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Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Optimized Protocol for Generating Functional Pancreatic Insulin-secreting Cells from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
Published on: February 2, 2024
Hedgehog signaling during expansion of human pancreatic islet-derived precursors
Rita Gallo1, Fabio Arturo Grieco, Lorella Marselli
1Diabetes Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Endocrine and Metabolic Sciences and Biochemistry, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.
Abstract:
A detailed understanding of the molecular process involved in the proliferation of pancreatic precursor cells would provide key elements for developing new therapeutic strategies to cure type 1 diabetes. In the present study we investigated the potential involvement of hedgehog signaling in proliferating human pancreatic islet-derived mesenchymal (hPIDM) cells, a population of cells that can be successfully expanded and induced to differentiate into an insulin-secreting phenotype. Here we report that in these precursor cells a hedgehog signaling pathway is activated, as shown by Gli1 expression, and that a dose-dependent inhibition of such a pathway by cyclopamine results in a significant reduction of cell proliferation.
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