title: The plastic pancreas.
abstract: Pancreas homeostasis is based on replication of differentiated cells in order to maintain proper organ size and function under changing physiological demand. Recent studies suggest that acinar cells, the most abundant cell type in the pancreas, are facultative progenitors capable of reverting to embryonic-like multipotent progenitor cells under injury conditions associated with inflammation. In parallel, it is becoming apparent that within the endocrine pancreas, hormone-producing cells can lose or switch their identity under metabolic stress or in response to single gene mutations. This new view of pancreas dynamics suggests interesting links between pancreas regeneration and pathologies including diabetes and pancreatic cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, The Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem 91120, Israel.
authors.forename: Oren
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ziv
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Glaser
authors.forename: Yuval
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dor
mesh_terms: D061354:Acinar Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D021441:Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal / Q000473:pathology; D016923:Cell Death; D054337:Cell Dedifferentiation; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D065150:Cellular Reprogramming; D055098:Endocrine Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D010179:Pancreas / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000473:pathology; D012038:Regeneration; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology