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Item
#3 Item Revisited:
Reversing
Diabetes: GLP-1 Hormone Makes the News Again- THE GOOD!
“Cell
Therapy 'To Reverse Diabetes'
Scientists
have taken the first steps towards reversing diabetes using stem
cells grown in a laboratory.
A
naturally occurring intestinal hormone may one day lend a hand to
diabetics by providing them with insulin-producing cells, new
study findings suggest.
Researchers
in the US have found a naturally-occurring hormone which can
transform adult stem cells into cells which can produce insulin.
The converted cells
could be transplanted into a diabetic patient to help regulate
blood sugar levels. The
hormone, gluucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), is released in response
to food intake, helping to regulate blood levels of sugar, or
glucose, says lead investigator Dr. Joel F. Habener of
Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Scientists
are now working with a cellular therapy company to test whether
use of stem cells could cure the disease.
Stem cells are "blank" cells which can be coaxed
into becoming different types of tissue.
In
the current study, the researchers found that when they took human
islet stem cells and grew them in the lab, they could coax them to
become insulin-producing cells by exposing them to GLP-1, Habener
explained.
Stem
cells are immature cells with the capability of maturing, or
differentiating, into several different types of body cells. In
earlier research, Habener and his colleagues demonstrated that
islet stem cells can be found in the islets and ducts of the
pancreas.
Transplanting
functioning insulin-producing cells made from a diabetic person's
own stem cells would eliminate the risk of rejection by the body,
while further exposure to GLP-1 could help maintain these
transplanted cells and even induce the production of additional
ones, Habener explained in an interview with Reuters Health.
Researchers
found that the hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 can be used to turn
stem cells into pancreatic beta cells - which in turn secrete
insulin.
Stem
cells are immature cells with the capability of maturing, or
differentiating, into several different types of body cells. In
earlier research, Habener and his colleagues demonstrated that
islet stem cells can be found in the islets and ducts of the
pancreas.
Transplanting
functioning insulin-producing cells made from a diabetic person's
own stem cells would eliminate the risk of rejection by the body,
while further exposure to GLP-1 could help maintain these
transplanted cells and even induce the production of additional
ones, Habener explained.
Beta
cell transplants have been tried in the past but the cells are in
short supply and may be rejected. SOURCE:
Endocrinology 2002;143.
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