Nestin as a marker of adult pancreatic stem cells

초록

Differentiation of beta cells from the ductal cell explants Differentiation of beta cells was consistently observed in the culture of ductules or ductules. Beta cells were immunocytochemically identified among the cells in the ductal explants, whereas none were found among the mesenchymal cells. Although some beta cells were seen isolated, most of them formed groups in monolayers. Glucagon cells were also found in similar populations and distributions to beta cells. Most of beta and alpha cells in the ductal explants expressed neither nestin nor cytokeratin-20. However, although few in number we did find nestin positive beta or alpha cells, indicating the existence of intermediate cells that are differentiating from pure nestin-positive progenitor cells into insulin secreting beta cells. In the culture of larger main ducts, differentiation of beta and alpha cells was scarcely seen and for or cells displaying simultaneous signals for nestin and insulin or glucagon were not found in these cultures. Conclusion NPP cells identified in this study may indicate revitalization of stem cell activity in neogenic ductal cells for restoration of embryonic pathway of beta cell formation even in adult life. Taken together, we suggest that the NPP (nestin-positive pancreatic progenitor) cells of the epithelial lining of neogenic ducts could be generated by regenerating motivation, and they can be used as progenitor cell for insulin secreting beta cells after further isolation and selective culture process.