Several years ago, researchers at the University of Iowa discovered that the balance between endocrine and exocrine cells in the pancreas is impacted by cystic fibrosis. The distribution of cell types in pancreases affected by cystic fibrosis suggested the emergence of a dynamic regenerative process. To better understand this possibility, the researchers teamed up with experts at the University of Colorado. The results of this collaborative work are now published in the journal iScience (PubMed link).
Cystic fibrosis is caused by the loss of CFTR function. The published work shows that when all CFTR function is lost from certain pancreatic ductal cells, these cells begin to express a protein named PDX1. This is important because PDX1 drives the development of several different components of the pancreas during organ formation. Indeed, the pancreatic ductal cells that expressed PDX1 exhibited the potential to produce several cell types, including pancreatic endocrine cells. Consistent with this, the researchers identified the presence of insulin-expressing cells within the ductal epithelium of pancreases affected by cystic fibrosis.
These findings enhance our understanding of the cellular formation of ductal versus endocrine cells in the injured pancreas and could be beneficial for future attempts at pancreatic endocrine and/or exocrine regeneration. Dr. Norris from our division was involved in the research.