Hematopoietic Stem Cells Derived From Adult Donors Are Not a Source of Pancreatic -Cells in Adult Nondiabetic Humans

OBJECTIVE—Type 1 and type 2 diabetes are characterized by an 98 and 65% loss of pancreatic -cells, respectively. Efforts to reverse either form of diabetes increasingly focus on the possibility of promoting -cell replacement and/or regeneration. Islet transplantation has been explored, but it does not provide long-term insulin independence. One possible source of -cell regeneration is hematopoietic stem cells. In mice, there are conflicting data as to whether hematopoietic stem cells contribute to pancreatic -cells. We sought to establish whether hematopoietic stem cells (derived from adult donors) transdifferentiate into pancreatic -cells in adult humans.