Pancreatic cells can reach the pancreas after transplantation via the placenta, mouse experiments reveal
The pancreas is a complex organ comprising multiple cell types that regulate blood glucose levels through hormones, such as insulin, and support digestion by producing digestive enzymes. Researchers at the University of Tsukuba previously developed an intraplacental transplantation method whereby pancreatic progenitor cells are injected into the placenta of a pregnant mouse and delivered to the…
Researchers have discovered that pancreatic cells transplanted through the placenta can reach and integrate into the recipient's pancreas after birth, according to experiments conducted on mice. The study, published in Scientific Reports, involved transplanting embryonic pancreatic bud cells into the placenta of pregnant mice, which then delivered these cells to the developing fetus.
After birth, donor-derived cells were found in the pancreas of some recipient mice in regions corresponding to pancreatic islets, acinar tissue, and ducts, albeit with varying distributions among recipients.
The study also examined mice lacking the Pdx1 gene, which is critical for pancreatic development. Among these Pdx1-deficient recipients, despite detectable circulating insulin or transient postnatal increases in blood glucose levels in some, no macroscopically detectable organized pancreatic tissue was observed in the examined regions. The source of the detected insulin in these animals remained unclear due to the lack of localization data for the donor-derived cells.
This research sheds new light on the behavior of transplanted pancreatic cells during development, demonstrating that cells derived from pancreatic buds can reach and integrate into the recipient's pancreas after intraplacental transplantation. Future research will focus on further investigating the migration and differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived pancreatic progenitor cells following intraplacental transplantation.
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