β-Cell Differentiation from a Human Pancreatic Cell Line in Vitro and in Vivo

D Dufayet de la Tour, T Halvorsen… - Molecular …, 2001 - academic.oup.com
D Dufayet de la Tour, T Halvorsen, C Demeterco, B Tyrberg, P Itkin-Ansari, M Loy, SJ Yoo…
Molecular endocrinology, 2001academic.oup.com
Cell transplantation therapy for diabetes is limited by an inadequate supply of cells
exhibiting glucose-responsive insulin secretion. To generate an unlimited supply of human β-
cells, inducibly transformed pancreatic β-cell lines have been created by expression of
dominant oncogenes. The cell lines grow indefinitely but lose differentiated function.
Induction of β-cell differentiation was achieved by stimulating the signaling pathways
downstream of the transcription factor PDX-1, cell-cell contact, and the glucagon-like peptide …
Abstract
Cell transplantation therapy for diabetes is limited by an inadequate supply of cells exhibiting glucose-responsive insulin secretion. To generate an unlimited supply of human β-cells, inducibly transformed pancreatic β-cell lines have been created by expression of dominant oncogenes. The cell lines grow indefinitely but lose differentiated function. Induction of β-cell differentiation was achieved by stimulating the signaling pathways downstream of the transcription factor PDX-1, cell-cell contact, and the glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) receptor. Synergistic activation of those pathways resulted in differentiation into functional β-cells exhibiting glucose-responsive insulin secretion in vitro. Both oncogene-expressing and oncogene-deleted cells were transplanted into nude mice and found to exhibit glucose-responsive insulin secretion in vivo. The ability to grow unlimited quantities of human β-cells is a major step toward developing a cell transplantation therapy for diabetes.
Oxford University Press