Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited

Riken Corporation

Hidetaka Suga

Yoshiki Sasai

Chikafumi Ozone

The invention provides a method for inducing adenohypophysis or precursor tissue thereof in vitro from human pluripotent stem cells. The method includes culturing an aggregate of human pluripotent stem cells in suspension in a medium containing a bone morphogenetic protein signal transduction pathway activating substance and a substance acting on the Shh signal pathway to obtain a human cell aggregate containing a hypothalamus neuroepithelial tissue and a surface ectoderm, and further culturing the obtained human cell aggregate containing the hypothalamus neuroepithelial tissue and the surface ectoderm in suspension in a medium containing a bone morphogenetic protein signal transduction pathway activating substance and a substance acting on the Shh signal pathway to induce formation of hypophysial placode and/or Rathke's pouch in the surface ectoderm, thus obtaining a human cell aggregate containing 1) hypothalamus neuroepithelial tissue, and 2) hypophysial placode and/or Rathke's pouch.

Method for producing adenohypophysis or precursor tissue thereof

The present invention provides a method of obtaining aggregates containing a rostral hypothalamus tissue and a rostral head ectodermal tissue, a hypophysis precursor tissue and a hypophysis hormone producing cell, by using a serum-free medium (preferably substantially free of growth factor and insulins), forming homogeneous aggregates of stem cells from pluripotent stem cells such as ES cell and the like, which are plated at a high cell concentration, and subjecting the formed aggregates to floating-culture.

Method for producing hypophysis precursor tissue

Method for culturing stem cell

The present invention provides a method for inducing adenohypophysis or precursor tissue thereof in vitro from human pluripotent stem cells. The method includes culturing an aggregate of human pluripotent stem cells in suspension in a medium containing a bone morphogenetic protein signal transduction pathway activating substance and a substance acting on the Shh signal pathway to obtain a human cell aggregate containing a hypothalamus neuroepithelial tissue and a surface ectoderm, and further culturing the obtained human cell aggregate containing the hypothalamus neuroepithelial tissue and the surface ectoderm in suspension in a medium containing a bone morphogenetic protein signal transduction pathway activating substance and a substance acting on the Shh signal pathway to induce formation of hypophysial placode and/or Rathke's pouch in the surface ectoderm, thus obtaining a human cell aggregate containing 1) hypothalamus neuroepithelial tissue, and 2) hypophysial placode and/or Rathke's pouch.

Growing community of inventors

Wako, Japan

Hidetaka Suga