Variation in Hematopoietic Potential of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Lines

Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells were originally generated from somatic cells by ectopic expression of four transcription factor genes: Oct3/4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc. Currently, iPS cell lines differ in tissue origin, the combination of factors used to construct them, the method of gene delivery and expression of pluripotency markers. Thus to evaluate iPS cells for haematotherapy, the hematopoietic potential among iPS lines should be compared. Here, we compare differentiation capacity of six iPS lines into mesodermal cells and hematopoietic cells (HCs) through embryoid body (EB) formation. We show that the mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF)-derived iPS lines 20D17 and 178B5 resemble CCE ES cells in terms of morphology in culture, number and size of EBs and differentiation capacity into mesodermal cells compared to iPS cells derived from adults, although all iPS lines could form EBs. The number of mesodermal cells differentiated from MEF-derived iPS cell lines showed a 3.9-407-fold increase compared to that from iPS lines derived from adults. Furthermore, 178B5 iPS cells generated Ter119⁺ erythroid cells (3.35%) efficiently in culture. We conclude that hematopoietic potential differs among the six lines and that MEF-derived 20D17 and 178B5 iPS cells generate HCs more efficiently than adult-derived iPS cells.