Pluripotent stem cell-derived pancreatic β-cells: potential for regenerative medicine in diabetes

Diabetes mellitus, which affects 346 million people, is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Pancreatic β-cells, existing in the islets of Langerhans, play central roles in the progression of diabetes. An efficient strategy to produce functional pancreatic β-cells is important for both transplantation therapy and disease modeling of diabetes. Human pluripotent stem cells, including human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells, provide unlimited starting materials to generate differentiated cells for regenerative studies. Significant progress has been made in human embryonic/induced pluripotent stem cell differentiation in the last several years. However, efficient generation of mature pancreatic β-cells with complete functional capabilities has not yet been accomplished. Here, we review recent successes as well as the technical and theoretical challenges in the use of pluripotent stem cell-derived pancreatic β-cells for disease modeling and replacement therapy of diabetes.