Comparative methods for iPSC-Derived endothelial cells in modeling vascular diseases

Endothelial cells (ECs) derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) are increasingly used to model vascular diseases and test therapeutic strategies. However, the efficiency and reproducibility of differentiation can vary depending on the culture medium and its supplemented factors and stages. Here, we directly compared two defined media, APEL and BPEL, for iPSC-to-ECs differentiation. iPSCs were differentiated over 10 days with sequential growth factor induction, followed by magnetic-activated cell sorting or flow cytometry for CD31 + cells. Both media produced ECs with similar morphology and marker expression, including CD31 and VE-cadherin. Functional assays demonstrated comparable tube formation, indicating equivalent endothelial functionality. Cost analysis indicated that APEL had a higher total reagent cost but generated a higher total cell yield, resulting in a comparable cost per 10⁶ total cells, whereas BPEL was more cost-efficient for producing CD31⁺/VE-cadherin⁺ endothelial-specific cells. Our results suggest that APEL and BPEL media are equally effective for generating iPSC-derived ECs, providing flexibility in method selection for vascular disease modeling and drug discovery applications. Graphical abstract