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What is meant by "pro-acinar cell" in the following sentence? progenitors/precursors?

A transient decline in Neurog3 expression from E11 to E12 coincides with peak segregation of MPCs into proximal, Ptf1aNkx6-1+ bipotent progenitors (BPs) and distal, Ptf1a+Nkx6-1 pro-acinar cells (PACs).

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'Pro-' is a general Latin preposition and English prefix with many meanings, but often in biology, as in this case, it means "before". A proacinar cell is not yet an acinar cell (a cell of the acinus) but will be. A related usage occurs with peptides such as proinsulin.

In Latin, "acinus" means a cluster of grapes. You can find 'acini' in many places, notably exocrine glands, but in this case the pancreas is discussed. With the help of Ms. Elbakyan, they tell quite a beautiful story, but the answer to this question is mostly in the first sentence of the abstract: the stem cells (multipotent pancreatic progenitor cells) can become pro-acinar cells (which become secretory tissue of the acini, producing the pancreatic digestive enzymes), or else are reserved as bipotent progenitors that create the ducts and the islets of Langerhans.

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  • $\begingroup$ what is meant by "pro-"? like pro- in English or pro from progenitor? $\endgroup$
    – MCH
    Commented Dec 15, 2020 at 14:45
  • $\begingroup$ Thanks for pointing out this omission! I've updated the answer. $\endgroup$
    – Mike Serfas
    Commented Dec 19, 2020 at 15:28

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