Reversal of hyperglycemia in mice by using human expandable insulin-producing cells differentiated from fetal liver progenitor cells.

ABSTRACT: Beta-cell replacement is considered to be the most promising approach for treatment of type 1 diabetes. Its application on a large scale is hindered by a shortage of cells for transplantation. Activation of insulin expression, storage, and regulated secretion in stem/progenitor cells offers novel ways to overcome this shortage. We explored whether fetal human progenitor liver cells (FH) could be induced to differentiate into insulin-producing cells after expression of the pancreatic duodenal homeobox 1 (Pdx1) gene, which is a key regulator of pancreatic development and insulin expression in beta cells. FH cells possess a considerable replication capacity, and this was further extended by introduction of the gene for the catalytic subunit of human telomerase. Immortalized FH cells expressin

SUBMITTER: Zalzman M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC165862 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature