A prioritized medium-throughput screen identifies fibroblast growth factors as protective for human stem cell derived insulin secreting beta cells

FGF4, FGF5, FGF8F, FGF19, and FGF21 significantly enhance survival of human stem cell-derived insulin-secreting beta cells, with FGF4 and FGF5 showing the strongest effects.

• Why it matters: Improving the survival of SCbeta cells is crucial for their use in cell replacement therapy for type 1 diabetes, addressing the challenge of cell stress and death in complex microtissues.
• What they did: A multi-omics approach identified ligand-receptor pairs, leading to a high-content, medium-throughput screen of 100 ligands, tracking cell number, death, and insulin production over days.
• The result: FGF family members notably prevented cytokine-induced cell death, offering targetable pathways to enhance SCbeta cell viability and facilitate the development of more effective cell therapies.