Bone marrow or foetal liver cells fail to induce islet regeneration in diabetic Akita mice

Background In this study, we carried out bone marrow and foetal liver cell transplantation to determine if these cells could differentiate into pancreatic beta-cells or promote regeneration. Methods To exclude an artificial or immunological influence for induction of diabetes to recipients, Akita mice, which develop diabetes spontaneously,were used. In addition, we used mice harbouring the transgenic green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter for insulin I gene as donors to mark donor-derived beta-cells. Results All transplanted Akita mice after intravenous injection showed full donor chimerism in peripheral blood analysis. Their diabetic state represented by blood glucose levels did not change after transplantation. In spite of examination of more than 200 islets in each group, we could not find GFP-positive cells in any of the recipients. Conclusions Bone marrow cells or foetal liver cells do not differentiate to new pancreatic beta-cells or promote regeneration in Akita mice, a non-chemical or non-immune model of diabetes. Copyright (c) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.