ADIPOSE-DERIVED STEM CELLS FACILITATE THE RECOVERY OF PANCREATIC FUNCTION AND ABROGATE NICOTINAMIDE

T.W. Chiou, Y.S. Li, W.T. Huang, C.M. Chia, P. W. Chou, Julia Y.R. Chen and H.J. Harn

Department of Life Science, Graduate Institute of Biotechnology, Hualien, Taiwan

Abstract

According to the pathogenesis, complete dysfunction or partial functioning of beta cells is considered the primary defect of diabetes. There are limited ways to improve or recover insulin secretion capacity in the pancreas. Based on the availability and endoderm differentiation ability, human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) were selected as our experimental protagonist. The objective of this study was to investigate the ability of hADSCs to differentiate into pancreatic ß-like cells and examine the fate of hADSCs transplanted in nicotinamide and streptozotocin (NA-STZ)-induced type II diabetic mice. The senescence and insulin-secreting capacities of differentiated hADSCs cultivated in high glucose and normal environments, further co-cultured with a damaged pancreatic environment, were investigated by Q-PCR and dithizone (DTZ) staining. In in vivo experiments, CM-Dil was used to label and track hADSCs. Cells were transplanted by injecting hADSCs through the tail vein of the diabetic mice. According to microscopic analyses, hADSCs were mainly present in the pancreas and liver of the experimental mice during the first month after transplantation. The infiltration of immune cells to pancreatic tissue was decreased and the damage of the islet cells was ameliorated in the hADSC transplanted mice compared with those of the sham group. In addition, pancreatic function recovered significantly based on the biochemical analyses including fasting blood glucose, c-peptide, and glycated hemoglobin levels, indicating the significant recovery of pancreatic function. The results suggest that hADSC transplantation facilitates the recovery of pancreatic function in type II diabetic mice, and thus has considerable potential for clinical applications.

Keywords: Adipose-derived stem cells, nicotinamide–streptozotocin, diabetes mellitus.