Activation of Pancreatic Stellate Cells Is Beneficial for Exocrine but Not Endocrine Cell Differentiation in the Developing Human Pancreas.

ABSTRACT: Pancreatic stellate cells (PaSCs) are non-endocrine, mesenchymal-like cells that reside within the peri-pancreatic tissue of the rodent and human pancreas. PaSCs regulate extracellular matrix (ECM) turnover in maintaining the integrity of pancreatic tissue architecture. Although there is evidence indicating that PaSCs are involved in islet cell survival and function, its role in islet cell differentiation during human pancreatic development remains unclear. The present study examines the expression pattern and functional role of PaSCs in islet cell differentiation of the developing human pancreas from late 1st to 2nd trimester of pregnancy. The presence of PaSCs in human pancreata (8-22 weeks of fetal age) was characterized by ultrastructural, immunohistological, quantitative RT-PCR and we

SUBMITTER: Li J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8418189 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature