Diabetes · 1995 · 169 citations · 0 references
Life SciencesCell BiologyEndocrinologyCell PhysiologyCell ProliferationTissue EngineeringAnimal Cell CultureEndocrine Cell DifferentiationExtracellular MatrixExtracellular Matrix BiologyGrowth Factor SignalingMitogenic SignalingBeta Cell BiologyBeta Cell ProliferationCell Attachment AssaysCell Surface Attachment FactorsGrowth FactorsHepatocyte Growth Factor SignalingMitogenic Signaling PathwaysTissue Explant Culture
Proliferation of human beta-cells in vitro is desirable for both transplantation and biological studies. In this study, human pancreatic islets obtained from cadavers were kept in tissue culture plates that favored cell attachment. When the cells attached to the matrix produced by the rat-bladder carcinoma cell line 804G, 5'-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) labeling increased from 4.7 +/- 2.5 to 13.2 +/- 2.2%, while cells simultaneously labeled for insulin and BrdU increased from 0 to 32%. Addition of the growth factor hepatocyte growth factor/scatter (HGF/SF) increased BrdU labeling to 17.5 +/- 1.8 and the percentage of double positive (BrdU + insulin) cells to 69%. This is the first in vitro demonstration that human beta-cells grown in monolayer culture are able to replicate when exposed to selected matrices and growth factors. These experiments add further evidence that HGF/SF is an important mitogenic agent for human beta-cells.