Mild electrical stimulation with heat shock guides differentiation of embryonic stem cells into Pdx1-expressing cells within the definitive endoderm

BACKGROUND: Because of the increasing number of diabetic patients, it is important to generate pancreatic and duodenal homeobox gene 1 (Pdx1)-expressing cells, which are capable of differentiating into pancreatic endocrine β cells. Mild electrical stimulation was reported to modulate the differentiation of ES cells into ectoderm-derived neuronal cells or mesoderm-derived cardiac cells. RESULTS: In this study, we report that mild electrical stimulation with heat shock (MET) potentiates the differentiation of ES cells into definitive endoderm-derived Pdx1-expressing cells. MET has no effect when applied to early definitive endoderm on differentiation day 5. A 1.87-fold increase in the proportion of Pdx1-expressing cells was observed when stimulation was applied to the late definitive endoderm one day prior to the immergence of Pdx1/GFP-expressing cells on differentiation day 7. Pdx1 mRNA was also up-regulated by MET. The potentiating effect of MET synergized with activin and basic fibroblast growth factor into Pdx1-expressing cells. Moreover, MET stimulation on late definitive endoderm up-regulated heat shock protein 72 and activated various kinases including Akt, extracellular signal-regulated kinase, p38, and c-jun NH(2)-terminal kinase in ES cells. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that MET induces the differentiation of Pdx1-expressing cells within the definitive endoderm in a time-dependent manner, and suggest useful application for regenerative medicine. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12896-017-0331-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.