To determine the functionality of hESC-derived hepatocyte-like cells, tests for liver-specific metabolic functions were performed, frequently including storage of glycogen, albumin secretion and uptake and release of indocyanine green (ICG; reviewed in Baxter et al. 2010).
Similarly, Farzaneh et al. reported enhanced functionality of hESC-derived hepatocyte cells when hESCs were differentiated on Ultra-Web with stepwise introduction of chemical differentiation factors.
However, there have been fewer direct demonstrations of functional activities of hESC-derived neuronal cells.
In summary, we have demonstrated the directed neural differentiation of the UCO6 hESC line and characterized the functional maturation of hESC-derived neurons.
Finally, we wanted to ascertain whether the hypoxic preconditioning affected the neurogenic or functional potential of hESC-derived progenitor cells.
We investigated the use of hESC-derived SMPCs for tissue engineering applications [2], [3].
These findings have potential implications for survival and function of grafted hESC-derived cells.
First, it provides a detailed analysis of the phenotype, secretome and function (unraveling the mechanism of cell contraction) of hESC-derived SMCs at levels not documented before.
provide preclinical evidence that hESC-derived dopamine neurons are functionally equivalent to those derived from fetal tissue, supporting continued development of hESC-derived cells as a clinical approach for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.
Altogether, these factors contributed to the loss of bioluminescence imaging signals over time and the lack of long-term benefit in cardiac function, which is also consistent with recent findings based on transplantation of hESC-derived cardiomyocytes [25], [41].
