A population of enteroendocrine cells (EEC) is obtained from a mammalian post-natal cell population, such as a population including post-natal stem cells, by treating the population with a plurality of small molecules that upregulate ChgA and promote differentiation of the cells to form the enteroendocrine cells. The upregulation of ChgA is such that the fraction of cells expressing CGA in the obtained cell population, as measured by a ChgA Immunostaining Assay, is at least about 1.5%. Small molecules that can be used to differentiate the post-natal cells into the enteroendocrine cells can include at least one of a Wnt activator, a Notch inhibitor, a Wnt inhibitor, a MEK/ERK inhibitor, a growth factor, a HDAC inhibitor, a Histone Methylation Inhibitor, a Tgf-β inhibitor, and a NeuroD1 activator. Also, the insulin expression of a population of mammalian cells is increased by treating the population with a plurality of small molecules that increase the insulin expression.
用多种小分子处理哺乳动物产后细胞群,如包括产后干细胞的细胞群,可获得肠内分泌细胞(E
EC)群,这些小分子可上调 ChgA 并促进细胞分化以形成肠内分泌细胞。ChgA的上调可以使获得的细胞群中表达CGA的细胞比例(通过ChgA免疫染色法测定)至少达到约1.5%。可用于将出生后细胞分化为肠内分泌细胞的小分子可包括 Wnt 激活剂、Notch
抑制剂、Wnt
抑制剂、MEK/
ERK 抑制剂、生长因子、
HDAC 抑制剂、组蛋白
甲基化
抑制剂、Tgf-β
抑制剂和 NeuroD1 激活剂中的至少一种。此外,用多种可增加
胰岛素表达的小分子处理哺乳动物细胞群体,可增加该群体的
胰岛素表达。