Review Article

Stem Cell-Based Approaches for the Treatment of Diabetes

Figure 1

Regulation of pancreatic development. (a) Pancreatic cells (both endocrine and exocrine) originate from the same Pdx-1 expressing endodermal cells. The transcription factor Ngn3 is required for differentiation into an endocrine phenotype. Further development into insulin-, glucagon-, or somatostatin-secreting cells is tightly regulated by a range of transcription factors as indicated in the figure. Pax, NKX, Pdx-1, and Brn4 are homeodomain proteins which are generally involved in morphogenesis, while MafA and MafB are members of the large Maf protein family which regulates pancreatic development. (b) Timescale showing emergence of islet hormone-producing cells in the rodent embryo.
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