Lu Jieli, Jaafer Rami, Bonnavion Rémy, Bertolino Philippe, Zhang Chang-Xian
Jieli Lu, Chang-Xian Zhang, Sino-French Life Science and Genomic Center, the E-Institute of Shanghai, Shanghai Institute of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200025, China.
World J Diabetes. 2014 Dec 15;5(6):847-53. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v5.i6.847.
Pancreatic insulin-secreting β-cells are essential regulators of glucose metabolism. New strategies are currently being investigated to create insulin-producing β cells to replace deficient β cells, including the differentiation of either stem or progenitor cells, and the newly uncovered transdifferentiation of mature non-β islet cell types. However, in order to correctly drive any cell to adopt a new β-cell fate, a better understanding of the in vivo mechanisms involved in the plasticity and biology of islet cells is urgently required. Here, we review the recent studies reporting the phenomenon of transdifferentiation of α cells into β cells by focusing on the major candidates and contexts revealed to be involved in adult β-cell regeneration through this process. The possible underlying mechanisms of transdifferentiation and the interactions between several key factors involved in the process are also addressed. We propose that it is of importance to further study the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying α- to β-cell transdifferentiation, in order to make β-cell regeneration from α cells a relevant and realizable strategy for developing cell-replacement therapy.
胰腺胰岛素分泌β细胞是葡萄糖代谢的重要调节因子。目前正在研究新的策略来创建产生胰岛素的β细胞以替代缺陷的β细胞，包括干细胞或祖细胞的分化，以及新发现的成熟非β胰岛细胞类型的转分化。然而，为了正确驱动任何细胞采用新的β细胞命运，迫切需要更好地了解胰岛细胞可塑性和生物学所涉及的体内机制。在这里，我们通过关注已揭示参与通过该过程进行成人β细胞再生的主要候选因素和背景，回顾了最近报道α细胞向β细胞转分化现象的研究。还讨论了转分化可能的潜在机制以及该过程中涉及的几个关键因素之间的相互作用。我们提出，进一步研究α细胞向β细胞转分化的分子和细胞机制非常重要，以便使从α细胞进行β细胞再生成为开发细胞替代疗法的一种相关且可实现的策略。
