Adult human pancreas-derived cells expressing stage-specific embryonic antigen 4 differentiate into Sox9-expressing and Ngn3-expressing pancreatic ducts in vivo

BACKGROUND: Tissue-specific stem/progenitor cells are found in various adult tissues and may have the capacity for lineage-specific differentiation, facilitating applications in autologous transplantation. Stage-specific embryonic antigen 4 (SSEA-4), an early embryonic glycolipid antigen, is expressed in cells derived from adult human pancreas exocrine tissue. Here, we examined the characteristics and lineage-specific differentiation capacity of SSEA-4(+) cells. METHODS: Human adult partial pancreas tissues were obtained from different donors and cultured in vitro. SSEA-4(+) and CA19-9(+) cells were isolated from adult human pancreas exocrine cells using magnetic-activated cell sorting, and gene expression was validated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. To confirm in-vivo differentiation, SSEA-4(+) and CA19-9(+) cells were transplanted into the dorsal subcutaneous region of mice. Finally, morphological features of differentiated areas were confirmed by immunostaining and morphometric analysis. RESULTS: SSEA-4-expressing cells were detected in isolated pancreas exocrine cells from adult humans. These SSEA-4(+) cells exhibited coexpression of CA19-9, a marker of pancreatic duct cells, but not amylase expression, as shown by immunostaining and flow cytometry. SSEA-4(+) cells exhibited higher relative expression of Oct4, Nanog, Klf4, Sox2, and c-Myc mRNAs than CA19-9(+) cells. Pancreatic intralobular ducts (PIDs) were generated from SSEA-4(+) or CA19-9(+) cells in vivo at 5 weeks after transplantation. However, newly formed PIDs from CA19-9(+) cells were less abundant and showed an incomplete PID morphology. In contrast, newly formed PIDs from SSEA-4(+) cells were abundant in the transplanted area and showed a crowded morphology, typical of PIDs. Sox9 and Ngn3, key transcription factors associated with pancreatic development and regeneration, were expressed in PIDs from SSEA-4(+) cells. CONCLUSIONS: SSEA-4-expressing cells in the adult human pancreas may have the potential for regeneration of the pancreas and may be used as a source of stem/progenitor cells for pancreatic cell lineage-specific differentiation. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13287-016-0422-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.