Induced pluripotent stem cells can utilize lactate as a metabolic substrate to support proliferation

Human-induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) hold the promise to improve cell-based therapies. Yet, to meet rising demands and become clinically impactful, sufficient high-quality iPSCs in quantity must be generated, a task that exceeds current capabilities. In this study, K3 iPSCs cultures were examined using parallel-labeling metabolic flux analysis (¹³C-MFA) to quantify intracellular fluxes at relevant bioprocessing stages: glucose concentrations representative of initial media concentrations and high lactate concentrations representative of fed-batch culture conditions, prior to and after bolus glucose feeds. The glucose and lactate concentrations are also representative of concentrations that might be encountered at different locations within 3D cell aggregates. Furthermore, a novel method was developed to allow the isotopic tracer U-¹³C₃] lactate to be used in the ¹³C-MFA model. The results indicated that high extracellular lactate concentrations decreased glucose consumption and lactate production, while glucose concentrations alone did not affect rates of aerobic glycolysis. Moreover, for the high lactate cultures, lactate was used as a metabolic substrate to support oxidative mitochondrial metabolism. These results demonstrate that iPSCs have metabolic flexibility and possess the capacity to metabolize lactate to support exponential growth, and that high lactate concentrations alone do not adversely impact iPSC proliferation.