Effects of EGCG on the Differentiation of Periosteum-derived Progenitor Cells to Insulin-producing Cell

초록

Transplantation of beta cells has been considered to be the best treatment for type 1 diabetes. Due to the shortage of donor pancreas, however, generation of insulin-producing cells (IPCs) from various stem cells has been studied as an alternative source of beta cells. In previous study, we accomplished the differentiation of periosteum-derived progenitor cells (PDPCs) known as a kind of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to IPCs. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a major constituent of green tea, has been known to have beneficial effects on many disorders such as cancer. But only a few studies were published about the direct effects of EGCG on the pancreatic beta cell line. The aim of this study was to confirm the effects of EGCG on the generation of IPCs from PDPCs. For this purpose, we screened various amounts of EGCG to find a non-toxic concentration by MTS assay. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure the expression levels of insulin. Expression of genes was measured by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) to observe the levels of differentiation. In conclusion, it was found that EGCG affected the differentiation of PDPCs to IPCs.