Chee Gee Liew, Nadia N. Shah, Sarah J. Briston, Ruth M. Shepherd, Cheen Peen Khoo, Mark J. Dunne, Harry D. Moore, Karen E. Cosgrove, Peter W. Andrews

Human embryonic stem cells (HESC) readily differentiate into an apparently haphazard array of cell types, corresponding to all three germ layers, when their culture conditions are altered, for example by growth in suspension as aggregates known as embryoid bodies (EBs). However, this diversity of differentiation means that the efficiency of producing any one particular cell type is inevitably low. Although pancreatic differentiation has been reported from HESC, practicable applications for the use of beta-cells derived from HESC to treat diabetes will only be possible once techniques are developed to promote efficient differentiation along the pancreatic lineages.