In-vitro Differentiation of Human Umbilical Cord Wharton's Jelly Mesenchymal Stem Cells to Insulin-Producing Cells

Diabetes is a major chronic metabolic disease in the world. Islet transplantation is a way to treat diabetes. Unfortunately، this method is restricted due to graft rejection and lack of donor islets. Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCS) have the ability to differentiate into Insulin-Producing Cells (IPCs). In this study، Human Umbilical Mesenchymal Stem Cells (HUMSCS) were induced to differentiate into pancreatic β-like cells. The samples were collected after cesarean section delivery at Hafez hospital. HUMSCS were cultured in sterile condition، in three steps for 20 days in DMEM-F12، Retinoic Acid (RA)، Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF)، exendin-4، Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS)، and antibiotic. Then، they were differentiated into IPC. DTZ staining employed for determining the presence of insulin and Reveres Transcription- Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) was done for identifying of gene expression including insulin، PDX1، and NGN3. The Insulin concentration was also evaluated by Immunoradiometric assay. HUMSCS gradually changed from fibroblast-shaped cells to epithelial-like cells and eventually to IPC under special conditions. RT-PCR experiments revealed that these cells expressed insulin، PDX1، and NGN3 genes. The cells became red color when stained with DTZ and the insulin secretion was confirmed. HUMSCS have the ability to differentiate into islet-like cells in vitro and may be a new potential source for cell transplantation in diabetes treatment.