An adequate pancreatic structure is necessary for optimal organ function. Structural changes are critical in the development of age-related pancreatic disorders. We aimed to study the effect of oil consumption on pancreas histology in order to find aging-related signs. To this end, three groups of rats were fed an isocaloric diet for 2 years, where virgin olive, sunflower, or fish oil was included. Pancreatic samples for microscopy and blood samples were collected at the moment of sacrifice. As a result, the sunflower oil-fed rats presented higher β-cell numbers and twice the insulin content than virgin olive oil-fed animals. In addition, rats fed with fish oil developed acinar fibrosis and macrophage infiltrates in peri-insular regions, compared with counterparts fed with virgin olive oil. Inflammation signs were less prominent in the sunflower group. The obtained data emphasize the importance of dietary fatty acids in determining pancreatic structure.

Osteogenic precursors can be obtained from mesenchymal stem cells, which can be isolated from different sources, including adipose tissue. Optimal osteogenic differentiation in in vitro conditions and the selection of the potential precursors that could be further used in bone regeneration still have two main questions left to solve, viz. the heterogeneity of the mesenchymal cell population and the presence of a basal transcription level of several characteristic genes of the osteogenic lineage, which makes rapid and effective comparisons during cell differentiation difficult. Single-cell clones were isolated and expanded from human lipoaspirate cells. Osteogenic differentiation was induced and studied in defined media, using four representative isolated cell clones showing differences in the basal expression of a set of characteristic osteogenic genes. The clones showing a low constitutive expression of these genes were able to display comparatively higher levels of mineralization. In addition, the cells from these clones displayed a characteristic pattern of bundle fibres of collagen during osteogenic induction and showed a higher potency to differentiate towards the adipogenic lineage. These results demonstrate that specific multipotent precursors can be isolated from human lipoaspirate cells with a higher differentiation potential, allowing the maturation of specific lineages in a shorter time. These results additionally demonstrate that, since the basal expressions of the several genes were used as osteogenic markers, a phenotypic biochemical analysis should always be utilized to study optimal osteogenesis conditions. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

(7) CIBERobn (Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y la Nutrición CB12/03/30038) Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain. Corresponding author:Enrique Roche.Instituto de Bioingeniería, Universidad Miguel Hernández. Avda de la Universidad. 03202-Elche, SPAINThis article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi: 10.1111/cei.12270 Accepted ArticleThis article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

An adequate pancreatic structure is necessary for optimal organ function. Structural changes are critical in the development of age-related pancreatic disorders. In this context, it has been reported that different pancreatic compartments from rats were affected according to the fat composition consumed. Since there is a close relationship between mitochondria, oxidative stress and aging, an experimental approach has been developed to gain more insight into this process in the pancreas. A low dosage of coenzyme Q was administered life-long in rats in order to try to prevent pancreatic aging-related alterations associated to some dietary fat sources. According to that, three groups of rats were fed normocaloric diets containing Coenzyme Q (CoQ) for two years, where virgin olive, sunflower, or fish oil was included as unique fat source. Pancreatic samples for microscopy and blood samples were collected at the moment of euthanasia. The main finding is that CoQ supplementation gives different results according to fat used in diet. When sunflower oil was the main fat in the diet, CoQ supplementation seems to improve endocrine pancreas structure and in particular β-cell mass resembling positive effects of virgin olive oil. Conversely, CoQ intake does not seem to improve the structural alterations of exocrine compartment previously observed in fish oil fed rats. Therefore CoQ may improve pancreatic alterations associated to the chronic intake of some dietary fat sources.

Type 1 diabetes is characterized by the selective destruction of pancreatic β-cells caused by an autoimmune attack. Type 2 diabetes is a more complex pathology which, in addition to β-cell loss caused by apoptotic programs, includes β-cell dedifferentiation and peripheric insulin resistance. β-Cells are responsible for insulin production, storage and secretion in accordance to the demanding concentrations of glucose and fatty acids. The absence of insulin results in death and therefore diabetic patients require daily injections of the hormone for survival. However, they cannot avoid the appearance of secondary complications affecting the peripheral nerves as well as the eyes, kidneys and cardiovascular system. These afflictions are caused by the fact that external insulin injection does not mimic the tight control that pancreaticderived insulin secretion exerts on the body's glycemia. Restoration of damaged β-cells by transplantation from exogenous sources or by endocrine pancreas regeneration would be ideal therapeutic options. In this context, stem cells of both embryonic and adult origin (including β-cell/islet progenitors) offer some interesting alternatives, taking into