Nestin Positive Ductal Stem Cell (NPDS) and Clusterin as a Morphogenic Factor in Pancreas

초록

Nestin is an intermediate filament protein occurring transiently in early developmental stages in CNS, and known as a marker for neural stem cells (Lendahl et al., 1990: Dahlstrand et al., 1992). This class VI intermediate filament is also transiently expressed in various tissues including pancreas during in the process of development and tissue regeneration (Kachinsky et al., 1994: Wroblewski et al., 1997: Frojdman et al., 1997). Not only embryonic, but also adult stem cells are potential sources for insulin-containing cells. Recently, nestin is used as a stem cell marker for ES cell-derived progenitor cells of insulin secreting beta cells (Lumelsky et al., 2001: Bonner-Weir & Sharma, 2002), leading its possible application for adult pancreatic stem cells. Zulewski et al., (2001) isolated the NIP (nestin-positive islet-derived progenitor) cells as putative adult stem cells for insulin secreting beta cells.