Reprogramming Towards Pancreatic ß-Cells

Reprogramming towards ß-cells is described here in the context of novel cell-based therapies for the treatment of type 1 diabetes (T1D) and potentially type 2 diabetes (T2D). The overall aim is to reverse the decline (T2D) or total absence (T1D) of ß-cells as seen in these diseases. Strategies adopted are based on the huge increase in understanding of the developmental biology of the mouse pancreas that has taken place during the past 20 years or so. It is envisaged that the generation of patient-specific iPS cells may prove valuable in understanding the relative contribution of ß-cells and other tissues to the causes of the disease. Closely related tissues such as liver and other cells of the pancreas have been shown to exhibit certain plasticity in culture and this has been exploited to facilitate reprogramming using a small number of pancreatic transcription factors, including Pdx1, Ngn3, NeuroD1 and MafA.