In vitro differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells into functional alveolar cells: current strategies and limitations

IntroductionThousands of billions of dollars are annually spending in the world for managing lung disease. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) generation have opened up a new way for the cell and tissue replacement to treat a myriad of disease and disabilities including respiratory failures, as well as providing unprecedented opportunities for pharmaceutical applications. Research on directed differentiation of hiPSC to alveolar cells will provide new path towards a cure for presently incurable respiratory failures. However, due to the challenges of reprograming and differentiation methods, it has not yet found its place in regenerative medicine.MethodsHere various small molecules along with some growth factors have been screened in order to evaluate their ability on somatic cell reprogramming into the hiPSCs followed by in vitro differentiation of these cells into definitive endoderm and alveolar cells without current limitations on safety issues and low efficiency.ResultsWe could successfully generate and maintained hiPSCs using a cocktail of small molecules and differentiated them into definitive endoderm. We are now focus on Improving a Xeno-free approach to derive lung progenitor cells from endoderm. Our approach for efficient differentiation of hiPSCs into alveolar cells must be further assessed and analyze prior to the next step in moving them toward the clinical arena.ConclusionGeneration of three-dimensional lung alveolar cells in vitro using small molecule provides a renewable source of replacement cells for respiratory failures. Moreover, obtaining data sheds light on understanding how the lung develops that is necessary for disease modeling

کلیدواژه ها:

HiPSCs ، Alveolar cells ، Small molecules ، Differentiation ، Lung regenerative medicine