A Glis3-CD133-Wnt signaling axis regulating the self-renewal of adult murine pancreatic progenitor-like cells in colonies/organoids

Adult pancreatic progenitor cells are a potential source of renewable insulin producing cells that can be used in regenerative medicine and cell replacement therapy for type-1 diabetes. We sought to understand the mechanisms by which adult pancreatic progenitor cells undergo self-renewal. The effects of knockdown of Glis3, CD133 (Prominin-1) and beta-catenin were investigated and we found that Glis3 and CD133 are capable of regulating self-renewal through Wnt gene expression. Overall design: Total RNAs were extracted from 3-week-old colonies (grown in Matrigel- and RSPO1-containing culture) treated with lenti-shRNAs against Glis3, CD133 or control. RNAseq analysis was conducted subseuqently.