Carbonic anhydrase II-positive pancreatic cells are progenitors for both endocrine and exocrine pancreas after birth.

ABSTRACT: The regenerative process in the pancreas is of particular interest because diabetes results from an inadequate number of insulin-producing beta cells and pancreatic cancer may arise from the uncontrolled growth of progenitor/stem cells. Continued and substantial growth of islet tissue occurs after birth in rodents and humans, with additional compensatory growth in response to increased demand. In rodents there is clear evidence of pancreatic regeneration after some types of injury, with proliferation of preexisting differentiated cell types accounting for some replacement. Additionally, neogenesis or the budding of new islet cells from pancreatic ducts has been reported, but the existence and identity of a progenitor cell have been debated. We hypothesized that the progenitor cells are duc

SUBMITTER: Inada A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2604974 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature