Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) offer the potential to generate large numbers of functional cardiomyocytes from clonal and patient-specific cell sources. Here we show that temporal modulation of Wnt signaling is both essential and sufficient for efficient cardiac induction in hPSCs under defined, growth factor-free conditions. shRNA knockdown of β-catenin during the initial stage of hPSC differentiation fully blocked cardiomyocyte specification, whereas glycogen synthase kinase 3 inhibition at this point enhanced cardiomyocyte generation. Furthermore, sequential treatment of hPSCs with glycogen synthase kinase 3 inhibitors followed by inducible expression of β-catenin shRNA or chemical inhibitors of Wnt signaling produced a high yield of virtually (up to 98%) pure functional human cardiomyocytes from multiple hPSC lines. The robust ability to generate functional cardiomyocytes under defined, growth factor-free conditions solely by genetic or chemically mediated manipulation of a single developmental pathway should facilitate scalable production of cardiac cells suitable for research and regenerative applications.

Lippmann et al. present a protocol for differentiating human pluripotent stem cells into blood-brain barrier endothelial cells. The cells should be useful for studying this endothelial barrier, including screening for drugs that can cross from the blood to the brain. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is crucial to the health of the brain and is often compromised in neurological disease. Moreover, because of its barrier properties, this endothelial interface restricts uptake of neurotherapeutics. Thus, a renewable source of human BBB endothelium could spur brain research and pharmaceutical development. Here we show that endothelial cells derived from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) acquire BBB properties when co-differentiated with neural cells that provide relevant cues, including those involved in Wnt/β-catenin signaling. The resulting endothelial cells have many BBB attributes, including well-organized tight junctions, appropriate expression of nutrient transporters and polarized efflux transporter activity. Notably, they respond to astrocytes, acquiring substantial barrier properties as measured by transendothelial electrical resistance (1,450 ± 140 Ω cm2), and they possess molecular permeability that correlates well with in vivo rodent blood-brain transfer coefficients.

Blood-brain barrier (BBB) models are often used to investigate BBB function and screen brain-penetrating therapeutics, but it has been difficult to construct a human model that possesses an optimal BBB phenotype and is readily scalable. To address this challenge, we developed a human in vitro BBB model comprising brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs), pericytes, astrocytes and neurons derived from renewable cell sources. First, retinoic acid (RA) was used to substantially enhance BBB phenotypes in human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived BMECs, particularly through adherens junction, tight junction, and multidrug resistance protein regulation. RA-treated hPSC-derived BMECs were subsequently co-cultured with primary human brain pericytes and human astrocytes and neurons derived from human neural progenitor cells (NPCs) to yield a fully human BBB model that possessed significant tightness as measured by transendothelial electrical resistance (~5,000[emsp14][OHgr]xcm2). Overall, this scalable human BBB model may enable a wide range of neuroscience studies.

Human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived endothelial cells and their progenitors may provide the means for vascularization of tissue-engineered constructs and can serve as models to study vascular development and disease. Here, we report a method to efficiently produce endothelial cells from hPSCs via GSK3 inhibition and culture in defined media to direct hPSC differentiation to CD34(+)CD31(+) endothelial progenitors. Exogenous vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) treatment was dispensable, and endothelial progenitor differentiation was β-catenin dependent. Furthermore, by clonal analysis, we showed that CD34(+)CD31(+)CD117(+)TIE-2(+) endothelial progenitors were multipotent, capable of differentiating into calponin-expressing smooth muscle cells and CD31(+)CD144(+)vWF(+)I-CAM1(+) endothelial cells. These endothelial cells were capable of 20 population doublings, formed tube-like structures, imported acetylated low-density lipoprotein, and maintained a dynamic barrier function. This study provides a rapid and efficient method for production of hPSC-derived endothelial progenitors and endothelial cells and identifies WNT/β-catenin signaling as a primary regulator for generating vascular cells from hPSCs.

The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is critical in maintaining a physical and metabolic barrier between the blood and the brain. The BBB consists of brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs) that line the brain vasculature and combine with astrocytes, neurons and pericytes to form the neurovascular unit. We hypothesized that astrocytes and neurons generated from human‐induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) could induce BBB phenotypes in iPSC‐derived BMECs, creating a robust multicellular human BBB model. To this end, iPSCs were used to form neural progenitor‐like EZ‐spheres, which were in turn differentiated to neurons and astrocytes, enabling facile neural cell generation. The iPSC‐derived astrocytes and neurons induced barrier tightening in primary rat BMECs indicating their BBB inductive capacity. When co‐cultured with human iPSC‐derived BMECs, the iPSC‐derived neurons and astrocytes significantly elevated trans‐endothelial electrical resistance, reduced passive permeability, and improved tight junction continuity in the BMEC cell population, while p‐glycoprotein efflux transporter activity was unchanged. A physiologically relevant neural cell mixture of one neuron: three astrocytes yielded optimal BMEC induction properties. Finally, an isogenic multicellular BBB model was successfully demonstrated employing BMECs, astrocytes, and neurons from the same donor iPSC source. It is anticipated that such an isogenic facsimile of the human BBB could have applications in furthering understanding the cellular interplay of the neurovascular unit in both healthy and diseased humans. image Read the Editorial Highlight for this article on page 843.