[Regeneration of the pancreas]
1Division of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine.
Abstract:
Pancreatic beta-cells possess a well-regulated insulin secretory property that maintains systemic glucose homeostasis. Although it has long been thought that differentiated beta-cells are nearly static, recent studies have shown that beta-cell mass dynamically changes throughout the lifetime. The beta-cell mass could be maintained by several mechanisms, including self-replication of pre-existing beta-cells, neogenesis from unidentified stem/progenitor cells, and transdifferentiation from differentiated duct or acinar cells. Recent studies have suggested that self-replication of pre-existing beta-cells is a major source for maintenance of beta-cell mass in adult pancreas. However, regeneration of beta-cells from non-beta-cells does occur under certain conditions, especially in vitro culture systems. In this article, recent progress of regenerative medicine of the pancreas is reviewed.
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