Stem Cell Laboratory | Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology

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Stem Cell

Prof. Małgorzata Borowiak

Principal Investigator

Research

We have a long-standing interest in the regenerative medicine, and how to utilize the human pluripotent stem cells to study the normal development of pancreatic cells and that seen in the disease. To this end, we are investigating the morphogenetic, metabolic, and transcriptional mechanisms governing cell fate decision. We look into the diversity of pancreatic progenitors and what is unique to the early human beta cells. Understanding the signals behind the development of human beta cells can be useful to prevent or even reverse the pathological aspects of diabetes. Here, we focus on uncovering the molecular mechanisms affecting pancreatic beta cells and other patients’ cell types, and those associated with the atypical forms of diabetes that are challenging to treat clinically. In parallel efforts, we are interrogating the human stem cell pluripotency. But most importantly, we are the group of young, dedicated, diverse, science-fans with numerous ideas and truly too little stem cell media to follow all of them.

Selected publications

ETVs dictate hPSC differentiation by tuning biophysical properties. Ziojła N, Socha M, Guerra MC, Kizewska D, Blaszczyk K, Urbaniak E, Henry S, Grabowska M, Niakan KK, Warmflash A, Borowiak M. Nat Commun. 2025;16(1):1999. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-56591-6.
SPOCK2 controls the proliferation and function of immature pancreatic β-cells through MMP2. Blaszczyk K, Jedrzejak AP, Ziojla N, Shcheglova E, Szarafin K, Jankowski A, Beamish CA, Chmielowiec J, Sabek OM, Balasubramanyam A, Patel S, Borowiak M. Exp Mol Med. 2025;57:131–150. doi: 10.1038/s12276-024-01380-2.
Pancreatic organogenesis mapped through space and time. Scavuzzo MA, Szlachcic WJ, Hill MC, Ziojla N, Teaw J, Carlson JC, Tiessen J, Chmielowiec J, Martin JF, Borowiak M. Exp Mol Med. 2025;57:204–220. doi: 10.1038/s12276-024-01384-y.
Molecular puzzle of insulin: structural assembly pathways and their role in diabetes. Urbaniak E, Henry S, Lalowski M, Borowiak M. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2025;13:1502469. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2025.1502469.
SARS-CoV-2 infects an in vitro model of the human developing pancreas through endocytosis. Szlachcic WJ, Dabrowska A, Milewska A, Ziojla N, Blaszczyk K, Barreto-Duran E, Sanak M, Surmiak M, Owczarek K, Grzanka D, Durzynska J, Pyrc K, Borowiak M. iScience. 2022 Jul 15;25(7):104594. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104594.
Human pancreatic microenvironment promotes β-cell differentiation via non-canonical WNT5A/JNK and BMP signaling. Chmielowiec J, Szlachcic WJ, Yang D, Scavuzzo MA, Wamble K, Sarrion-Perdigones A, Sabek OM, Venken KJT, Borowiak M. Nat Commun. 2022 Apr 12;13(1):1952. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-29646-1.
Pancreatic Differentiation of Stem Cells Reveals Pathogenesis of a Syndrome of Ketosis-Prone Diabetes. Yang D, Patel S, Szlachcic WJ, Chmielowiec J, Scaduto D, Putluri N, Sreekumar A, Suliburk J, Metzker M, Balasubramanyam A, Borowiak M. Diabetes. 2021 Oct;70(10):2419-2429. doi: 10.2337/db20-1293.
Endocrine Pancreas Development and Dysfunction Through the Lens of Single-Cell RNA-Sequencing. Szlachcic WJ, Ziojla N, Kizewska DK, Kempa M, Borowiak M. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2021 Apr 29;9:629212. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2021.629212.
Endocrine lineage biases arise in temporally distinct endocrine progenitors during pancreatic morphogenesis. Scavuzzo MA, Hill MC, Chmielowiec J, Yang D, Teaw J, Sheng K, Kong Y, Bettini M, Zong C, Martin JF, Borowiak M. Nat Commun. 2018 Aug 22;9(1):3356. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-05740-1.
Self-renewal of embryonic-stem-cell-derived progenitors by organ-matched mesenchyme. Sneddon JB, Borowiak M, Melton DA. Nature 2012 Nov 29;491(7426):765-8. doi: 10.1038/nature11463.