Source: Columbia University Medical Center
Date: March 12, 2012
Summary:
A study by Columbia researchers suggests that cells in the patient's intestine could be coaxed into making insulin, circumventing the need for a stem cell transplant. Until now, stem cell transplants have been seen by many researchers as the ideal way to replace cells lost in type I diabetes and to free patients from insulin injections. The research -- conducted in mice -- was published 11 March 2012 in the journal Nature Genetics.
The study shows that certain progenitor cells in the intestine of mice have the surprising ability to make insulin-producing cells. The insulin made by the gut cells also was released into the bloodstream, worked as well as normal insulin, and was made in sufficient quantity to nearly normalize blood glucose levels in otherwise diabetic mice.
