Washington University School of Medicine Professor | Diabetes Researcher | Stem Cell Biologist | Bioengineer | Inventor | STEM Educator | Former MIT & Harvard | Former Biotech VP | https://sites.wustl.edu/millmanlab/
Dr. Jeffrey Millman
Single-cell and multi-omic analyses revealed that cytoskeletal remodeling alters Activin/Nodal, BMP, c-Jun, WNT, and retinoic acid signaling, ultimately improving pancreatic progenitor specification.
Dr. Jeffrey Millman
The study highlights a fundamental principle: cytoskeletal state helps determine how pluripotent stem cells interpret developmental signals and choose cell fates.
SC-islets generated with this method contained β cells with more mature molecular signatures and improved functional performance. Small changes early in differentiation can have lasting effects weeks later.
How important are the first 24 hours of differentiation? Very. We found that transient treatment with latrunculin A accelerated exit from pluripotency and reshaped developmental signaling pathways that influence pancreatic fate decisions.
Some stem cell lines struggle to reliably generate pancreatic islets. This approach rescued previously inconsistent differentiations and restored robust endocrine cell formation.
n diabetic mice, SC-islets generated using this strategy rapidly restored normoglycemia, approaching the performance of primary human islets.
The result: more insulin-producing β cells, fewer off-target enterochromaffin cells, improved insulin content, and stronger glucose-stimulated insulin secretion across multiple hPSC lines. #CellTherapy #T1D
🚨We have published our latest differentiation strategy for #stemcell derived islets. By depolymerizing F-actin at the beginning of differentiation, we enhanced β-cell formation, function, and safety for #diabetes cell therapy. 🧵below www.nature.com/articles/s41...
