Cell Biology Int. (2010) Immediate Publication

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DN Wheatley
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H Chang Chan
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S Kidson
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G Sluder
(Worcester, U.S.A.)

H Carvalho
(Campinas, Brazil)

C Green
(Auckland, New Zealand)

E Nadezhdina
(Moscow, Russia)

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AJ Panther
(Aberdeen, U.K.)

Cell Biology International (2010) Immediate Publication, doi:10.1042/CBI20090390

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Short Communication

Estrogen regulates proliferation and differentiation of human islet-derived precursor cells by estrogen receptor alpha

Zhenhua Ren, Chunlin Zou, Huijun Ji and Y. Alex Zhang

Cell Therapy Center, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University and Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100053, China. renzhenhua1973@hotmail.com

Estradiol-17β (E2) is an important hormone that regulates various cell functions including insulin production. Human islet-derived precursor cells (hIPCs) are capable of proliferating and differentiating into cells that secret insulin in response to glucose in vivo and in vitro. However, the effect of E2 on hIPCs is currently unclear. In this study, we found that estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) but no ERβ was expressed on hIPCs, and E2 promoted the proliferation and inhibited the differentiation of adult hIPCs. Although fetal hIPCs also express ERα, no effect of E2 on the fetal hIPCs was observed, suggesting differential roles of E2 at different stages of pancreatic development. This study indicates that E2 may be one of the key factors that control the turnover of adult pancreatic β-cells by regulating the proliferation and differentiation of adult hIPCs through ERα.

doi:10.1042/CBI20090390
Received 4 November 2009/26 January 2010; Accepted 4 February 2010
Published as Immediate Publication 4 February 2010