Protocol for differentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells from human iPSCs and their application in CRISPRa-mediated gene regulation

Directed differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) holds major promise for the development of disease models, drug screening platforms, and regenerative medicine. Here, we provide a step-by-step highly reproducible protocol for differentiating vascular smooth muscle cells (vSMCs) from hiPSCs, including hiPSC culture, hiPSC differentiation, and vSMC passaging under chemically defined conditions. We also detail molecular and functional analysis procedures for hiPSC-derived contractile vSMCs along with endogenous transcriptional activation modulation ready for any downstream application.