Can pancreas be the source of hepatocytes?

Abstract

The possibility of hepatocytes differentiation from pancreatic cells is discussed in the review. Both liver and pancreas develop from endoderm so there could be a common stem cell giving rise to both pancreatic and liver cells. Different experimental models are used to study the possibility of hepatocytes development in pancreas such as influence of peroxisomes proliferation stimulators, hyperexpression of keratinocyte growth factor in pancreatic islets, Cu depletion-repletion model, etc.). There is no enough data to confirm which particular pancreatic cell type can be the source of hepatocytes. Literature data allow supposing that hepatocytes can arise in pancreas from three different sources: acinar, endocrine or ductular cells.