The application of single-cell analytic techniques to the study of stem/progenitor cell niches supports the emerging view that pancreatic cell lineages are in a state of flux between differentiation stages. For all their value, however, such analyses merely offer a snapshot of the cellular palette of the tissue at any given time point. Conclusions about potential developmental/regeneration paths are solely based on bioinformatics inferences. In this context, the advent of new techniques for the long-term culture and lineage tracing of human pancreatic slices offers a virtual window into the native organ and presents the field with a unique opportunity to serially resolve pancreatic regeneration dynamics at the single-cell level.

单细胞分析技术在干/祖细胞生态位研究中的应用支持了新出现的观点，即胰腺细胞谱系在分化阶段之间处于不断变化的状态。然而，尽管它们具有所有价值，但此类分析仅提供了在任何给定时间点组织的细胞调色板的快照。关于潜在发育/再生路径的结论完全基于生物信息学推断。在这种情况下，用于人类胰腺切片长期培养和谱系追踪的新技术的出现为了解原生器官提供了一个虚拟窗口，并为该领域提供了在单细胞水平上连续解决胰腺再生动力学的独特机会.