A Peninsular Structure Coordinates Asynchronous Differentiation with Morphogenesis to Generate Pancreatic Islets.

The pancreatic islets of Langerhans regulate glucose homeostasis. The loss of insulin-producing ß cells within islets results in diabetes, and islet transplantation from cadaveric donors can cure the disease. In vitro production of whole islets, not just ß cells, will benefit from a better understanding of endocrine differentiation and islet morphogenesis. We used single-cell mRNA sequencing to obtain a detailed description of pancreatic islet development. Contrary to the prevailing dogma, we find islet morphology and endocrine differentiation to be directly related. As endocrine progenitors differentiate, they migrate in cohesion and form bud-like islet precursors, or "peninsulas" (literally "almost islands"). α cells, the first to develop, constitute the peninsular outer layer, and ß cells form later, beneath them. This spatiotemporal collinearity leads to the typical core-mantle architecture of the mature, spherical islet. Finally, we induce peninsula-like structures in differentiating human embryonic stem cells, laying the ground for the generation of entire islets in vitro.

Temporal modelling using single-cell transcriptomics.

Methods for profiling genes at the single-cell level have revolutionized our ability to study several biological processes and systems including development, differentiation, response programmes and disease progression. In many of these studies, cells are profiled over time in order to infer dynamic changes in cell states and types, sets of expressed genes, active pathways and key regulators. However, time-series single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) also raises several new analysis and modelling issues. These issues range from determining when and how deep to profile cells, linking cells within and between time points, learning continuous trajectories, and integrating bulk and single-cell data for reconstructing models of dynamic networks. In this Review, we discuss several approaches for the analysis and modelling of time-series scRNA-seq, highlighting their steps, key assumptions, and the types of data and biological questions they are most appropriate for.

3D model of mouse embryonic pancreas and endocrine compartment using stem cell-derived mesoderm and pancreatic progenitors.

The developing mouse pancreas is surrounded by mesoderm compartments providing signals that induce pancreas formation. Most pancreatic organoid protocols lack this mesoderm niche and only partially capture the pancreatic cell repertoire. This work aims to generate pancreatic aggregates by differentiating mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) into mesoderm progenitors (MPs) and pancreas progenitors (PPs), without using Matrigel. First, mESCs were differentiated into epiblast stem cells (EpiSCs) to enhance the PP differentiation rate. Next, PPs and MPs aggregated together giving rise to various pancreatic cell types, including endocrine, acinar, and ductal cells, and to endothelial cells. Single-cell RNA sequencing analysis revealed a larger endocrine population within the PP + MP aggregates, as compared to PPs alone or PPs in Matrigel aggregates. The PP + MP aggregate gene expression signatures and its endocrine population percentage closely resembled those of the endocrine population found in the mouse embryonic pancreas, which holds promise for studying pancreas development.

Matters arising: Insufficient evidence that pancreatic ß cells are derived from adult ductal Neurog3-expressing progenitors.

Understanding the origin of pancreatic ß cells has profound implications for regenerative therapies in diabetes. For over a century, it was widely held that adult pancreatic duct cells act as endocrine progenitors, but lineage-tracing experiments challenged this dogma. Gribben et al. recently used two existing lineage-tracing models and single-cell RNA sequencing to conclude that adult pancreatic ducts contain endocrine progenitors that differentiate to insulin-expressing ß cells at a physiologically important rate. We now offer an alternative interpretation of these experiments. Our data indicate that the two Cre lines that were used directly label adult islet somatostatin-producing ∂ cells, which precludes their use to assess whether ß cells originate from duct cells. Furthermore, many labeled ∂ cells, which have an elongated neuron-like shape, were likely misclassified as ß cells because insulin-somatostatin coimmunolocalizations were not used. We conclude that most evidence so far indicates that endocrine and exocrine lineage borders are rarely crossed in the adult pancreas.

Molecular and functional characterizations of gastrula organizer cells derived from human embryonic stem cells.

The Spemann-Mangold organizer is the structure that provides the signals, which initiate pattern formation in the developing vertebrate embryo, affecting the main body axes. Very little is known about axial induction in the gastrulating human embryo, as research is hindered by obvious ethical restrictions. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are pluripotent cells derived from the pregastrula embryo that can differentiate in culture following a program similar to normal embryonic development but without pattern formation. Here, we show that in hESC-derived embryoid bodies, we can induce differentiation of cells that harbor markers and characteristics of the gastrula-organizer. Moreover, genetic labeling of these cells enabled their purification, and the discovery of a comprehensive set of their secreted proteins, cell surface receptors, and nuclear factors characteristic of the organizer. Remarkably, transplantation of cell populations enriched for the putative human organizer into frog embryos induced a secondary axis. Our research demonstrates that the human organizer can be induced in vitro and paves the way for the study of pattern formation and the initial regulation of body axis establishment in humans.

Morphogenesis of the Islets of Langerhans Is Guided by Extraendocrine Slit2 and Slit3 Signals.

The spatial architecture of the islets of Langerhans is vitally important for their correct function, and alterations in islet morphogenesis often result in diabetes mellitus. We have previously reported that Roundabout (Robo) receptors are required for proper islet morphogenesis. As part of the Slit-Robo signaling pathway, Robo receptors function in conjunction with Slit ligands to mediate axon guidance, cell migration, and cell positioning in development. However, the role of Slit ligands in islet morphogenesis has not yet been determined. Here, we report that Slit ligands are expressed in overlapping and distinct patterns in both endocrine and nonendocrine tissues in late pancreas development. We show that the function of either Slit2 or Slit3, which are predominantly expressed in the pancreatic mesenchyme, is required and sufficient for islet morphogenesis, while Slit1, which is predominantly expressed in the ß cells, is dispensable for islet morphogenesis. We further show that Slit functions as a repellent signal to ß cells. These data suggest that clustering of endocrine cells during islet morphogenesis is guided, at least in part, by repelling Slit2/3 signals from the pancreatic mesenchyme.

Wnt Signaling Separates the Progenitor and Endocrine Compartments during Pancreas Development.

In vitro differentiation of pluripotent cells into ß cells is a promising alternative to cadaveric-islet transplantation as a cure for type 1 diabetes (T1D). During the directed differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCS) by exogenous factors, numerous genes that affect the differentiation process are turned on and off autonomously. Manipulating these reactions could increase the efficiency of differentiation and provide a more complete control over the final composition of cell populations. To uncover in vitro autonomous responses, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing on hESCs as they differentiate in spherical clusters. We observed that endocrine cells and their progenitors exist beside one another in separate compartments that activate distinct genetic pathways. WNT pathway inhibition in the endocrine domain of the differentiating clusters reveals a necessary role for the WNT inhibitor APC during islet formation in vivo. Accordingly, WNT inhibition in vitro causes an increase in the proportion of differentiated endocrine cells.

DUXO, a novel double homeobox transcription factor, is a regulator of the gastrula organizer in human embryonic stem cells.

Human embryonic stem cells differentiate into gastrula organizer cells that express typical markers and induce secondary axes when injected into frog embryos. Here, we report that these human organizer cells express DUXO (DUX of the Organizer), a novel member of the double-homeobox (DUX) family of transcription factors, a group of genes unique to placental mammals. Both of DUXO's homeodomains share high similarity with those of Siamois and Twin, the initial inducers of the amphibian gastrula organizer. DUXO overexpression in human embryoid bodies induces organizer related genes, whereas its knock down hampers formation of the organizer and its derivatives. Finally, we show that DUXO regulates GOOSECOID, the canonical organizer marker, in a direct manner, suggesting that DUXO is a major regulator of human organizer formation.

Molecular analysis of LEFTY-expressing cells in early human embryoid bodies.

Human ESCs (HESCs) are self-renewing pluripotent cell lines that are derived from the inner cell mass of blastocyst-stage embryos. These cells can produce terminally differentiated cells representing the three embryonic germ layers. We thus hypothesized that during the course of in vitro differentiation of HESCs, progenitor-like cells are transiently formed. We demonstrated that LEFTY proteins, which are known to play a major role during mouse gastrulation, are transiently expressed during HESC differentiation. Moreover, LEFTY proteins seemed to be exclusively expressed by a certain population of cells in the early human embryoid bodies that does not overlap with the population expressing the ESC marker OCT4. We also showed that LEFTY expression is regulated at the cellular transcription level by molecular labeling of LEFTY-positive cells. A DNA microarray analysis of LEFTY-overexpressing cells revealed a signature of cell surface markers such as CADHERIN 2 and 11. Expression of LEFTY controlled by NODAL appears to have a substantial role in mesodermal origin cell population establishment, since inhibition of NODAL activity downregulated expression not only of LEFTY A and LEFTY B but also of BRACHYURY, an early mesodermal marker. In addition, other mesodermal lineage-related genes were downregulated, and this was accompanied by an upregulation in ectoderm-related genes. We propose that during the initial step of HESC differentiation, mesoderm progenitor-like cells appear via activation of the NODAL pathway. Our analysis suggests that in vitro differentiation of HESCs can model early events in human development.