A three-dimensional clonogenic assay that allows pancreatic-like progenitors to differentiate into insulin-expressing colonies is described. This method takes advantage of semi-solid media containing methylcellulose, Matrigel and growth factors, in which single progenitors proliferate and differentiate in vitro, permitting quantification of the number of functional progenitors in a population.
Winkler, M., Trieu, N., Feng, T., Jin, L., Walker, S., Singh, L., Ku, H. T. A Quantitative Assay for Insulin-expressing Colony-forming Progenitors. J. Vis. Exp. (57), e3148, doi:10.3791/3148 (2011).