Pancreas regeneration.

The pancreas is made from two distinct components: the exocrine pancreas, a reservoir of digestive enzymes, and the endocrine islets, the source of the vital metabolic hormone insulin. Human islets possess limited regenerative ability; loss of islet ß-cells in diseases such as type 1 diabetes requires therapeutic intervention. The leading strategy for restoration of ß-cell mass is through the generation and transplantation of new ß-cells derived from human pluripotent stem cells. Other approaches include stimulating endogenous ß-cell proliferation, reprogramming non-ß-cells to ß-like cells, and harvesting islets from genetically engineered animals. Together these approaches form a rich pipeline of therapeutic development for pancreatic regeneration.