Human postnatal Mesenchymal Stem Cell Derived Islets as a Model for Diabetes Research

The scarcity of human cadaver islets for transplantation in patients with Diabetes Mellitus (DM) has necessitated the search for alternative islet sources. With advancing islet biology research, Islet-Like Clusters (ILCs) derived from stem cells have demonstrated potential for treating DM and in novel drug discovery programs for drug and cytotoxicity testing. In vitro differentiation of ILCs from stem cells also provides an opportunity to mimic the in vivo islet developmental pathways. In vitro derived ILCs are often considered immature as they do not respond to glucose challenges efficiently. However, the in vitro and in vivo performance of ILCs can be improved by pharmacological preconditioning. In this review, we discuss how ILCs generated from human postnatal tissues can be utilized as an in-vitro model to study cytotoxicity, drug screening and enhancement of transplantation efficacy. The use of human cadaver islets is not permitted for research purposes in India. Under these restrictions, the application of ILCs in drug screening and their role in complementing, reducing, and replacing animal testing will evolve as a reliable platform for in vitro screening as well as for stem cell-based treatment in DM.