Stepwise reprogramming of liver to pancreas under the control of a single transcriptional regulator

Reprogramming of somatic cells into pancreatic beta-cells represents a promising strategy for cell-based therapy of diabetes. The liver is an ideal tissue source for generating new beta-cells, due to its close developmental origin with the pancreas and its regenerative ability. However, the molecular basis of hepatic and pancreatic cellular plasticity is still poorly understood. We have identified the TALE homeodomain TG-interacting factor 2 (TGIF2) as a developmental regulator of pancreas versus liver fate decision and capable to promote conversion of liver to pancreas using independent ex vivo and in vivo appr…