The experimental study of pancreatic stem cells-differentiated insulin secreting cells

Objective To investigate the differentiation of stem cells derived from rat pancreatic tissue toward insulin secreting cells and the potential application for diabetes therapy. Methods Rat stem cells were isolated and purified from pancreatic duct cells using nestin conjugating magnetic beads. The stem cells were induced to proliferate, and differentiate towards islet-like structure in vitro. The function of these stem cell-induced islets was further evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Results The expression of insulin mRNA in the stem cells was significantly up-regulated and the islet-like structure was formed after proliferation and differentiation in vitro. Immunofluoresence staining indicated that there were a lot of insulin positive cells and a few of glucagons positive cells in the islet-like structure. The cells released insulin in response to glucose stimulation in vitro and hyperglycemia in diabetic animals was normalized after cell transplantation. Conclusions The stem cells derived from rat pancreas can be induced to differentiate into insulin secreting cells, which has a potential application for diabetes therapy.