Research On Selenium In Promotion Of The Differentiation Of Insulin-Producing Cells From Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells

Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent cell lines established from the inner cell mass of blastocyst stage embryos or the gonadal region of fetuses.Selenium improves the efficiency of the therapy of diabetes mellitus.However, it is no reported so yet that selenium may be applied to induce insulin-producing cells derived from embryonic stem cells. Therefore, this study will aim at explaining whether or not selenium promotes the differentiation of insulin-producing cells from mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. Methods: Mouse embryonic stem cells were cultured in suspension for 7 days to generate embryonic bodies (EB). The EBs were transferred to gelatin-coated Petri-dish and cultured in differentiation medium 1 for 6 days, and then change to differentiation medium 2 for another 6 days. Finally, the EBs were further induced in a medium supplemented with various concentrations of selenium sodium for 20 days. The insulin-producing cell clusters(IPCCs)were stained with dithizone (DTZ) and the results were conducted image analysis. Insulin-release detection was conducted by ELISA. mRNA expression of genes related to ES cell differentiation and insulin-production were analyzed by RT-PCR. Results: DTZ-positive IPCCs were increased significantly after treatment with selenium sodium and reach a summit at the concentration of 270 μmol/L. Insulin-releasing detection also showed the largest number of insulin-releasing cells in the same group. This was further confirmed by RT-PCR analysis, indicating the expression of genes related to ES cell differentiation and insulin production. Conclusion: Selenium sodium can promote ES cell differentiation into pancreatic islet cells.