Open AccessSearching for stem cells in the adult pancreas: A futile effort?
Author(s) -
Minami Kohtaro
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of diabetes investigation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.089
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 2040-1124
pISSN - 2040-1116
DOI - 10.1111/jdi.12061
Subject(s) - medicine , diabetes mellitus , stem cell , pancreas , intensive care medicine , gerontology , endocrinology , microbiology and biotechnology , biology
Regenerative medicine has been attracting great attention, not only from scientists, but also from the general public. In fact, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2012 was awarded for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent. With the help of his colleagues, Shinya Yamanaka, one of the 2012 Nobel Prize winners, showed that differentiated adult cells can revert to immature embryonic stem (ES) cell‐like cells, which are called induced‐pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, by the introduction of defined factors1. In principle, iPS cells can differentiate into any type of cells, including pancreatic β‐cells, if appropriate culture protocols are applied. Therefore, shouldn't efforts be made to identify tissue stem cells in the adult pancreas?