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HEREDITAS(Beijing) ›› 2014, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (6): 511-518.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1005.2014.0511

• Reviews •     Next Articles

Progress in early pancreas development and reprogramming of terminally differentiated cells into β cells

Mingjun Cao1, Huansheng Dong2, Qingjie Pan1, Hongjun Wang1, Xiao Dong3   

  1. 1. College of Animal Science, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109, China;
    2. Department of Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA;
    3. College of Life Science, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109, China
  • Received:2013-11-05 Revised:2014-01-06 Online:2014-06-20 Published:2014-05-28

Abstract:

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks insulin-secreting β cells, thus leading to an absolute deficiency of insulin. Patients must rely on exogenous insulin, which cannot effectively prevent diabetes complications. Generation of insulin-secreting cells by reprogramming of pluripotent stem cells or somatic cells is a potential approach for the treatment of T1DM. These cells can be used for cell therapy and drug screening, and may eventually provide a cure for the disease. Significant progress has been made in generating insulin-secreting cells through the expression of β cell specific transcription factors in stem cells or somatic cells. In this review, we summarize recent research progress in early pancreas development, β cell specific transcription factors and reprogramming of terminally differentiated cells into β cells.

Key words: type 1 diabetes, &beta, cell generation, pancreatic transcription factor, cell reprogramming