Professor Len Harrison (pictured) and Dr Ilia Banakh have identified stem cells in the adult pancreas that can be turned into insulin producing cells, a discovery that may lead to new diabetes treatments.
Posted on 11/15/2012 10:13:02 PM PST by neverdem
Professor Len Harrison (pictured) and Dr Ilia Banakh have identified stem cells in the adult pancreas that can be turned into insulin producing cells, a discovery that may lead to new diabetes treatments.
Stem cells in the adult pancreas have been identified that can be turned into insulin producing cells, a finding that means people with type 1 diabetes might one day be able to regenerate their own insulin-producing cells.
The discovery was made by scientists from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and provides further evidence that stem cells don't only occur in the embryo.
The ability to produce the hormone insulin is crucial for controlling blood sugar (glucose) levels. In people with type 1 diabetes the body's immune system destroys the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas, leading to a potentially fatal elevation of blood glucose levels.
People with type 1 diabetes rely on multiple daily injections of insulin, or an insulin infusion pump, to control their blood glucose, but control is not perfect and they are at risk of serious long-term health complications.
Dr Ilia Banakh and Professor Len Harrison from the institute's Molecular Medicine division have not only identified and isolated stem cells from the adult pancreas, but developed a technique to drive these stem cells to become insulin-producing cells that can secrete insulin in response to glucose.
Professor Harrison said that insulin-producing cells had previously been generated from cells in the adult pancreas with 'stem cell-like' properties. "But what Dr Banakh has done is pinpoint the cell of origin of the insulin-producing cells and shown that the number of these cells and their ability to turn into insulin-producing cells increases in response to pancreas injury. This is exciting, because it means that the potential to regenerate insulin-producing cells is there in all of us, even as adults," Professor Harrison said.
"In the long-term, we hope that people with type 1 diabetes might be able to regenerate their own insulin-producing cells. This would mean that they could make their own insulin and regain control of their blood glucose levels, curing their diabetes. Of course, this strategy will only work if we can devise ways to overcome the immune attack on the insulin-producing cells, that causes diabetes in the first place," Professor Harrison said.
Professor Harrison is a clinician scientist whose research led to current clinical trials that could prevent type 1 diabetes. In recognition of his achievements, Diabetes Australia will tonight award Professor Harrison the Outstanding Contribution to Diabetes Award at its awards dinner marking World Diabetes Day.
The stem cell research, published this month in the journal PLOS One, was supported by the JDRF, the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia and the Victorian Government.
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Don’t worry - owebamacare will destroy this.
“Australia didn’t build that!”
FReepmail me if you want on or off my stem cell/regenerative medicine and/or diabetes ping lists.
FReepmail me if you want on or off my stem cell/regenerative medicine and/or diabetes ping lists.
My little girl is a Type 1 diabetic...hopefully Obamacare doesn’t screw this up.
For your daughter’s sake I hope not either. I am not optimistic. I work in the medical field and personally experience how our government screws up everything it touches.
Really? Was there some controversy about the actual existence of adult stem cells? I say this provides further evidence of a piss poor education system and hack journalism.
I second that!
Bad news for liberals. They want to use only embryonic stem cells.
Does the immune system continue to look for insulin-producing cells? Or was it a one-time attack that wiped them all out and then done? I developed Type 1 diabetes at 39. I went 39 years without my immune system destroying the insulin-producing cells. If those cells magically reappeared, would my body destroy them? Maybe they've done research and know that it would; once the body has identified them as an enemy, it stays that way. But, I haven't read anything regarding that, primarily because it has been a non-issue.
The immune system continues to kill off insulin producing cells throughout the life of the patient.
This is why you don't hear too much about islet transplants anymore. It works for awhile until the new islets are also killed off. Plus you also have to take anti-rejection drugs to stop the immune system from killing them off just because they are foreign material.
The anti-rejection drugs are worse than the insulin shots.
Thanks for the information. Yeah, insulin shots are better then fearing every contagion that might be around.
There's a link there for the whole article near the top on the right.
bfl
Thanks neverdem. Adult Stem Cells ping.
This fellow found beta cell stem cells in adults.
In just about every other stem cell discovery that statement would have been political, but not here.
Bttt
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