Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42900236›Full record

ArticleDiabetologia2026

CCKBR signalling controls human definitive endoderm specification and pancreatic lineage differentiation.

Lama Saber, Kei Kozawa, Christos Karampelias, Changying Jing, Jessica Jaki, Melis Akgün Canan, Michael Sterr, Osvaldo Rodrigues Pereira, Oliver Czarnecki, Gregory S Korbutt and 5 more

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Article in Diabetologia, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Lama SaberInstitute of Diabetes and Regeneration Research, Helmholtz Munich, Neuherberg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0004-0297-050X
Kei Kozawa *Institute of Diabetes and Regeneration Research, Helmholtz Munich, Neuherberg, Germany.
Christos Karampelias *Institute of Diabetes and Regeneration Research, Helmholtz Munich, Neuherberg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9990-5760
Changying JingInstitute of Diabetes and Regeneration Research, Helmholtz Munich, Neuherberg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0671-4114
Jessica JakiInstitute of Diabetes and Regeneration Research, Helmholtz Munich, Neuherberg, Germany.
Melis Akgün CananInstitute of Diabetes and Regeneration Research, Helmholtz Munich, Neuherberg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0006-0418-2333
Michael SterrInstitute of Diabetes and Regeneration Research, Helmholtz Munich, Neuherberg, Germany.
Osvaldo Rodrigues PereiraInstitute of Diabetes and Regeneration Research, Helmholtz Munich, Neuherberg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4368-4305
Oliver CzarneckiInstitute of Diabetes and Regeneration Research, Helmholtz Munich, Neuherberg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1767-658X
Gregory S KorbuttAlberta Diabetes Institute, Li Ka Shing Centre for Research, Edmonton, AB, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9690-4351
Andrew R PepperAlberta Diabetes Institute, Li Ka Shing Centre for Research, Edmonton, AB, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2227-4446
Noel MoyaInstitute of Diabetes and Regeneration Research, Helmholtz Munich, Neuherberg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-6190-2648
Ingo BurtscherInstitute of Diabetes and Regeneration Research, Helmholtz Munich, Neuherberg, Germany.
Heiko LickertInstitute of Diabetes and Regeneration Research, Helmholtz Munich, Neuherberg, Germany. heiko.lickert@helmholtz-munich.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4597-8825
Mostafa BakhtiInstitute of Diabetes and Regeneration Research, Helmholtz Munich, Neuherberg, Germany. mostafa.bakhti@helmholtz-munich.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2307-1122

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aims/hypothesisParacrine signalling by hormone-producing endocrine cells potentially influences pancreatic development, but this feedback regulation remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated the roles of gastrin (GAST), cholecystokinin (CCK) and their receptor cholecystokinin B receptor (CCKBR) during human pancreatic development.

methodsHuman iPSCs were differentiated stepwise into definitive endoderm and then the pancreatic endocrine lineage. To assess CCKBR function, CRISPR/Cas9 was used to generate CCKBR-knockout iPSC lines. We profiled transcriptional states by bulk and single-cell RNA-seq with computational analyses, and complemented these with biochemical assays, flow cytometry (FACS) and confocal microscopy.

resultsCCKBR expression peaked during definitive endoderm formation and progressively declined during differentiation, remaining detectable in pancreatic progenitors but largely absent from the endocrine lineage. By contrast, GAST and CCK were expressed only transiently during pancreatic progenitor and endocrine lineage formation. Pharmacological activation/inhibition and genetic knockout implicated CCKBR signalling during definitive endoderm formation. Consistently, bulk RNA-seq indicated that CCKBR deletion triggered ectodermal- and mesodermal-associated transcriptional programs and diminished pancreatic lineage specification. During pancreatic induction and lineage formation, sustained CCKBR activation with GAST or CCK attenuated endocrinogenesis and promoted epithelial structure formation. Further analysis revealed the emergence of a pancreatic ductal-like cell formation under prolonged CCKBR stimulation. CONCLUSIONS/

interpretationThis study provides mechanistic evidence that the GAST/CCK-CCKBR axis is functionally important during human endoderm and pancreas development. This pathway is repeatedly required during in vitro pluripotent stem cell differentiation, regulating germ-layer formation as well as ductal vs endocrine fate decisions. These findings support the optimisation of pancreatic differentiation protocols and inform future studies on whether this axis contributes to human pancreas development and disease.

Indexed as

Beta cellsCCKCCKBRDefinitive endodermDiabetesDuctalEndocrinogenesisGastrinIsletsStem cell differentiation

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.