Inhibition of transforming growth factor beta signaling pathway promotes differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived brain microvascular endothelial-like cells.

We succeeded in significantly enhancing the function and endothelial characteristics of iBMELCs by adding a small molecular compound, a TGF-β inhibitor. Moreover, the iBMELCs could maintain high barrier function even after freezing-thawing. Taken together, these results suggest that TGF-β pathway inhibition may be useful for developing iPSC-derived in vitro BBB models for further pharmaceutical research.