ES Cells Shown to Turn into Insulin-Producing Cells

A study has found that mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells, cultured in serum with no added growth factors, differentiated into pancreatic precursor cells and islet cells producing four types of hormones, including insulin. The findings were reported in the July 25, 2003, issue of Diabetes.

In the study, researchers watched mouse embryonic stem cells differentiate into a variety of cells with specific functions. Of most interest were those cells involved in the formation of the pancreas, suggesting a new source of insulin-producing cells for patients with type 1 diabetes. Not only did these cells differentiate into pancreatic precursor cell and islet cells but they also offered an important model for studying normal pancreatic development.

The cultured cells, just like those in the body, began to show features of early embryonic pancreas cells, such as the expression of specialized early transcription factors important for the formation of the pancreas. They also showed similar patterns of islet hormones, expressed genes that help regulate islet cells, and ultimately generated insulin-producing cells.

"If human embryonic stem cells can be shown to differentiate to islets in this way with this culture system, then we can use this system to compare mouse and human pancreas developmental pathways for the first time,” said senior author Jon Odorico, a transplant surgeon at the University of Wisconsin Medical School (Madison, USA). "Most of what we think we know about human pancreatic development is merely extrapolated from mouse studies.”




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