Evidence of β-Cell Dedifferentiation in Human Type 2 Diabetes

Diabetes is associated with a deficit of insulin-producing β-cells. Animal studies show that β-cells become dedifferentiated in diabetes, reverting to a progenitor-like stage, and partly converting to other endocrine cell types.To determine whether similar processes occur in human type 2 diabetes, we surveyed pancreatic islets from 15 diabetic and 15 nondiabetic organ donors.We scored dedifferentiation using markers of endocrine lineage,...