Stem cells may end need for insulin shots

[Angel]

In what could be a life-saving breakthrough for diabetics, scientists are working on a project to make stem cells perform the functions of beta cells, located inside the pancreas and responsible for producing insulin.

Insulin is the hormone that converts sugar (glucose) and starches into energy and regulates blood sugar inside the body.

Using stem cells' capability to develop into any cell-type in the body, scientists from the US National Institutes of Health, University of California, and the University of Alberta are extracting stem cells from the brain (neurons), the pancreatic duct and umbilical chord blood (embryonic stem cells) to test if these cells can replicate the functions of beta cells.

Once successful, scientists plan to inject these cells directly into the liver of a diabetic through the portal vein channel with the help of a cadaver, where they will remain safe from the human body's immune system and start secreting insulin.

The discovery will especially help patients suffering from Type I diabetes, in which the body does not produce any insulin.

Researchers have already found that bone marrow stem cells can transform into insulin-producing pancreatic cells in mice.

Researchers, however, said the findings cannot be applied to treating diabetics immediately but will provide the means to produce unlimited quantities of functional insulin-producing cells culled from the stem cells of diabetes patients.

And since patients would produce their own cells for transplantation, the cells would not be rejected by their immune system. An expert at the Indian Council of Medical Research said: "Though this research is in initial stages, the scientific community is excited.

Turning cells into insulin-producing pancreatic endocrine cells or beta cells will be a phenomenal achievement. It will also free diabetics from taking daily multiple insulin shots."

According to the endocrinology chief of the State University of New York, Paresh Dandona, stem cells have been found to mature into beta cells once they receive a stimulus identified as GLP1 from the body.

A protein inside the cell called PDX1 then starts producing insulin. "We are trying to ensure the stem cells receive the stimulus GLP1 and start producing the protein PDX1. Beta cells have been found to survive safely only in the liver," he said.

Dandona added: "Scientists will first pass a needle through a liver with the cadaver inside it shooting out a dye. As the liver is a big organ, the dye will help scientists identify whether they have reached the portal vein.

Once inside the vein, the cadaver will shoot the beta cells into the portal circulation, where they will sit and produce insulin."