Deconstructing pancreas development to reconstruct human islets from pluripotent stem cells.
There is considerable excitement about harnessing the potential of human stem cells to replace pancreatic islets that are destroyed in type 1 diabetes mellitus. However, our current understanding of the mechanisms underlying pancreas and islet ontogeny has come largely from the powerful genetic, developmental, and embryological approaches available in nonhuman organisms. Successful islet reconstruction from human pluripotent cells will require greater attention to "deconstructing" human pancreas and islet developmental biology and consistent application of conditional genetics, lineage tracing, and cell purification to stem cell biology.
McKnight
Kristen D
KD
Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5329, USA.
Wang
Pei
P
Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5329, USA.
Kim
Seung K
SK
Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5329, USA; Department of Medicine (Oncology Division), Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5329, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5329, USA. Electronic address: seungkim@stanford.edu.
D000818:Animals; D019070:Cell Lineage; D006801:Humans; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000254:growth & development*; D051379:Mice; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D023822:Tissue Engineering