| abstract |
A method of inducing the proliferation and/or differentiation of human fetal pancreatic cells entails contacting primary cultures of such cells with Hepatocyte Growth Factor/Scatter Factor (HGF/SF), thereby inducing a proliferation of β-epithelial cells, an increase in the number of β-epithelial cells which form islet-like cell clusters, and an increase in insulin production per cell. The method is improved by culturing the cells on an extracellular matrix such as 804G in the presence of HGF/SF, and is further improved by reaggregating thus-treated cells and contacting said cells with an insulin gene upregulating agent such as a poly(ADP-ribose) synthetase inhibitor such as a nicotinamide or benzamide. The method provides increased numbers of functional islet-like cell clusters for transplantation, for example, into Type 1 diabetic patients. |