The study of how human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) differentiate into insulin-producing beta cells has two-fold significance: first, it provides an in vitro model system for the study of human pancreatic development, and second, it serves as a platform for the ultimate production of beta cells for transplantation into patients with diabetes. The delineation of growth factor interactions regulating pancreas specification from hESCs in vitro is critical to achieving these goals. In this study, we describe the roles of growth factors bFGF, BMP4 and Activin A in early hESC fate determination. The entire differentiation process is carried out in serum-free chemically defined media (CDM) and results in reliable and robust induction of pancreatic endoderm cells, marked by PDX1, and cell clusters co-expressing markers characteristic of beta cells, including PDX1 and insulin/C-peptide. Varying the combinations of growth factors, we found that treatment of hESCs with bFGF, Activin A and BMP4 (FAB) together for 3 to 4 days resulted in strong induction of primitive-streak and definitive endoderm-associated genes, including MIXL1, GSC, SOX17 and FOXA2. Early proliferative foregut endoderm and pancreatic lineage cells marked by PDX1, FOXA2 and SOX9 expression are specified in EBs made from FAB-treated hESCs, but not from Activin A alone treated cells. Our results suggest that important tissue interactions occur in EB-based suspension culture that contribute to the complete induction of definitive endoderm and pancreas progenitors. Further differentiation occurs after EBs are embedded in Matrigel and cultured in serum-free media containing insulin, transferrin, selenium, FGF7, nicotinamide, islet neogenesis associated peptide (INGAP) and exendin-4, a long acting GLP-1 agonist. 21–28 days after embedding, PDX1 gene expression levels are comparable to those of human islets used for transplantation, and many PDX1+ clusters are formed. Almost all cells in PDX1+ clusters co-express FOXA2, HNF1ß, HNF6 and SOX9 proteins, and many cells also express CPA1, NKX6.1 and PTF1a. If cells are then switched to medium containing B27 and nicotinamide for 7 to 14 days, then the number of insulin+ cells increases markedly. Our study identifies a new chemically defined culture protocol for inducing endoderm- and pancreas-committed cells from hESCs and reveals an interplay between FGF, Activin A and BMP signaling in early hESC fate determination.

The drive to characterize functions of human genes on a global scale has stimulated interest in largescale generation of mouse mutants. Conventional germ-cell mutagenesis with N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) is compromised by an inability to monitor mutation efficiency, strain 1 and interlocus 2 variation in mutation induction, and extensive husbandry requirements. To overcome these obstacles and develop new methods for generating mouse mutants, we devised protocols to generate germline chi-maeric mice from embryonic stem (ES) cells heavily mutagenized with ethylmethanesulphonate (EMS). Germline chimaeras were derived from cultures that underwent a mutation rate of up to 1 in 1,200 at the Hprt locus (encoding hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyl transferase). The spectrum of mutations induced by EMS and the frameshift mutagen ICR191 was consistent with that observed in other mammalian cells. Chimaeras derived from ES cells treated with EMS transmitted mutations affecting several processes, including limb development, hair growth, hearing and gametogenesis. This technology affords several advantages over traditional mutagenesis, including the ability to conduct shortened breeding schemes and to screen for mutant phenotypes directly in ES cells or their differentiated derivatives.EMS induces predominantly point mutations in mammalian cells, causing null mutations at frequencies exceeding 1 in 1,000 cells 3-5 . We treated ES-cell cultures of genotypes 129/Sv and (129×C57BL/6J)F1 with increasing concentrations of EMS, then selected surviving cells in 6-thioguanine (6TG) to measure the mutation rate at the X-linked Hprt locus (Table 1; all three ES lines are XY). We observed mutation frequencies of up to 1 in 1,200, similar to those in Chinese hamster fibroblasts 4 .To investigate the mutational spectrum, we sequenced Hprt coding regions (amplified by RT-PCR) from clones resistant to 6TG. This revealed 17 classes of mutations (Table 2): 11 G→A transitions, 2 C→T transitions and 4 putative splicing mutations. This spectrum is typical of mammalian cells 4 . We also induced mutations with ICR191, which induces primarily +1 frameshifts in stretches of guanines 6 . Indeed, all 6TG-resistant clones we sequenced contained an additional guanine in a stretch of five or six guanines. Together with the characterization of ENU-induced mutations in ES cells in the accompanying paper 11 , we conclude that most mutagens will induce lesions in ES cells, consistent with other mammalian cell types.To determine if ES cells treated with EMS retain the ability to colonize the germ line, we injected surviving cells into blastocysts to create chimaeras. Germline chimaeras (24) were Correspondence should be addressed to J.C.S. (sjcs@jax.org). derived from both 129 and F1 hybrid ES cells exposed to a range of EMS treatments (Table 1). NIH Public AccessWe intercrossed G1 siblings from each of the four germline chimaeras derived from v6.4 cells (Hprt mutation rate=1/2,000) to generate offspring with recessive mutations (Fig. 1, left). Such...

Expression of the proendocrine gene neurogenin 3 (Ngn3) is required for the development of pancreatic islets. To better characterize the molecular events regulated by Ngn3 during development, we have determined the expression profiles of murine embryonic stem cells (mESCs) uniformly induced to overexpress Ngn3. An mESC line was created in order to induce Ngn3 by adding doxycycline to the culture medium. Genome-wide microarray analysis was performed to identify genes regulated by Ngn3 in a variety of contexts, including undifferentiated ESCs and differentiating embryoid bodies (EBs). Genes regulated by Ngn3 in a context-independent manner were identified and analyzed using systematic gene ontology tools. This analysis revealed Notch signaling as the most significantly regulated signaling pathway (p ‫؍‬ .009). This result is consistent with the hypothesis that Ngn3 expression makes the cell competent for Notch signaling to be activated and, conversely, more sensitive to Notch signaling inhibition. Indeed, EBs induced to express Ngn3 were significantly more sensitive to ␥-secretase inhibitormediated Notch signaling inhibition (p < .0001) when compared with uninduced EBs. Moreover, we find that Ngn3 induction in differentiating ESCs results in significant increases in insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin expression.

Human embryonic stem cells (HESCs) are a potential source of insulin-producing tissue for transplantation. Recent studies have begun to define factors that promote definitive endoderm formation from HESCs, but conditions permitting complete islet specification in vitro have not been described. Here, we study spontaneous differentiation of HESCs to definitive endoderm and pancreatic progenitor cells, and begin to determine which aspects of the protocol are required for this cell fate commitment. HESCs were differentiated in culture for up to 10 weeks, including an embryoid body (EB) formation step. Modifications to the protocol included elimination of the EB phase, varying initial cell cluster size when forming EBs, and addition of mesoderm-derived cells to EBs. Differentiated cells were analyzed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry. HESCs are capable of spontaneous differentiation to cells expressing the definitive endoderm and pancreatic progenitor markers Foxa2, Sox17, and Pdx1, and ultimately, some cells express islet endocrine hormones. This differentiation occurs to a much greater extent when an EB formation step is included. Increased expression of endoderm markers during and after EB formation also correlated strongly with the size of cell clusters used to start EBs, as well as the addition of mesoderm- derived embryonic cells. This study demonstrates that a subset of differentiated HESC progeny adopt an endoderm fate and exhibit the capacity for further pancreatic lineage specification in vitro. Basal conditions were established for examining factors that can commit HESC-derived endoderm cells to specific pancreatic lineages.