PLoS ONE：成功将成人胰腺干细胞转化为胰岛素产生细胞

2012年11月15日 --近日，一项刊登于国际杂志PLoS ONE上的研究报告指出，成年人胰腺中的干细胞可以转化成为胰岛素产生细胞，这就意味着I型糖尿病患者在未来有可能再生其自身的胰岛素产生细胞了。这项研究由澳大利亚沃尔特与伊丽莎医学研究所研究人员完成。

胰岛素的产生对于控制血糖水平非常重要，在I型糖尿病人机体中，其免疫系统可以破坏胰腺中的胰岛素产生细胞，引发患者血糖水平急剧升高，威胁其生命健康。因此I型糖尿病患者依赖于每日的胰岛素注射或者胰岛素输注泵来控制其血糖水平，但是这种控制并不是很精确，这就容易引发患者长期的健康风险。

这项研究中，研究者不仅从成年个体胰腺中分离到了干细胞，而且开发出了一种新型技术来使得这些干细胞转变成为胰岛素产生细胞，从而轻松控制患者血糖水平。

研究者Harrison教授说，在长期研究中，我们希望I型糖尿病患者可以自我再生胰岛素产生细胞，这就意味着患者可以自身产生足量的胰岛素并且控制其血糖水平，抑制其病情发展。当然了，我们的研究如果可以克服患者机体的免疫攻击反应，那么对于治疗患者疾病更好。

这项研究由澳大利亚国家健康和医学研究委员会提供资助

与胰腺相关的拓展阅读：

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• Ann Surg：胃亚型胰腺导管内乳头状黏液瘤常恶变为胰腺导管腺癌
• 中山大学肿瘤防治中心内镜激光科成功治疗一例胰腺巨大假性囊肿病人
• 胰腺α-细胞研究最新成果汇总
• Oncogene：胰腺癌转移机制解析 更多信息请点击：有关胰腺更多资讯

Adult Pancreas Side Population Cells Expand after β Cell Injury and Are a Source of Insulin-Secreting Cells

Pancreas stem cells are a potential source of insulin-producing β cells for the therapy of diabetes. In adult tissues the ‘side population’ (SP) of cells that effluxes the DNA binding dye Hoechst 33342 through ATP-binding cassette transporters has stem cell properties. We hypothesised therefore that the SP would expand in response to β cell injury and give rise to functional β cells. SP cells were flow sorted from dissociated pancreas cells of adult mice, analysed for phenotype and cultured with growth promoting and differentiation factors before analysis for hormone expression and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. SP cell number and colony forming potential (CFP) increased significantly in models of type diabetes, and after partial pancreatectomy, in the absence of hyperglycaemia. SP cells, ~1% of total pancreas cells at 1 week of age, were enriched >10-fold for CFP compared to non-SP cells. Freshly isolated SP cells contained no insulin protein or RNA but expressed the homeobox transcription factor Pdx1 required for pancreas development and β cell function. Pdx1, along with surface expression of CD326 (Ep-Cam), was a marker of the colony forming and proliferation potential of SP cells. In serum-free medium with defined factors, SP cells proliferated and differentiated into islet hormone-expressing cells that secreted insulin in response to glucose. Insulin expression was maintained when tissue was transplanted within vascularised chambers into diabetic mice. SP cells in the adult pancreas expand in response to β cell injury and are a source of β cell progenitors with potential for the treatment of diabetes.