Expression of nestin and neurogenin 3 in the human fetal pancreas / 中华外科杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To examine the expression of nestin and neurogenin 3 (Ngn3), the markers of pancreatic stem cells, in the human fetal pancreas.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The human fetal pancreas tissue of 12 and 14 weeks were examined for the expression of nestin and Ngn3 using the techniques of immunofluorescence dye and RT-PCR.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Both nestin and Ngn3 expressed widely in 12 and 14 weeks before in human fetal pancreatic tissue. In these positive cells there was no co-expressing insulin or glucagon. There were nestin and Ngn3 co-expressing cells in ducts but not in the islets. The results of RT-PCR also indicated the expression of nestin and Ngn3.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>There was no expression of the markers of mature endocrine cells in the nestin and Ngn3 positive cells, and they were the marks of no-differentiation cells in the human fetal pancreatic tissue.</p>