Engineering pancreatic tissue transplants to treat diabetes mellitus will require knowledge of how different cell types regulate pancreatic development. A study in Cell Stem Cell characterizes the nuclear transcriptome in the second-trimester human fetal pancreas and shows that macrophages support pancreatic endocrine cell differentiation, proliferation and survival in vitro.

To investigate whether macrophages could support pancreatic endocrine cell survival and development in vitro, the researchers differentiated human embryonic stem cells into pancreatic endocrine cells and macrophages and co-cultured the two cell types. Compared with endocrine cells cultured without macrophages, endocrine cells cultured with macrophages showed improved viability. Co-culture with macrophages also promoted endocrine cell proliferation and differentiation into β-like cells.

工程化胰腺组织移植治疗糖尿病需要了解不同细胞类型如何调节胰腺发育。Cell Stem Cell 上的一项研究表征了孕中期人类胎儿胰腺中的核转录组，并表明巨噬细胞支持胰腺内分泌细胞的分化、增殖和体外存活。

为了研究巨噬细胞是否可以在体外支持胰腺内分泌细胞的存活和发育，研究人员将人胚胎干细胞分化为胰腺内分泌细胞和巨噬细胞，并共培养两种细胞类型。与无巨噬细胞培养的内分泌细胞相比，用巨噬细胞培养的内分泌细胞活力更高。与巨噬细胞共培养也促进了内分泌细胞增殖和分化为 β 样细胞。