Title:The Role of MicroRNAs in the Induction of Pancreatic Differentiation
Volume: 16
Issue: 2
Author(s): Elham Sabouri, Alireza Rajabzadeh, Seyedeh Elnaz Enderami, Ehsan Saburi, Fatemeh Soleimanifar, Ghasem Barati, Mohamad Rahmati, Gholamreza Khamisipour*Seyed Ehsan Enderami*
Affiliation:
- Department of Hematology, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr,Iran
- Diabetes Research Center, Department of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari,Iran
Keywords:
Diabetes, stem cells, pancreatic differentiation, MicroRNAs, insulin-producing cells, islet-like clusters.
Abstract: Stem cell-based therapy is one of the therapeutic options with promising results in the
treatment of diabetes. Stem cells from various sources are expanded and induced to generate the cells
capable of secreting insulin. These insulin-producing cells [IPCs] could be used as an alternative to
islets in the treatment of patients with diabetes. Soluble growth factors, small molecules, geneencoding
transcription factors, and microRNAs [miRNAs] are commonly used for the induction of
stem cell differentiation. MiRNAs are small non-coding RNAs with 21-23 nucleotides that are involved
in the regulation of gene expression by targeting multiple mRNA targets. Studies have shown
the dynamic expression of miRNAs during pancreatic development and stem cell differentiation. MiR-
7 and miR-375 are the most abundant miRNAs in pancreatic islet cells and play key roles in pancreatic
development as well as islet cell functions. Some studies have tried to use these small RNAs for the
induction of pancreatic differentiation. This review focuses on the miRNAs used in the induction of
stem cells into IPCs and discusses their functions in pancreatic β-cells.
