aHDF- and PB-iPSC clones from the same individuals

Hepatocytes generated from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) are unprecedented resources for pharmaceuticals and cell therapy. However, little attention has so far been paid to variations among hiPSC lines in terms of their hepatic differentiation. We developed an improved hepatic differentiation protocol and compared multiple hiPSC lines. This comparison indicated that the hepatic differentiation propensity varies among sibling hiPSC clones derived from the same adult human dermal fibroblasts (aHDFs). In addition, hiPSC clones derived from peripheral blood cells (PB-iPSCs) consistently showed good hepatic differentiation efficiency, whereas many hiPSC clones from adult dermal fibroblasts (aHDF-iPSCs) showed poor hepatic differentiation. However, when we compared hiPSCs from blood and dermal fibroblasts from the same individuals, we found that variations in hepatic differentiation were largely attributable to donor differences, rather than to the types of the original cells. In order to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the observed variations in hepatic differentiation, we performed microarray analyses of sibling aHDF-iPSC clones, and aHDF- and PB-iPSC clones from the same individuals. Undifferentiated aHDF- and PB-iPSCs from the same individuals (two Parkinson’s disease patients (PD #1 and PD #2) and one adult healthy donor (donor91))