Exp Ther Med. 2014 Nov;8(5):1389-1396. Epub 2014 Sep 22.

Roles of the co-culture of human umbilical cord Wharton's jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells with rat pancreatic cells in the treatment of rats with diabetes mellitus.

Wang G, Li Y, Wang Y, Dong Y, Wang FS, Ding Y, Kang Y, Xu X.

.

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the roles of the co-culture of human umbilical cord Wharton's jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells(hUC-MSCs) with rat pancreatic cells in the treatment of rats with diabetes mellitus. hUC-MSCs were isolated and passaged, followed by Transwell co-culture with rat pancreatic cells. The induced islet-like cell clusters were transplanted into the renal capsule in rats with streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes mellitus. The effects of co-culture on blood glucose levels in rats were observed. The isolated hUC-MSCs expressed the specific surface markers, including cluster of differentiation 44 (CD44) (91.4%), CD29 (91.3%) and CD105 (99.2%). Following co-culture with hUC-MSCs for 7 and 10 days, the rat pancreatic cells were strongly stained by pancreatic and duodenal homeobox-1 and human insulin. The insulin and C-peptide concentrations were increased significantly compared to the pure culture group. One week following the transplantation of induced islet-like cells into the renal capsule, the blood glucose level of rats in the STZ experimental group was significantly lower than that of the STZ control group. There were notable 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine-positive nuclei and insulin-positive cytoplasm in the renal capsule following cell transplantation. Therefore, co-culture of hUC-MSCs with rat pancreatic cells can lower the blood glucose levels in rats with diabetes mellitus.