Recent progress in differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into islet-like cells / 中华内分泌代谢杂志

ABSTRACT

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stem cells existing in multi-organs and can differentiate into several kinds of somatic cells. Recently it has been found that MSCs, under defined conditions in vivo or in vitro, can be induced to trans-differentiate into islet-like cells, which can secrete a small amount of insulin and lower blood glucose levels in diabetic mice. Thus, two major obstacles of islet transplantation, the insufficience of donor islets and immunologic rejection, might be solved simultaneously with this technique. This finding provides a new insight into treatment for diabetes.