The effect of liver donors’ age, gender and metabolic state on pancreatic lineage activation

Abstract

Autologous cells replacement therapy by liver to pancreas transdifferentiation (TD) allows diabetic patients to be also the donors of their own therapeutic tissue. Aim: To analyze whether the efficiency of the process is affected by liver donors’ heterogeneity with regard to age, gender and the metabolic state. Materials & methods: TD of liver cells derived from nondiabetic and diabetic donors at different ages was characterized at molecular and cellular levels, in vitro. Results: Neither liver cells proliferation nor the propagated cells TD efficiency directly correlate with the age (3–60 years), gender or the metabolic state of the donors. Conclusion: Human liver cells derived from a wide array of ages and metabolic states can be used for autologous cells therapies for diabetics.