During embryonic development, the pancreas derives from two separate outgrowths of endodermal cells called the ventral and dorsal pancreatic buds. These buds fuse to form the definitive pancreas. A new study shows that a bipotential cell population exists in the embryonic endoderm that gives rise to both the liver and the ventral pancreas. The decision by these cells to adopt either a pancreatic or hepatic cell fate is determined by their proximity to the developing heart.
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Duncan, S. The pancreas and its heartless beginnings. Nat Genet 27, 355–356 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/86839
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/86839
