Abstract:Islet replacement therapy is limited by the shortage of donor islet cells. The aim of this article is to study the potential capacity of fetal porcine pancreatic stem cells(FPPSCs) as a xenograft donor cells. FPPSCs have a strong proliferation ability, and the expression of it's surface antigen was similar to the mesenchymal stem cells. It expressed not only the markers of pancreatic stem cells, but also the markers of ES cells. After 2 weeks induction using a serum-free protocol, the DTZ-positive islet-like cell clusters(ICC) were formed, and these ICCs expressed insulin and Glut-2. After induction, the expression of markers related to pancreatic stem cells decreased, while that related to insulin-producing cells increased, and the insulin and C-peptide content synthesized and secreted by FPPSCs increased remarkably(P<0.05). The blood glucose level of diabetic nude mice in differentiated cells transplantation group decreased, but quickly reached and maintained at a high level(>16.7 mmol/L). These results demonstrated that FPPSCs can be induced to differentiate into insulin-producing cells in vitro,and ameliorate the hyperglycemia of diabetic nude mice. It might provide unlimited resources for islet replacement therapy.