Stem cell breakthrough offers diabetes hope

Scientists have discovered a new technique for turning embryonic stem cells into insulin-producing pancreatic tissue in what could prove a significant breakthrough in the quest to find new treatments for diabetes.

The University of Manchester team, working with colleagues at the University of Sheffield, were able to genetically manipulate the stem cells so that they produced an important protein known as a ‘transcription factor’.

Stem cells have the ability to become any type of cell, so scientists believe they may hold the key to treating a number of diseases including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and diabetes.

However, a major stumbling block to developing new treatments has been the difficulty scientists have faced ensuring the stem cells turn into the type of cell required for any particular condition – in the case of diabetes, pancreatic cells.

“Unprompted, the majority of stem cells turn into simple nerve cells called neurons,” explained Dr Karen Cosgrove, who led the team in Manchester’s Faculty of Life Sciences.

“Less than one per cent of embryonic stem cells would normally become insulin-producing pancreatic cells, so the challenge has been to find a way of producing much greater quantities of these cells.”

The pancreas contains different types of specialised cells – exocrine cells, which produce enzymes to aid digestion, and endocrine cells, including beta cells, which produce the hormone insulin to regulate the blood glucose levels. Diabetes results when there is not enough insulin to meet the body’s demands.

There are two forms of the disease: type-1 diabetes is due to not enough insulin being produced by the pancreas, while type-2 or adult-onset diabetes occurs when the body fails to respond properly to the insulin that is produced.

The team found that the transcription factor PAX4 encouraged high numbers of embryonic stem cells – about 20% – to become pancreatic beta cells with the potential to produce insulin when transplanted into the body.

Furthermore, the scientists for the first time were able to separate the new beta cells from other types of cell produced using a technique called ‘fluorescent-activated cell sorting’ which uses a special dye to colour the pancreatic cells green.

“Research in the United States has shown that transplanting a mixture of differentiated cells and stem cells can cause cancer, so the ability to isolate the pancreatic cells in the lab is a major boost in our bid to develop a successful therapy,” said Dr Cosgrove.

“Scientists have had some success increasing the number of pancreatic cells produced by altering the environment in which the stem cells develop, so the next stage of our research will be to combine both methods to see what proportions we can achieve.”

Scientists believe that transplanting functional beta cells into patients, most likely into their liver where there is a strong blood supply, offers the best hope for finding a cure for type-1 diabetes. It could also offer hope to those with type-2 diabetes whose condition requires insulin injections.

But the more immediate benefit of the team’s research is likely to be in providing researchers with a ready-made supply of human pancreatic cells on which to study the disease process of diabetes and test new drugs.

The research, which was funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Medical Research Council, is published in the journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) One.

Source: University of Manchester

Related stories:

Statins have unexpected effect on pool of powerful brain cells
Cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins have a profound effect on an elite group of cells important to brain health as we age, scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center have found. The new findings shed light on a long-debated potential role for statins in the area of dementia.
Small protein may have big role in making more bone and less fat
A small protein may have a big role in helping you make more bone and less fat, researchers say. "The pathways are parallel, and the idea is if you can somehow disrupt the fat production pathway, you will get more bone," says Dr. Xingming Shi, bone biologist at the Medical College of Georgia Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics.
Human stem cells show promise against fatal children's diseases
Scientists have used human stem cells to dramatically improve the condition of mice with a neurological condition similar to a set of diseases in children that are invariably fatal, according to an article in the June issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell.
Got sugar? Skeletal muscle development responds to nutrient availability
A new study finds that restricted nutrient availability prevents muscle stem cells from growing into mature muscle cells. The research, published by Cell Press in the May issue of the journal Developmental Cell, provides exciting new information about how developing muscle cells sense and respond to nutrient levels. The study adds a new twist to ongoing research into the effects of caloric restriction on physiology and aging and may lead to new therapeutic avenues for muscle wasting.
Study in 7,000 men and women ties obesity, inflammatory proteins to heart failure risk
Heart specialists at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere report what is believed to be the first wide-scale evidence linking severe overweight to prolonged inflammation of heart tissue and the subsequent damage leading to failure of the body’s blood-pumping organ.
Menstrual blood -- a valuable source of multipotential stem cells?
Researchers seeking new and more abundant sources of stem cells for use in regenerative medicine have identified a potentially unlimited, noncontroversial, easily collectable, and inexpensive source – menstrual blood.
Mature B cells reprogrammed to stem-cell-like state
Fully mature, differentiated B cells can be reprogrammed to an embryonic-stem-cell-like state, without the use of an egg according to a study published in the April 18 issue of Cell.
Embryonic stem cells could help to overcome immune rejection problems
Tissues derived from embryonic stem (ES) cells could help to pacify the immune system and so prevent recipients from rejecting them, the UK National Stem Cell Network Science Meeting will hear today. Speaking at the conference in Edinburgh, Dr Paul Fairchild from the University of Oxford will tell delegates that although tissues derived from ES cells succumb to rejection, they have an inherent immune-privilege which, if exploited, could have far reaching implications for the treatment of conditions such as diabetes, heart attacks and Parkinson’s.

News discussion:

General Science news