Nestin expression and clonal analysis of islet-derived epithelial monolayers: insight into nestin-expressing cell heterogeneity and differentiation potential

Abstract

There has over the last several years been renewed interest in developing a system for generating new islets and a search for a self-renewing population in the pancreas. In particular, the neural stem cell marker nestin has been implicated as an islet precursor marker and its immunoreactivity has been localized in the islets of Langerhans. This study examines islet-derived epithelial monolayers expanded ex vivo to provide a source of nestin-expressing progenitor cells--a model that will help us understand the role of nestin-expressing cells in islet cell development. When cultured on a type I collagen gel, islets formed confluent monolayers which lacked endocrine phenotypes but were positive for cytokeratin 20 and contained an increased proportion of proliferating nestin-expressing cells, reaching a maximum of 54+/-10%. Co-expression studies demonstrated that the nestin-positive cells are heterogeneous, with some nestin-expressing cells co-localizing with the transcription factor PDX-1 and glucose transporter type 2 or lack of co-expression with vimentin. When clonal populations of nestin-positive cells were expanded and subjected to a differentiation protocol, only a population that expressed the transcription factor PDX-1 at the mRNA level was capable of re-expressing insulin at the mRNA and protein level. In conclusion, these studies demonstrate that expanded nestin-expressing cells in vitro from islet-derived epithelial monolayers are heterogeneous; clonal analysis of nestin-positive cells reveals that a distinct subpopulation of nestin/PDX-1-expressing cells is capable of forming insulin-producing cells.