Neogenesis of pancreatic endocrine cells in copper-deprived rat models

Transplantation of progenitor cells for regeneration of islet cells could p rove invaluable in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. This study provides evidence that in rats maintained on a copper-deficient diet containing the copper-chelating agent tetraethylenepentamine pentahydrochloride, regenerat ion of single alpha and beta endocrine cells in the ductules and acinar tis sue of the adult rat pancreata occurred. These regenerated cells both in th e ductules and acinar tissue stained positive for glucagon and insulin simi lar to cells within the islets and in addition to being reactive to prolife rative cellular nuclear antigen, an intracellular marker of active prolifer ation. In contrast, the control group pancreata did not show any evidence o f islet regeneration, proliferation, or proliferative cellular nuclear anti gen reactivity pre- or posttransplantation. Transplantation of digested pan creatic tissues from the copper-deficient group into the spleen of syngenei c diabetic rats reversed diabetes, and this was confirmed histologically by demonstrating cells within ductules that stained positively for insulin. T his study concludes that copper deprivation contributes to the neogenesis o f pancreatic alpha and beta cells in the ductules and acinar tissue of adul t pancreas in rat model and that transplanted stem cells maintain their fun ctional capacity in the recipient after transplantation.