Lepley, Michael Alan2014-03-262014-03-262013-11https://hdl.handle.net/11299/162844University of Minnesota M.S. thesis. November 2013. Major: Stem Cell Biology. Advisor: Dan S. Kaufman. 1 computer file (PDF); iv, 59 pages.The use of human pluripotent stem cells (HPSC) to generate mature endothelial cells (EC) has been described previously, but is an inefficient process. We adopted a feeder cell-free method in order to greatly enhance the differentiation of HPSCs into ECs in large quantities. With these cells we attempted to identify phenotype characteristics in order to determine whether the ECs generated were more arterial, venous, or lymphatic in nature. We also used PI3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitors to examine the effect on expression of arterial specific markers in mature ECsen-USArterialCXCR4EndothelialPI3KThesis or Dissertation