Abstract
An unlimited source of human pancreatic β cells is in high demand. Even with recent advances in pancreatic differentiation from human pluripotent stem cells, major hurdles remain in large-scale and cost-effective production of functional β cells. Here, through chemical screening, we demonstrate that the bromodomain and extraterminal domain (BET) inhibitor I-BET151 can robustly promote the expansion of PDX1+NKX6.1+ pancreatic progenitors (PPs). These expandable PPs (ePPs) maintain pancreatic progenitor cell status in the long term and can efficiently differentiate into functional pancreatic β (ePP-β) cells. Notably, transplantation of ePP-β cells rapidly ameliorated diabetes in mice, suggesting strong potential for cell replacement therapy. Mechanistically, I-BET151 activates Notch signaling and promotes the expression of key PP-associated genes, underscoring the importance of epigenetic and transcriptional modulations for lineage-specific progenitor self-renewal. In summary, our studies achieve the long-term goal of robust expansion of PPs and represent a substantial step toward unlimited supplies of functional β cells for biomedical research and regenerative medicine.