AUTHOR=Velazco-Cruz Leonardo , Goedegebuure Madeleine M. , Millman Jeffrey R. 

TITLE=Advances Toward Engineering Functionally Mature Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived β Cells

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bioengineering-and-biotechnology/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2020.00786

DOI=10.3389/fbioe.2020.00786

ISSN=2296-4185

ABSTRACT=<p>Human stem cell-derived β (SC-β) cells have the potential to revolutionize diabetes treatment through disease modeling, drug screening, and cellular therapy. SC-β cells are likely to represent an early clinical translation of differentiated human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC). In 2014, two groups generated the first <italic>in vitro</italic>-differentiated glucose-responsive SC-β cells, but their functional maturation at the time was low. This review will discuss recent advances in the engineering of SC-β cells to understand and improve SC-β cell differentiation and functional maturation, particularly new differentiation strategies achieving dynamic glucose-responsive insulin secretion with rapid correction to normoglycemia when transplanted into diabetic mice.</p>