week, as assessed by the ∼2 fold insulin release by the clusters to glucose challenge. To show the scalable multiplexing for drug testing, we demonstrated the loss of stimulation index after long-term exposure to logarithmic concentration range of glybenclamide. The MPS cultured eBCs also confirmed a glycolytic bottleneck as inferred by insulin secretion responses to metabolites methyl succinate and glyceric acid. Thus, we present an innovative culture platform for eBCs with a balance of high-content and high-throughput characteristics.

Superporous agarose scaffolds for encapsulation of adult human islets and human stem-cell-derived ß cells for intravascular bioartificial pancreas applications.

Type 1 diabetic patients with severe hypoglycemia unawareness have benefitted from cellular therapies, such as pancreas or islet transplantation; however, donor shortage and the need for immunosuppression limits widespread clinical application. We previously developed an intravascular bioartificial pancreas (iBAP) using silicon nanopore membranes (SNM) for immunoprotection. To ensure ample nutrient delivery, the iBAP will need a cell scaffold with high hydraulic permeability to provide mechanical support and maintain islet viability and function. Here, we examine the feasibility of superporous agarose (SPA) as a potential cell scaffold in the iBAP. SPA exhibits 66-fold greater hydraulic permeability than the SNM along with a short (<10 µm) diffusion distance to the nearest islet. SPA also supports short-term functionality of both encapsulated human islets and stem-cell-derived enriched ß-clusters in a convection-based system, demonstrated by high viability (>95%) and biphasic insulin responses to dynamic glucose stimulus. These findings suggest that the SPA scaffold will not limit nutrient delivery in a convection-based bioartificial pancreas and merits continued investigation.

Loss of the transcription factor MAFB limits ß-cell derivation from human PSCs.

Next generation sequencing studies have highlighted discrepancies in ß-cells which exist between mice and men. Numerous reports have identified MAF BZIP Transcription Factor B (MAFB) to be present in human ß-cells postnatally, while its expression is restricted to embryonic and neo-natal ß-cells in mice. Using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing, coupled with endocrine cell differentiation strategies, we dissect the contribution of MAFB to ß-cell development and function specifically in humans. Here we report that MAFB knockout hPSCs have normal pancreatic differentiation capacity up to the progenitor stage, but favor somatostatin- and pancreatic polypeptide-positive cells at the expense of insulin- and glucagon-producing cells during endocrine cell development. Our results describe a requirement for MAFB late in the human pancreatic developmental program and identify it as a distinguishing transcription factor within islet cell subtype specification. We propose that hPSCs represent a powerful tool to model human pancreatic endocrine development and associated disease pathophysiology.