Pancreatic epithelial cells can be converted into insulin-producing cells by GLP-1 in conjunction with virus-mediated gene transfer of pdx-1

GLP-1 and pdx-1 work together to induce insulin-producing cells from IMPE cells, which bear unique characteristics of pancreatic ductal cells. The results suggest that GLP-1 may be another important determiner of pancreatic endocrine differentiation as is pdx-1.