Researchers have developed in animal models a technique that can replenish the cells destroyed by diabetes type 1. This could free patients from lifelong injections, which are a hallmark of this disease. Dr. Ding, professor at University of California San Francisco, stated that regenerative medicine has the potential to provide a limitless source of insulin-producing beta cells that can be transplanted in the patient. The Gladstone Institutes team first collected skin cells called fibroblasts from laboratory mice.
They then treated the fibroblasts using a unique cocktail of molecules and reprogramming agents, transforming them into endoderm cells. Endoderm cells, which are found in early embryos and eventually mature into major organs of the body including the pancreas, are one type of cell. Ke Li, PhD, the study’s principal author, said that using another chemical cocktail they transformed these endoderm cells into cells which mimicked early pancreas like cells, called PPLCs. The team wanted to test whether the same thing would happen in animal models.
They transplanted PPLCs into mice that had been modified to have high glucose levels (hyperglycemia), a key indication of diabetes. Dr. Li continued, ‘Importantly the glucose levels of the animals started to gradually decrease after one week, approaching normal levels’. ‘When we removed the cells transplanted, we immediately saw a glucose spike. This showed a direct correlation between the transplantation PPLCs and reduced hyperglycemia. The study was published by Cell Stem Cell.
