Potential of nucleofected human MSCs for insulin secretion

The goal of this experiment was to generate insulin-producing human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) as a therapeutic source for type I diabetes mellitus, which is caused by insulin deficiency due to the destruction of islet β cells. In various trials for the treatment of type I diabetes, cell-based therapy using adult stem cells is considered to be one of the most useful candidates for the treatment. In this experiment, a non-viral method called nucleofection was used to transfect hMSCs with pEGFP-C2 and furin-cleavable human preproinsulin gene (hPPI) to produce insulin-secreting cells as surrogate β cells. Transfection efficiency was determined using flow cytometry analysis. Expression and production of insulin were tested using RT-PCR and ELISA. The expression, production and maturation of insulin from the genetically engineered hMSCs showed an increase when compared with a non-transfected control group. Insulin expression from hMSCs using nucleofection in this study has shown the potential for type I diabetes therapy. For further study, an evaluation for in vivo experiments and clinical applications must be supplemented.