The joint research group of Osaka University and Rohto Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. has decided to use different types of basal membrane protein laminin, which are different from iPS cells, such as "neural crest cells", "corneal epithelial cells", and "multilayer including retinal and corneal cells". It was shown that differentiation can be selectively induced to "structure".
Since iPS cells proliferate indefinitely and can differentiate into various cells that make up our body, they are extremely useful cells for regenerative medicine and developmental research.So far, the research group has used a two-dimensional culture system that mimics the development of the entire eye from human iPS cells to induce multi-layered colonies containing various eye cells, and functional corneal epithelial tissue (iPS). We have succeeded in producing a corneal epithelial sheet). It has been reported that not only the culture medium but also laminin, which serves as a scaffold for cells, plays an important role in determining the fate of iPS cells, but the role of laminin in the development of SEAM is I didn't know.
Therefore, this time, the group studied the effect of scaffolding on iPS cells, and laminin 211 made iPS cells into neural crest cells, 332 into corneal epithelial cells, and 511 into multi-layered structures including retina and cornea. It was shown that they induce different cells.Furthermore, it was suggested that YAP (transcriptional conjugating factor) is involved in the formation process of multi-layered colonies that are the basis of iPS corneal epithelial sheet.
This result is expected to elucidate the fate determination control mechanism by the scaffold of iPS cells and the mechanism of ocular development, and to improve the efficiency of production of iPS corneal epithelial cells for practical use in corneal regenerative medicine.
Paper information:[Cell Reports] Selective Laminin-Directed Differentiation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells into Distinct Ocular Lineages
