Mesenchymal Stem Cells Derived from Human Exocrine Pancreas Spontaneously Express Pancreas Progenitor-Cell Markers in a Cell-Passage-Dependent Manner

Figure 3

Pancreatic progenitor markers expressed in hpMSCs. RT-PCR analysis of mRNA expression in exocrine cells, hpMSCs, and control human islets. Exocrine mRNA was extracted at culture days 2 and 4, and hpMSC mRNA was isolated from cells on passage days 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12. (a) Cytokeratin 19 was expressed in all passages of hpMSCs, whereas insulin, glucagon, and amylase were not. (b) Pancreatic cell transcription factors, including those required for development and differentiation, exhibited different expression levels depending on passage. Key transcription factors Pdx1, Ngn3, and MafA were detected from passages four through eight in culture cells; Nkx2.2, Nkx6.1, and P48 were expressed in all hpMSCs without being affected by cell passage, and Isl1 and Pax6 expression was initiated during passage four. Weak expression of Nkx2.2 and Nkx6.1 and strong expression of the P48 exocrine-cell marker were detected in exocrine cells. (c) hpMSCs continue to display markers associated with hpMSCs, including CD44, CD90, vimentin, and desmin.

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