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    Diabetes. 2007 Jul;56(7):1810-6. Epub 2007 Apr 24.

    Hematopoietic stem cells derived from adult donors are not a source of pancreatic beta-cells in adult nondiabetic humans.

    Butler AE, Huang A, Rao PN, Bhushan A, Hogan WJ, Rizza RA, Butler PC.

    University of California Los Angeles, Larry L. Hillblom Islet Research Center, 900 Veteran Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90095-7073, USA.

    OBJECTIVE: Type 1 and type 2 diabetes are characterized by an approximately 98 and approximately 65% loss of pancreatic beta-cells, respectively. Efforts to reverse either form of diabetes increasingly focus on the possibility of promoting beta-cell replacement and/or regeneration. Islet transplantation has been explored, but it does not provide long-term insulin independence. One possible source of beta-cell regeneration is hematopoietic stem cells. In mice, there are conflicting data as to whether hematopoietic stem cells contribute to pancreatic beta-cells. We sought to establish whether hematopoietic stem cells (derived from adult donors) transdifferentiate into pancreatic beta-cells in adult humans. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We addressed this in 31 human pancreata obtained at autopsy from hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients who had received their transplant from a donor of the opposite sex. RESULTS: Whereas some donor-derived cells were observed in the nonendocrine pancreata, no pancreatic beta-cells were identified that were derived from donor hematopoietic stem cells, including two cases with type 2 diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that hematopoietic stem cells derived from adult donors contribute minimally to pancreatic beta-cells in nondiabetic adult humans. These data do not rule out the possibility that hematopoietic stem cells contribute to pancreatic beta-cells in childhood or in individuals with type 1 diabetes.

    PMID: 17456852 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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