Figure 5. SC-β cells generated with the new planar protocol can rapidly cure pre-existing diabetes in mice.
(a) Diabetes was induced with STZ in a total of 30 mice. 4 weeks after injection, SC-β cells were transplanted underneath the kidney capsule of the mice (planar transplant, n = 12; suspension transplant, n = 6; human islet transplant, n = 5, no transplant, n = 7). Additionally, 5 non-STZ mice served as non-diabetic controls. Glucose tolerance tests were performed 3 and 10 weeks after transplantation. A nephrectomy was performed 36 weeks after transplantation on mice receiving planar and suspension SC-β cells. All STZ mice that did not receive a transplant died by week 29. (b) In vivo GSIS of mice receiving the planar SC-β cell transplants 2 and 10 weeks after transplantation measuring human insulin (paired two-sided t-tests, n = 12 for week 2, n = 11 for week 10). (c) Immunostaining of sectioned kidneys transplanted with SC-β cells generated with the planar protocol 3 weeks after transplantation showing endocrine cell markers. Scale bars = 100 μm. All data was generated with HUES8 using either the planar protocol outlined in Fig. 4a or the suspension protocol.5 All data is represented as the mean, and all error bars represent SEM. Individual data points are shown for all bar graphs. ns = not significant, * = p < 0.05, ** = p < 0.01, *** = p < 0.001.