Method of forming pancreatic beta cells from mesenchymal cells

摘要

It is intended to provide a method of forming pancreatic beta cells from mesenchymal cells characterized by comprising using mammal-origin mesenchymal cells as starting cells, culturing these cells in the presence of, for example, a pancreatic beta cell-forming agent, and selecting and separating the thus obtained pancreatic betacells with the use of a gene expressed specifically in such cells as a selection marker; a remedy for glucose intolerance which comprises pancreatic beta cells obtained by the above method as the active ingredient; a pancreatic beta cell-forming agent such as a cytokine to be used in the above method; a method of screening a candidate compound promoting the formation of pancreatic beta cells from mesenchymal cells; and a pancreatic beta cell formation promoter obtained by this screening method.