Glucagon-Like PeptideⅠand Targeted Differentiation of Stem Cells / 中国生物工程杂志

ABSTRACT

Diabetes mellitus has become one of the diseases which threaten the heath of human being in the 21st century.A goal of research in diabetes is to find a way to increase the number of functional insulin-producing cells. Islet transplantation has been considered to be the most effective approach to cure type Ⅰ and part of type Ⅱ diabetes mellitus.This approach, however, is severely limited by an inadequate supply of donor islets available for transplantation.Moreover, recent progress of stem cells research has shown that stem cells may act as a new source of islet transplantation in diabetes mellitus treatment. Recent evidence indicates that Glucagon-Like PeptideⅠ(GLP-1) plays a very important role in targeted differentiation of stem cells into Insulin-Producing Cells and pancreatic development. GLP-1 is an intestine-derived insulinotropic hormone that stimulates glucose dependent insulin production and secretion. GLP-1 can induce differentiation of stem cells into insulin-producing cells, which is achieved by up regulation of PDX-1 expression.PDX-1 is a transcription factor critical for pancreatic development and endocrine cell neogenesis and a marker for pancreatic stem cells. These new findings suggest an approach to create Insulin-Producing cells in vitro by expanding stem/progenitor cells and then to convert them into Insulin-Producing cells by treatment with GLP-1. Thus GLP-1 may be a means by which to create Insulin-Producing cells ex vivo for transplantation into patients with insulinopenic type Ⅰ diabetes and severe forms of type Ⅱ diabetes. This article reviews recent progress about GLP-1 and targeted differentiation of stem cells induced by GLP-1.