About this Research Topic
Individual analyses of cell polarity, proliferative potential, niche, plasticity, and conversion have been conducted in adult islets, as in neural stem cells. Here, we hope that clearly establishing the existence of adult pancreatic stem cells will allow us to proceed with research based on the assumption that tissue stem cells are helpful in the treatment of diabetes. Lessons from neural stem cell research may provide definitive data and interpretations.
The goal of this Research Topic is to provide clarity on whether there are adult tissue stem cells in the adult pancreas that can give rise to beta cells and to explore the possibility of how adult tissue stem cells, if they exist, can be differentiated into functional beta cells. Establishing if this is the case, could benefit the progression of diabetes treatment. Based on published studies and preliminary results, the working hypotheses are as follows:
1. Non-β cells such as α-cells, or conduit cells, which are proliferative, will increase their number through symmetric division. Then, they convert to asymmetric division and produce β-cells.
2. β-cells themselves have proliferative potential and increase in number by symmetric division.
Therefore, there are two possible ways in which β-cells can be generated. This proliferative capacity likely declines with age, and it may also differ between mice and humans. Similarly, with neural stem cells, there has been a long debate about the existence of adult stem cells. Moreover, while the question of whether adult neural stem cells exist has been concluded in mice, it remains unresolved in humans. It is advantageous to consider the various problems and solutions uncovered by neural stem cell research and apply these lessons when exploring adult tissue stem cells in the pancreas.
The editors welcome various article types (including Original Research, Brief Research Reports, Reviews, Mini-Reviews, Methods, Perspectives, and Hypothesis and Theory) focusing on, but not limited to, the following subtopics: exploring the following questions:
• Whether, as in neuroepithelial stem cells, converting the mitotic axis can give rise to two daughter cells with different fates - pancreatic ductal cells and endocrine progenitors or non-β cells and β cells?
• Are pancreatic duct cells homologous to neuroepithelium?
• Although cell polarity has been reported for beta cells, does the mitotic pattern change concerning polarity when beta cells are generated from non-β cells?
• Do pancreatic endocrine cells arise from pancreatic ductal cells in the same way that neuroepithelial cells give rise to neural progenitors and neurons via intermediate progenitor cells?
• Are the ductal cells polarized like neuroepithelial cells, and does their conversion of the mitotic axis correspond to proliferation and differentiation?
• Does the vascular niche maintain adult stem cells in the pancreas?
More information on article types accepted by the journal can be found here.
Keywords: beta cell neogenesis, cell lineage tracing, clonal analysis, tissue stem cells, apical-basal cell polarity, asymmetric / symmetric divisions, stem cell niche, neural stem cells, signaling pathways
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