Live Cell Monitoring and Enrichment of Stem Cell‐Derived β Cells Using Intracellular Zinc Content as a Population Marker

Our laboratory and others have developed protocols to generate glucose‐responsive stem cell–derived β cells in vitro. The cells resulting from these protocols could supplement or replace the use of human cadaveric islets for cell‐based therapy for diabetes. The combination of an unlimited supply of pluripotent stem cell–derived β cells and gene‐editing approaches will facilitate numerous in vitro studies not possible with cadaveric islets. Here, we describe a protocol for fluorescent labeling and isolation of stem cell–derived β cells. This purification of SC‐β cells is based on intracellular zinc content and is a simple method to complement other approaches for generating and assaying these cells. © 2019 The Authors. Basic Protocol: Fluorescent labeling and isolation of stem cell‐derived β cells