Intrapancreatic MSC transplantation facilitates pancreatic islet regeneration

BACKGROUND: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) is characterized by the autoimmune destruction of the pancreatic β cells. The transplantation of mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSC) was reported to rescue the damaged pancreatic niche. However, there is an ongoing discussion on whether direct physical contact between MSC and pancreatic islets results in a superior outcome as opposed to indirect effects of soluble factors released from the MSC entrapped in the lung microvasculature after systemic administration. Hence, MSC were studied in direct contact (DC) and indirect contact (IDC) with murine pancreatic β cell line MIN6-cells damaged by nitrosourea derivative streptozotocin (STZ) in vitro. Further, the protective and antidiabetic outcome of MSC transplantation was evaluated through the intrapancreatic route (IPR) and intravenous route (IVR) in STZ-induced diabetic NMRI nude mice. METHODS: MSC were investigated in culture with STZ-damaged MIN6-cells, either under direct contact (DC) or separated through a semi-permeable membrane (IDC). Moreover, multiple low doses of STZ were administered to NMRI nude mice for the induction of hyperglycemia. 0.5 × 10(6) adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSC) were transferred through direct injection into the pancreas (IPR) or the tail vein (IVR), respectively. Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) was injected for the detection of proliferating islet cells in vivo, and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was employed for the measurement of the expression of growth factor and immunomodulatory genes in the murine pancreas and human MSC. Phosphorylation of AKT and ERK was analyzed with Western blotting. RESULTS: The administration of MSC through IPR ameliorated hyperglycemia in contrast to IVR, STZ, and non-diabetic control in a 30-day window. IPR resulted in a higher number of replicating islet cells, number of islets, islet area, growth factor (EGF), and balancing of the Th1/Th2 response in vivo. Physical contact also provided a superior protection to MIN6-cells from STZ through the AKT and ERK pathway in vitro in comparison with IDC. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that the physical contact between MSC and pancreatic islet cells is required to fully unfold their protective potential. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13287-021-02173-4.