Differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells derived from human bone marrow and subcutaneous adipose tissue into pancreatic islet-like clusters in vitro

Abstract

Although stem cells are present in various adult tissues and body fluids, bone marrow has been the most popular source of stem cells for treatment of a wide range of diseases. Recent results for stem cells from adipose tissue have put it in a position to compete for being the leading therapeutic source. The major advantage of these stem cells over their counterparts is their amazing proliferative and differentiation potency. However, their pancreatic lineage transdifferentiation competence was not compared to that for bone marrow-derived stem cells. This study aims to identify an efficient source for transdifferentiation into pancreatic islet-like clusters, which would increase potential application in curative diabetic therapy. The results reveal that mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) derived from bone marrow and subcutaneous adipose tissue can differentiate into pancreatic islet-like clusters, as evidenced by their islet-like morphology, positive dithizone staining and expression of genes such as Nestin, PDX1, Isl 1, Ngn 3, Pax 4 and Insulin. The pancreatic lineage differentiation was further corroborated by positive results in the glucose challenge assay. However, the results indicate that bone marrow-derived MSCs are superior to those from subcutaneous adipose tissue in terms of differentiation into pancreatic islet-like clusters. In conclusion, bone marrow-derived MSC might serve as a better alternative in the treatment of diabetes mellitus than those from adipose tissue.

Production of islet-like insulin-producing cell clusters in vitro from adiposederived stem cells

“…Moreover, they can differentiate into specific cells such as fat cells, osteocytes, chondrocytes and myocytes. Importantly, these cells of mesodermal origin can be driven to differentiate into endodermal cells such as insulin-producing cells via trans-differentiation (Chandra et al, 2009;Dave et al, 2013Dave et al, , 2014Fedyunina et al, 2011;Hwang et al, 2011;Marappagounder et al, 2013;Mohamad Buang et al, 2012;Moshtagh et al, 2013;Timper et al, 2006). This study aimed to develop and test an efficient protocol to produce functional islets that can be used in research and application.…”

Fifty shades of white: Understanding heterogeneity in white adipose stem cells

“…For example, human subcutaneous ASCs and BMSCs have been compared in terms of their potential to differentiate into pancreatic islet cells, for the purpose of autologous transplants in the treatment of diabetes. In this case, BMSCs showed an increased level of insulin secretion, suggesting that they might be better suited for the treatment of diabetes 76 . On the contrary, when compared for their muscle regeneration potential in an in vivo rat abdominal wall reconstruction model, ASCs showed better proliferation capacity, better angiogenic potential, as well as good viability even in hypoxic conditions 77 .…”

Mesenchymal stromal cell therapy for the treatment of intestinal ischemia: Defining the optimal cell isolate for maximum therapeutic benefit

“…Not only are they able to differentiate into mesodermal lineages, like adipocytes and osteocytes (37), but they have also demonstrated the capacity to differentiate into a multitude of diverse cell lines found throughout the human body, including hepatocytes (38), pancreatic islet-like cells (39), neuron-like cells (40), and epidermal cells (41). This characteristic resulted in the initial hypothesis that upon entry into damaged tissue, transplanted MSCs engraft and differentiate into the phenotype of the injured tissue, restoring the diseased organ with healthy, functioning cells.…”