| First Author | El-Gohary Y | Year | 2016 |
| Journal | Endocrinology | Volume | 157 |
| Issue | 1 | Pages | 166-75 |
| PubMed ID | 26505114 | Mgi Jnum | J:233638 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5787738 | Doi | 10.1210/en.2015-1175 |
| Citation | El-Gohary Y, et al. (2016) Intraislet Pancreatic Ducts Can Give Rise to Insulin-Positive Cells. Endocrinology 157(1):166-75 |
| abstractText | A key question in diabetes research is whether new beta-cells can be derived from endogenous, nonendocrine cells. The potential for pancreatic ductal cells to convert into beta-cells is a highly debated issue. To date, it remains unclear what anatomical process would result in duct-derived cells coming to exist within preexisting islets. We used a whole-mount technique to directly visualize the pancreatic ductal network in young wild-type mice, young humans, and wild-type and transgenic mice after partial pancreatectomy. Pancreatic ductal networks, originating from the main ductal tree, were found to reside deep within islets in young mice and humans but not in mature mice or humans. These networks were also not present in normal adult mice after partial pancreatectomy, but TGF-beta receptor mutant mice demonstrated formation of these intraislet duct structures after partial pancreatectomy. Genetic and viral lineage tracings were used to determine whether endocrine cells were derived from pancreatic ducts. Lineage tracing confirmed that pancreatic ductal cells can typically convert into new beta-cells in normal young developing mice as well as in adult TGF-beta signaling mutant mice after partial pancreatectomy. Here the direct visual evidence of ducts growing into islets, along with lineage tracing, not only represents strong evidence for duct cells giving rise to beta-cells in the postnatal pancreas but also importantly implicates TGF-beta signaling in this process. |
