insulin plants. coax the cells of the bone marrow develop into pancreatic beta cells like those represented here would be a boon for diabetics.
Scientists say they have shown for the first time in a live animal cells from bone marrow can become insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. They hope that this could be the first step towards developing a treatment for diabetes that do not require regular injections of insulin.
A team led by Andreea Ianus University of New York transplanted bone marrow cells from male mice into female mice whose bone marrow had been destroyed by radiation. The donor cells were engineered to produce a fluorescent protein (GFP) they began to produce insulin. About 6 weeks after transplantation, the researchers discovered male cells (identified by their Y chromosomes) in the pancreas of females. Cells produced to insulin and other substances associated with the pancreatic beta cells. They report their findings in the March Journal of Clinical Investigation.
The work is "fascinating" and "important ... if it turns out to be right," said Douglas A. Melton diabetes researcher at Harvard University. Other researchers, like Markus Grompe Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, maintain a healthy skepticism. "many laboratories have studied pancreatic cells derived from bone marrow and not seen similar results," said Grompe, who wonders if the insulin signals a sign that the donor cells fused with simply producing beta cells resident insulin instead of turning into beta cells themselves.
Ianus and his colleagues, however, believe they have excluded this possibility. Co-author Mehboob Hussain said that they tested for fusion by inserting the male marrow cells in females whose beta cells contained an inactivated form of GFP. Male cells contain no GFP but had an enzyme that activates the inactive form of the GFP. Cells not shine, indicating that the cells of the male marrow had not fused with the beta cells of women.
High hopes are riding on the next experience, which is whether the marrow cells will actually restore insulin in a mouse model of diabetes. Although the rate of production of new cells is low in experiments with non-diabetic mice, Hussain predicts that the new beta cells production rate will be much higher in the damaged pancreas.
Related Sites
Information on diabetes from the National Institute of Diabetes and
Digestive and Kidney Diseases
pancreatic physiology Overview
0 Komentar