EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -How does development in the pancreas illustrate differential gene expression? Progenitor cells in the pancreas divide to give rise to daughter cells that differentiate as either exocrine or endocrine cells.

Detailed explanation-2: -Cell differentiation is how generic embryonic cells become specialized cells. This occurs through a process called gene expression. Gene expression is the specific combination of genes that are turned on or off (expressed or repressed), and this is what dictates how a cell functions.

Detailed explanation-3: -Neurons and pancreatic -cells share many remarkable features, including similar gene expression, function and physiology (1–7). It has been shown that human neural progenitors can be induced to differentiate into pancreatic cells (66), suggesting that these two cell types use a very similar gene regulatory network.

Detailed explanation-4: -The pancreatic islet cell types include alpha cells, which produce glucagon; beta cells, which produce insulin; delta cells, which produce somatostatin; and PP cells, which produce pancreatic polypeptide. Insulin and glucagon are involved in the regulation of glucose metabolism.