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Updated: Jun 12, 2026
09:33
Generation of Scaffold-free, Three-dimensional Insulin Expressing Pancreatoids from Mouse Pancreatic Progenitors In Vitro
Published on: June 2, 2018
Mesenchymal bone morphogenetic protein signaling is required for normal pancreas development
Jonas Ahnfelt-Rønne1, Philippe Ravassard, Corinne Pardanaud-Glavieux
1Hagedorn Research Institute, Gentofte, Denmark.
Diabetes
|June 5, 2010
Summary
Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling in pancreatic mesenchyme is crucial for normal pancreas development. Blocking BMP signaling impairs both mesenchymal and epithelial growth, leading to pancreatic hypoplasia.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Cell Signaling
Background:
- Pancreas organogenesis involves complex epithelial-mesenchymal interactions.
- The precise roles of specific signaling pathways, like bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling, in these interactions are not fully elucidated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of BMP signaling within the pancreas mesenchyme during organogenesis.
- To determine the impact of BMP signaling on both pancreatic mesenchyme and epithelium development.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of active BMP signaling using phospho-Smad1,5,8 immunostaining.
- Inhibition of BMP signaling in chicken and mouse pancreas models using Noggin and dominant-negative BMP receptors.
Main Results:
- Endogenous BMP signaling is localized to the early pancreatic mesenchyme.
- BMP signaling inhibition resulted in pancreatic hypoplasia and reduced epithelial branching.
- Blocked mesenchymal BMP signaling led to excessive endocrine differentiation, suggesting impaired mesenchyme-to-epithelium signaling.
Conclusions:
- BMP signaling in the pancreatic mesenchyme is essential for normal development of both mesenchymal and epithelial components.
- This study reveals a previously unrecognized function of BMP signaling in pancreas development.
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