Method for transdifferentiation of non-pancreatic stem cells to the pancreatic pathway

摘要

The subject invention relates to a method of transdifferentiating mammalian non-pancreatic stem cells, such a mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), to enter the pancreatic differentiation pathway. The MSCs are cultured under conditions that permit the expression of pancreatic differentiation markers, and these conditions include use of: (a) culture conditions that promote cell clustering; and/or (b) medium comprising glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and/or nicotinamide.