[Regenerative medicine of the pancreas]

Insulin has been used generally in treatment of diabetic patients with absolute insulin deficiency since its discovery. However, while normal pancreatic beta-cells continually adjust insulin secretion in response to varying blood glucose levels, insulin administration cannot maintain blood glucose levels within a physiological range that protects from the development of various diabetic complications. It is possible to achieve normoglycemia in absolute insulin insufficiency by transplantation of pancreas or pancreatic islets, but the approach is impractical especially because of the shortage of transplantable pancreases and islets. For this reason, the transplantation of pancreatic beta-cells or islets generated from stem cells has become the more promising therapeutic approach to normoglycemia. In this article, recent progress of regenerative medicine of the pancreas is reviewed.