RESEARCH ARTICLE The Generation of Insulin Producing Cells from Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells by MiR-375 and Anti-MiR-9

Background MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of endogenous small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. A number of studies have led to the notion that some miRNAs have key roles in control of pancreatic islet development and insulin se-cretion. Based on some studies on miRNAs pattern, the researchers in this paper investigat-ed the pancreatic differentiation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSCs) by up-regulation of miR-375 and down-regulation of miR-9 by lentiviruses containing miR-375 and anti-miR-9. Methodology After 21 days of induction, islet-like clusters containing insulin producing cells (IPCs) were confirmed by dithizone (DTZ) staining. The IPCs and β cell specific related genes and pro-teins were detected using qRT-PCR and immunofluorescence on days 7, 14 and 21 of dif-ferentiation. Glucose challenge test was performed at different concentrations of glucose so extracellular and intracellular insulin and C-peptide were assayed using ELISA kit. Althoug