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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Efficient Differentiation of Pluripotent Stem Cells to NKX6-1+ Pancreatic Progenitors
Published on: March 7, 2017
Differentiation and migration of neural crest stem cells are stimulated by pancreatic islets
Elena N Kozlova1, Leif Jansson
1Department of Neuroscience, Uppsala University Biomedical Center, Uppsala, Sweden. Elena.Kozlova@anatomi.uu.se
Abstract:
Neural crest stem cells (NCSCs) migrate during embryonic development towards the endoderm-derived pancreas and the interaction between NCSCs and beta-cell progenitors is crucial for their mutual differentiation. In diabetes, loss of beta-cells or impaired beta-cell function is accompanied by nerve degeneration, which contributes to the progression of the disease. Here we show that adult pancreatic islets markedly promote differentiation of NCSCs towards neuronal phenotype in vitro and in vivo after transplantation and increase their migration towards islets. These findings indicate that pancreatic islets can be used to promote differentiation of NCSCs towards neuronal phenotype and that this in-vitro system may help elucidate interactions between NCSCs and healthy or diseased beta-cells.
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