In a finding that holds hope for a new way to treat diabetes, scientists have said that they have used mouse embryonic stem cells to generate cells that express insulin.
Nadya Lumelsky of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and colleagues reported their findings on April 26 in Sciencexpress (www.sciencexpress.org), an online publication of Science. The insulin-expressing cells form clusters that resemble normal pancreatic islet cells. "Glucose triggers insulin release from these cell clusters by mechanisms similar to those employed in vivo," the authors said.
It is too early to know if the approach will work in people. However, said Robert Goldstein, MD, PhD, chief scientific officer of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International: "Using mouse embryonic stem cells to create insulin-secreting cells is an important discovery which holds great promise for patients seeking a cure for juvenile (or type 1) diabetes."
In his statement, Dr. Goldstein noted the overall importance of using embryonic stem cells to generate a variety of organs and tissues. "Today we need greater understanding of the cellular and genetic events that could transform embryonic stem cells into organs and tissues," he said. "These organs and tissues could be used for transplantation to restore function at a time when we face a serious shortage of organs for this purpose."
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The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International posts its statement at www.jdrf.org/pubinfo/news042601.html.
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