Reprogramming of peripheral blood cells into hiPSCs as a source of endothelial cells

Recent advances in human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) research have opened avenues to generate unlimited numbers of endothelial cells (ECs) from easily accessible cell sources, such as the peripheral blood. We reprogrammed peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and human saphenous vein endothelial cells (HSVECs) into hiPSCs and differentiated them into ECs. hiPSC-derived ECs were compared to HUVECs and HSVECs. hiPSC-derived ECs resembled their natural EC counterparts both phenotypically and functionally. An increased number of DNA double-strand breaks (?H2AX) upon reprogramming was observed. However, differentiation into ECs restored a normal number of ?H2AX foci. Peripheral blood from adult donors is a suitable source for the unlimited production of patient-specific ECs through the hiPSC interstage.