Investigating the potential of sodium cromoglycate as a diabetes medication using iPS cells

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 22K20903
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0902:General internal medicine and related fields
• Research Institution: Louis Pasteur Center for Medical Research
• Principal Investigator: Kondo Yasushi 公益財団法人ルイ・パストゥール医学研究センター, その他部局等, 研究員 (20955538)
• Project Period (FY): 2022-08-31 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: NEUROGENIN-3 / 膵臓 / 糖尿病 / iPS細胞

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We identified sodium cromoglycate, which is used clinically as an anti-allergy medication, as a small molecule compound that promotes the differentiation of human iPS cells into pancreatic insulin-producing β-cell-like cells. It increased insulin (INS)-positive cells by promoting the differentiation of human iPS cell-derived pancreatic progenitor cells into endocrine progenitor cells (NEUROGENIN-3 (NGN3)-positive cells). The mechanism by which sodium cromoglycate promotes pancreatic development and differentiation of pancreatic endocrine progenitor cells (NGN3-positive cells) is still unknown. In this study, we produced a reporter human iPS cell line, NEUROGENIN-3(NGN3)-GFP iPS cell line, which expresses a fluorescent dye in correlation with NGN3, and investigated the detailed mechanism.

Free Research Field

再生医学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

移植医療への応用に向けて、ヒト幹細胞（ヒトES/iPS細胞）から膵細胞を製作する研究が盛んに進められている。しかし糖尿病を根治するような分化誘導法の確立は出来ていない、そのため糖尿病創薬の研究が望まれている。
本研究では、以前同定したクロモグリク酸ナトリウムが内分泌前駆細胞（NEUROGENIN-3 (NGN3)陽性細胞）への分化を促進するメカニズムをNGN3-GFP iPS cell lineを作製して解析出来たら糖尿病創薬の研究は前進すると考える。また標的遺伝子の解析を目的としたNGN3-GFP iPS cell lineを作製すれば解析ツールとして有用である。