Reprogramming of liver to pancreas

Abstract

Islet grafts have demonstrated that patients with diabetes would benefit greatly by β-cell therapy. However, the paucity of available islets for transplantation as well as the immunological barriers faced in allogeneic transplantation represent a tremendous barrier to regenerative approaches to the treatment of diabetes. Here, we present a strategy and protocols to transdifferentiate developmentally related hepatocytes into β-cells by the ectopic expression of critical β-cell transcription factors. © 2009 Humana Press.