Presented At: Gibco - 24 Hours of Stem Cells Virtual Event
Presented By:
Essam Abdelalim - Scientist, Diabetes Research Center - QBRI, and Assistant Professor, College of Science and Engineering, HBKU
Speaker Biography:
Dr. Essam M. Abdelalim is a scientist at QBRI and Assistant Professor at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU). He received his Ph.D. in Medical Science from Shiga University of Medical Science, Japan, and was later appointed as Assistant Professor in the same university. He was awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS), where he identified novel genes involved in maintaining pluripotency and self-renewal of embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Since April 2014, Dr. Abdelalim has been leading the stem cell team focusing on diabetes at QBRI/HBKU.
Webinar:
Efficient generation of pancreatic β cell precursors from human pluripotent stem cells
Webinar Abstract:
Pancreatic β cell replacement therapy is considered as a potential strategy to treat diabetes. To date, transplantation of pancreatic islets from cadavers is the most effective approach for treating diabetic patients, but this approach has limitations in terms of the necessity of strong immunosuppressive drugs and the shortage of donors. Alternatively, human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), including human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and hiPSCs, can be differentiated into insulin-secreting β cells that have a great potential to treat diabetes. However, generation of functional β cells similar to those present naturally in the pancreas is, so far, a work in progress. Indeed, few studies reported the generation of functional β cells from hPSCs, but those cells were low in efficiency and functionality, creating a major obstacle to the use of these cells for cellular therapy. Recent progress showed that patients with diabetes could be transplanted with hPSC-derived pancreatic progenitors co-expressing the two transcription factors (TFs), PDX1 and NKX6.1. Those progenitors are known as the precursors of functional pancreatic β cells.; therefore, after their transplantation, they are converted into functional insulin-secreting β cells inside patient’s body. Recently, we have established an efficient protocol for maximizing generation of PDX1+/NKX6.1+ pancreatic progenitors from hPSCs. We enhanced the generation of PDX1+/NKX6.1+ population, by manipulating in vitro culture conditions.
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