In vitro generation of insulin-secreting cells from human pancreatic exocrine cells.
Transplantation of surrogate β-cells is a promising option for the treatment of insulin-deficient diabetes mellitus in the future. Although pancreatic exocrine cells of rodents have been shown to transdifferentiate into insulin-secreting cells, no studies are reported on human exocrine cells. Here, we report the generation of insulin-secreting cells from exocrine cells of the human pancreas. When cultured in suspension with epidermal growth factor, human pancreatic exocrine cells readily formed spherical cell clusters. Expression of Pdx1 was induced in all 19 cases in which we successfully isolated exocrine cells, and insulin expression was induced in 11 cases. In addition, insulin secretion was evaluated in four cases, and the newly-made cells were found to secrete insulin in response to various stimuli. Although further studies are required to improve both the quality and quantity of such insulin-secreting cells, our data suggest that pancreatic exocrine cells represent a potential source of insulin-secreting cells for treatment of type 1 diabetes. (J Diabetes Invest, doi: 10.1111/j.2040-1124.2010.00095.x, 2011).
Division of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology ; Laboratory for Somatic Stem Cell Therapy, Foundation for Biomedical Research and Innovation, Kobe.
Kohtaro
K
Minami
Department of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery and Transplantation, Kyoto University, Kyoto.
Ryuichiro
R
Doi
Department of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery and Transplantation, Kyoto University, Kyoto.
Yoshiya
Y
Kawaguchi
Division of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology.
Daiki
D
Nukaya
Division of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology.
Yoshiaki
Y
Hagiwara
Baylor All Saints Medical Center, Baylor Research Institute, Fort Worth ; Institute of Biomedical Studies, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA.
Hirofumi
H
Noguchi
Baylor All Saints Medical Center, Baylor Research Institute, Fort Worth.
Shinichi
S
Matsumoto
Division of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology ; Division of Diabetes and Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine ; Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology (CREST), Japan Science and Technology Corp., Kawaguchi, Saitama, Japan.
Susumu
S
Seino
Insulin secretion; Pancreatic exocrine cells; Transdifferentiation