Below is a summary of media coverage from various sources of recent studies by researchers at Harvard University in which pancreatic cells were converted Into insulin-producing cells:
Boston Globe, August 28, 2008: "New technique finds a faster way to change one cell type into another":
"Harvard researchers have transformed one type of pancreas cell in living mice into another - the insulin- producing cells that are destroyed in type 1 diabetes - potentially giving stem cell scientists a powerful new way to one day grow replacement tissues for patients. The technique, which the researchers said improved diabetic symptoms in the mice, is faster than another pioneering method, in which scientists turn mature adult cells into embryonic-like stem cells that have the capacity to become any cell in the body."
New York Times, August 28, 2008: "Researchers Report Advances in Cell Conversion Technique":
"Biologists at Harvard have converted cells from a mouse’s pancreas into the insulin-producing cells that are destroyed in diabetes, suggesting that the natural barriers between the body’s cell types may not be as immutable as supposed. This and other recent experiments raise the possibility that a patient’s healthy cells might be transformed into the type lost to a disease far more simply and cheaply than in the cumbersome proposals involving stem cells."
Financial Times, August 27 2008 20:53 | Last updated: August 27 2008 20:53: "Cell advance offers medical benefits":
"Biologists have for the first time transformed one type of adult cell directly into another, without using stem cells en route. This latest tour de force in the fastest-moving field of biology – reprogramming of living cells – was carried out by Douglas Melton and Joe Zhou of Harvard University. They made insulin-producing “beta cells” in living mice, by injecting a combination of three genes into other cells in the pancreas. ...The discovery could lead to a cure for diabetes, and it has profound implications for regenerative medicine – replacing diseased or injured tissues with new ones in good working order."
Milwaukee Journal Setinel, August 27, 2008: "'Makeover' sidesteps stem cells":
"After more than a decade of trying to harvest the promise of embryonic stem cells, scientists have hit on a fascinating new approach that sidesteps them entirely. By adding genes to targeted cells in the body, they have been able change the basic makeup of those cells, turning them into potential disease-curing cells. The feat, which was performed in mice, involved reprogramming cells in the pancreas that normally do not produce insulin so that they began producing the sugar-regulating hormone, opening the door to a potential new approach to treating diabetes."
HealthDay News, August 27, 2008: "Pancreatic Cells Turned Into Insulin-Producing Beta Cells":
"Scientists have succeeded in transforming pancreatic cells from adult mice into insulin-producing beta cells, a feat they call an 'extreme makeover.' The achievement is a step toward finding a treatment or even a cure for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, both of which involve problems with either insulin production or uptake."
Associated Press, August 27, 2008: "Cells change identity in promising breakthrough":
"...Scientists have transformed one type of cell into another in living mice, a big step toward the goal of growing replacement tissues to treat a variety of diseases. The cell identity switch turned ordinary pancreas cells into the rarer type that churns out insulin, essential for preventing diabetes. But its implications go beyond diabetes to a host of possibilities, scientists said."
Technology Review, August 27, 2008: "A Stem-Cell Revolution":
"Scientists at Harvard University recently announced a much anticipated milestone in regenerative medicine: the creation of stem cells from patients with a variety of diseases. The cells, which can be encouraged to develop into cell types damaged by disease, such as the insulin-producing cells in diabetes or neurons in Parkinson's, are poised to give scientists an unprecedented view of disease."
United Press International, August 27, 2008: "Stunning regenerative medicine study cited":
"U.S. scientists, in what's called a stunning achievement, have transformed one type of adult mouse cell directly into another type inside a living animal. ...Using a technique they call 'direct reprogramming,' the team transformed mouse exocrine cells, which make up about 95 percent of the pancreas, into insulin-producing beta cells."
Reuters, August 27, 2008 256 p, EDT: "Researchers turn living cells into insulin-makers":
"Researchers have transformed ordinary cells into insulin-producing cells in a living mouse, improving symptoms of diabetes in a major step towards regenerative medicine. The technique, called direct reprogramming, bypasses the need for stem cells -- the body's master cells which, until now, have been indispensable to efforts to custom-make tissue and organ transplants."
Bloomberg News, August 27, 2008: "Harvard's Cell `Makeover' May Spur Diabetes Therapy":
"Using a kind of biological alchemy, Harvard University researchers have turned one type of cell found in the pancreas of mice into the variety that secretes the hormone insulin. If the technique can be used safely in humans, it may one day provide a treatment for diabetes, which occurs when the body either can't produce, or else makes too little of, the insulin needed to process blood sugar."
