Scale up manufacturing approach for production of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived islets using Vertical Wheel® bioreactors

Abstract Advanced protocols show potential for human stem cells (SC)-derived islets generation under planar (2D) alone or three-dimensional (3D) cultures, but show challenges in scalability, cell loss, and batch-to-batch consistency. This study explores Vertical Wheel (VW)® bioreactor suspension tec...

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Main Authors: Nidheesh Dadheech, Mario Bermúdez de León, Zofia Czarnecka, Nerea Cuesta-Gomez, Ila Tewari Jasra, Rena Pawlick, Braulio Marfil-Garza, Sandhya Sapkota, Kevin Verhoeff, Haide Razavy, Perveen Anwar, Abhineet Singh, Nilanjan Ray, Doug O’ Gorman, Glen Jickling, James Lyon, Patrick MacDonald, A. M. James Shapiro
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-05-01
Series:npj Regenerative Medicine
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41536-025-00409-y
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author Nidheesh Dadheech
Mario Bermúdez de León
Zofia Czarnecka
Nerea Cuesta-Gomez
Ila Tewari Jasra
Rena Pawlick
Braulio Marfil-Garza
Sandhya Sapkota
Kevin Verhoeff
Haide Razavy
Perveen Anwar
Abhineet Singh
Nilanjan Ray
Doug O’ Gorman
Glen Jickling
James Lyon
Patrick MacDonald
A. M. James Shapiro
author_facet Nidheesh Dadheech
Mario Bermúdez de León
Zofia Czarnecka
Nerea Cuesta-Gomez
Ila Tewari Jasra
Rena Pawlick
Braulio Marfil-Garza
Sandhya Sapkota
Kevin Verhoeff
Haide Razavy
Perveen Anwar
Abhineet Singh
Nilanjan Ray
Doug O’ Gorman
Glen Jickling
James Lyon
Patrick MacDonald
A. M. James Shapiro
author_sort Nidheesh Dadheech
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Advanced protocols show potential for human stem cells (SC)-derived islets generation under planar (2D) alone or three-dimensional (3D) cultures, but show challenges in scalability, cell loss, and batch-to-batch consistency. This study explores Vertical Wheel (VW)® bioreactor suspension technology to differentiate islets from human induced pluripotent stem cells, achieving uniform, transcriptionally mature, and functional SC-islets. A 5x increase in scale from 0.1 L to 0.5 L reactors resulted in a 12-fold (15,005–183,002) increase in islet equivalent count (IEQ) without compromising islet structure. SC-islets show enriched β-cell composition (~63% CPPT+NKX6.1+ISL1+), glucose responsive insulin release (3.9–6.1-fold increase), and reversed diabetes in STZ-treated mice. Single cell RNA sequencing and flowcytometry analysis confirmed transcriptional maturity and functional identity, similar to adult islets. Lastly, harvested SC-islet grafts demonstrate improved islet functionality and mature transcriptomic signatures. Overall, scale-up in VW® bioreactor technology enhances IEQ yield with minimal variability and reduced cell loss, offering a pathway for clinical-grade SC-islet production.
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spelling doaj-art-dbc52a3c4da44c108ccb7b2632f059662025-08-20T02:39:03ZengNature Portfolionpj Regenerative Medicine2057-39952025-05-0110112310.1038/s41536-025-00409-yScale up manufacturing approach for production of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived islets using Vertical Wheel® bioreactorsNidheesh Dadheech0Mario Bermúdez de León1Zofia Czarnecka2Nerea Cuesta-Gomez3Ila Tewari Jasra4Rena Pawlick5Braulio Marfil-Garza6Sandhya Sapkota7Kevin Verhoeff8Haide Razavy9Perveen Anwar10Abhineet Singh11Nilanjan Ray12Doug O’ Gorman13Glen Jickling14James Lyon15Patrick MacDonald16A. M. James Shapiro17Alberta Diabetes Institute, University of AlbertaCentro de Investigación Biomédica del Noreste, Departamento de Biología Molecular, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro SocialAlberta Diabetes Institute, University of AlbertaAlberta Diabetes Institute, University of AlbertaAlberta Diabetes Institute, University of AlbertaAlberta Diabetes Institute, University of AlbertaAlberta Diabetes Institute, University of AlbertaAlberta Diabetes Institute, University of AlbertaAlberta Diabetes Institute, University of AlbertaAlberta Diabetes Institute, University of AlbertaAlberta Diabetes Institute, University of AlbertaDepartment of Computing Science, University of AlbertaDepartment of Computing Science, University of AlbertaClinical Islet Transplant Program, University of AlbertaDepartment of Medicine, University of AlbertaAlberta Diabetes Institute, University of AlbertaAlberta Diabetes Institute, University of AlbertaAlberta Diabetes Institute, University of AlbertaAbstract Advanced protocols show potential for human stem cells (SC)-derived islets generation under planar (2D) alone or three-dimensional (3D) cultures, but show challenges in scalability, cell loss, and batch-to-batch consistency. This study explores Vertical Wheel (VW)® bioreactor suspension technology to differentiate islets from human induced pluripotent stem cells, achieving uniform, transcriptionally mature, and functional SC-islets. A 5x increase in scale from 0.1 L to 0.5 L reactors resulted in a 12-fold (15,005–183,002) increase in islet equivalent count (IEQ) without compromising islet structure. SC-islets show enriched β-cell composition (~63% CPPT+NKX6.1+ISL1+), glucose responsive insulin release (3.9–6.1-fold increase), and reversed diabetes in STZ-treated mice. Single cell RNA sequencing and flowcytometry analysis confirmed transcriptional maturity and functional identity, similar to adult islets. Lastly, harvested SC-islet grafts demonstrate improved islet functionality and mature transcriptomic signatures. Overall, scale-up in VW® bioreactor technology enhances IEQ yield with minimal variability and reduced cell loss, offering a pathway for clinical-grade SC-islet production.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41536-025-00409-y
spellingShingle Nidheesh Dadheech
Mario Bermúdez de León
Zofia Czarnecka
Nerea Cuesta-Gomez
Ila Tewari Jasra
Rena Pawlick
Braulio Marfil-Garza
Sandhya Sapkota
Kevin Verhoeff
Haide Razavy
Perveen Anwar
Abhineet Singh
Nilanjan Ray
Doug O’ Gorman
Glen Jickling
James Lyon
Patrick MacDonald
A. M. James Shapiro
Scale up manufacturing approach for production of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived islets using Vertical Wheel® bioreactors
npj Regenerative Medicine
title Scale up manufacturing approach for production of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived islets using Vertical Wheel® bioreactors
title_full Scale up manufacturing approach for production of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived islets using Vertical Wheel® bioreactors
title_fullStr Scale up manufacturing approach for production of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived islets using Vertical Wheel® bioreactors
title_full_unstemmed Scale up manufacturing approach for production of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived islets using Vertical Wheel® bioreactors
title_short Scale up manufacturing approach for production of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived islets using Vertical Wheel® bioreactors
title_sort scale up manufacturing approach for production of human induced pluripotent stem cell derived islets using vertical wheel r bioreactors
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41536-025-00409-y
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