The in vitro differentiation of pancreatic stem cells has recently been shown to represent a new source of β cells for cell therapy in diabetes. Human ductal cell differentiation, in vitro, has been documented in threedimensional (3D) culture and recently substantiated. Although encouraging, the optimization of the ductal cell source, expansion and differentiation ex vivo are mandatory for clinical relevance. We compared three sources of human ductal cells (hDC) (method A1-2, B, and C). The classical main duct isolation of hDC by explant (A1), or enzymatic digestion (A2), was compared with two indirect methods: from 3D cultured human islet/duct-enriched fractions (B) and dedifferentiated exocrine fractions (C). Method A: few viable hDC were obtained from the main duct. Method B: embedding islet/duct rich fraction in 3D collagen gels expands the cytokeratin 19 (CK19)-positive ductal component in the form of ductal cysts, as we described previously; monolayers derived from digested cysts were 80% ductal (CK19). Method C: initially adherent amylase-positive exocrine clusters contained 12% (CK19) to 22% (CK7) ductal cells. One-week exocrine cultures were amylase negative and 46% (CK19) to 63% (CK7) ductal. Cell viability varied: <20% (A1), 81 ± 12% (B), 91 ± 2% (C). Extrapolating total yields we obtained (±SEM): 10.5 ± 4.6 × 10 3 (A1), 36 ± 18 × 10 3 (A2), 292 ± 50 × 10 6 (B), 1696 ± 526 × 10 6 (C) viable hDC per pancreas. A secondary monolayer expansion of cyst-derived hDC (method B) was achieved with NuSerum  (4.2-fold on plastic, 2.6-fold on 804G matrix; p < 0.05 vs. control cells on plastic). First passage exocrine-derived ductal cells also responded to matrix and to growth factors, albeit not significantly. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that an abundant hDC supply can be obtained from islet/duct or exocrine fractions followed by monolayer expansion with Nu-Serum. If their differentiation capacity is confirmed, in particular exocrine-derived ductal cells may represent a promising abundant source of islets for allogenic and autologous diabetes cell therapy.

Functional pancreatic beta cell mass is dynamic and although fully differentiated, beta cells are capable of reentering the cell cycle upon appropriate stimuli. Stimulating regeneration-competent cells in situ is clearly the most desirable way to restore damaged tissue. Regeneration by dedifferentiation and transdifferentiation is a potential source of cells exhibiting a more developmentally immature phenotype and a wide differentiation potential. In this context and to gain a better understanding of the transformation induced in human beta cells during forced in vitro expansion, we focused on identifying differences in gene expression along with phenotypical transformation between proliferating and quiescent human beta cells. FACS-purified beta cells from three different human pancreata were cultured during 3-4 months (8-10 subcultures) on HTB-9 cell matrix with hepatocyte growth factor. Gene expression profiling was performed on cells from each subculture on "in-house" pancreas-specific microarrays consisting of 218 genes and concomitant morphological transformations were studied by immunocytochemistry. Immunocytochemical studies indicated a shift from epithelial to neuroepithelial cell phenotype, including progenitor cell features such as protein gene product 9.5 (PGP 9.5), Reg, vimentin, and neurogenin 3 protein expression. The expression of 49 genes was downregulated, including several markers of endocrine differentiation while 76 were induced by cell expansion including several markers of progenitor cells. Their pattern also argues for the transdifferentiation of beta cells into progenitor cells, demonstrating neuroepithelial features and overexpressing both PBX1, a homeodomain protein that can bind as a heterodimer with PDX1 and could switch the nature of its transcriptional activity, and neurogenin 3, a key factor for the generation of endocrine islet cells. Our study of the machinery that regulates human beta cell expansion and dedifferentiation may help elucidate some of the critical genes that control the formation of adult pancreatic progenitor cells and hence design targets to modify their expression in view of the production of insulin-secreting cells.

Treatment of diabetes mellitus by transplantation of isolated pancreatic islets could constitute an alternative to human pancreas allograft. Before transplantation, porcine islets are submitted to a procedure of isolation and purification. The quality of islets through these different steps may be assessed by morphological and functional studies. The aim of this work was the histological characterization of the four main cell types of porcine adult endocrine islets during the different steps of the isolation procedure using immunohistochemistry (IHC) applied in light (LM) and electron microscopy (EM). In fresh pancreas, islets were various sizes and shapes in LM. The number was not found different between the different portions of the pancreas. In IHC, insulin (Ins)-secreting cells accounted for the majority of the islet cells, while glucagon(Glu)-somatostatin (Som)- and polypeptide(PP)-immunoreactive cells, in decreasing number, were found in the mantle around the core of Ins-cells. In EM, B-cells contained poly-hedric granules with a dense central core and clear halo. Glu granules were spherical and very dense. D-cells and PP-cells were characterized by numerous granules, rather spherical and of inequal density for Som and more ellipsoidal for PP granules. After purification in Euroficoll, in EM, the four cellular types remained recognizable, but underwent vacuolization, mitochondrial swelling, and enlargement of intercellular spaces. After 3 days of culture on plastic dishes, as on Biopore membranes in a Millicell insert, microvilli appeared and vacuolization increased in EM. At the seventh day of culture, in EM, most of the cells were lysed in contrast to LM where at the same time, the four cell types were clearly identified by IHC but only in collagen matrix. Important discrepancies were noticed between LM and EM. This fact emphasizes the complementarity of morphological and functional studies in assessment of the quality of an islet isolation.

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