Toward a cell-based cure for diabetes: advances in production and transplant of beta cells.
Abstract
Type 1 diabetes results from autoimmune destruction of the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreatic islets of Langerhans. Although developments in exogenous insulin therapy have greatly improved clinical outcomes in patients with diabetes, the ability of the pancreatic beta cell to exquisitely regulate the delivery of insulin and maintain normal levels of blood glucose is still far superior to what can be achieved by external delivery of insulin. As a result, the majority of patients with type 1 diabetes still experience the complications of chronic hyperglycemia or serious and potentially life-threatening hypoglycemia. The shortcomings of medical therapy have driven research toward more direct approaches of beta cell replacement. Indeed, the specificity of beta cell loss in type 1 diabetes makes this disease a particularly attractive candidate for cell-based therapies. In order for significant progress to be made, however, a thorough understanding of beta cell biology and more broadly islet biology is necessary. This review addresses recent advances in developmental biology that have expanded our understanding of islet cell differentiation, assesses the promise and limitations of islet transplantation, and discusses the ...Continue Reading
References
Differentiation of embryonic stem cells to insulin-secreting structures similar to pancreatic islets
NeuroD-betacellulin gene therapy induces islet neogenesis in the liver and reverses diabetes in mice
Citations
Pancreatic islet derived stem cells can express co-stimulatory molecules of antigen-presenting cells
Menin and PRMT5 suppress GLP1 receptor transcript and PKA-mediated phosphorylation of FOXO1 and CREB
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