Differentiation of Wharton's Jelly Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells into Insulin Producing Cells

Background: Diabetes caused by insulin production disturbance is considered as the most common metabolic disorder all over the world. Diabetes may outbreak because of low insulin secretion by Islets of Langerhans β-cells, insulin resistance or both of them. In this way, using stem cells, which have the capability to differentiate into pancreatic β-cells, is one of novel methods in this field. MSCs are the most important candidates for cellular therapy. Materials and Methods: Insulin level was examined using ELIZA method. In order to examine the morphology of differentiated cells, they were stained by Dithizone. Insulin-producer cells are cells which turn into red as a result of staining. Specific gene involving insulin-producing cells was evaluated by Real Time-PCR method. Results: The ELISA results showed that the treated cells secreted more insulin than the control group. Moreover, we found differentiation of MSCs toward insulin-secreting cells. In order to evaluate insulin production in clusters on day 21 of differentiation, we used dithizone (DTZ) staining. PDX-1 gene was confirmed by RT- PCR analysis. Conclusion: In this study, we differentiated MSCs into insulin-producing cells in vitro. It is concluded that MSCs may be considered as an excellent candidate in β-cell therapy in diabetes patients.