Function of Rat Diabetic Islets Improved By Coculturing with Pancreatic Mesenchymal Stromal Cells

Developing strategies to prevent beta cells mass reduction and/or increasing their in vivo and in vitro extension are promising choices for cell therapy of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. MSCs (Mesenchymal stem cells)are multipotent stromal cells with the ability to self-renew and differentiate into various cell types of its host tissues. Recently, the effects of transplanted rBMSCs(rat Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells) on survival and function of isolated islets have been reported. In this research, rP-MSCs (rat pancreatic Mesenchymal Stem Cells) were isolated and characterized before being co-cultured with injured islets of diabetic rat models in vitro. The effects of rP-MSCs on insulin secretion of islets were examined after 5 days. Furthermore, the extracted cells were labeled by DiI dye and their migration and incorporation within the injured pancreatic islets were visualized after 24 hours. Altogether, our data revealed that after co-culturing of the injured islets with rP-MSCs, the insulin secretion level of the islets were significantly elevated (p value<0.001). This finding implies that rPMSCs have a potential ability in repair of diabetic islets by either releasing some growth and immuno-modulatory factors, or by direct incorporation within the damaged islets.