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Insulin-producing Cells
Created Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes -- signif- icant step forward in regenerative medicine: - - - August 28, 2008 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080828082819.htm - - - ScienceDaily (Aug. 28, 2008) - In a feat of biological prestidigitation likely to turn the field of regenerative medicine on its head ... - directly turning one type of fully formed adult cell into another type of adult cell. ... using a technique it is calling "direct repro- gramming," the team is able to turn mouse exocrine cells, which make up about 95 per- cent of the pancreas, into precious and rare insulin-producing beta cells. These beta cells, which comrpise about one percent of the pan- creas, are the cells that die off in Type 1 dia- betes. In addition to its value for the field of regen- erative medicine, the work also is a major step forward toward eventually developing a treatment for Type 2 - and eventually Type 1 - diabetes. ... "We're intrigued by the possibility that this approach, which has worked for pancreatic insulin-producing cells, could be more widely applied to many kind of cells, especially those that are lost in disease or following injury," Melton said. "And at the same time, we are exploring the possibility of using this general approach in a clinical context to make new beta cells for patients." The work was principally supported by the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and Howard Hughes Medical Institute. - - - end excerpts - - - - - - http://tinyurl.com/DiscoverCellTransformation - - - Excerpts: In a discovery that's being hailed as a leap forward in regenerative medicine, researchers have found a way to transform common pan- creatic cells in an adult mouse into the rare, insulin-producing beta cells that are destroyed in type 1 diabetes. Previously, researchers believed that the only way to transmute an adult cell was to first coax it back into stem cell form and then to reprogram it; this new research removes the first step entirely. The accomplishment raises the tantalizing prospect that patients suffering from not only diabetes but also heart disease, strokes and many other ailments could eventually have some of their cells reprogrammed to cure their afflictions without the need for drugs, transplants or other therapies. "It's kind of an extreme makeover of a cell," said [lead researcher] Douglas A. Melton.. The goal is to create cells that are missing or defective in people. It's very exciting" [Wash- ington Post]. http://tinyurl.com/AdultCellsReprogrammed Excerpts (from Washington Post article): ... The experiments, detailed online yesterday in the journal Nature, raise the prospect that patients suffering from not only diabetes but also heart disease, strokes and many other ail- ments could eventually have some of their cells reprogrammed to cure their afflictions without the need for drugs, transplants or other therapies. "It's kind of an extreme makeover of a cell," said Douglas A. Melton, co-director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, who led the research. "The goal is to create cells that are missing or defec- tive in people. It's very exciting." ... "I'm stunned," said Robert Lanza, chief scientific officer of Advanced Cell Technology in Worcester, Mass., a developer of stem cell therapies. "It intro- duces a whole new paradigm for treating disease." ... Although the experiment involved mice, Melton and other researchers were optimistic that the approach would work in people. ... Melton has already started experimenting with human cells in the laboratory and hopes that within a year he can start planning the first stu- dies involving people with diabetes. "I would say within five years, we could be ready to start human trials," Melton said. Other scientists have begun trying the approach on other cells, including those that could be used to treat spinal cord injuries and neurode- generative disorders such as Lou Gehrig's disease. ... "Embryonic stem cells offer a unique window in human disease and remain a key to the long- term progress of regenerative medicine," Melton said. ... - - - end Washington Post excerpts - - - ... "And now that it's shown that you can turn one of your cells into another, it makes you think of what other cells you'd like to convert" [Wired News]. http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/08/extreme-cell-ma/ Excerpts from Wired News article: In an unprecedented flourish of genetic alchemy, scientists used a virus to coax one type of cell to become another, without the intermediate stem cell step. The research, conducted with cells from the pan- creas, could soon be used to treat people with diabetes -- but its long-term impacts could be even greater. "This represents a parallel approach for how to make cells in regenerative medicine," said Doug- las Melton, co-director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. "And now that it's shown that you can turn one of your cells into another, it makes you think of what other cells you'd like to convert." ... Melton's team avoided stem cells, and their bag- gage, altogether by using a virus to tweak three developmental genes in pancreatic tissue cells in mice. Three days later, these became insulin- producing beta cells, and appear free from the complications that have frustrated stem cell researchers. If the technique, described today in Nature, is replicated in humans, it could be used to treat insulin deficiencies in people with diabetes -- and that's just the start. "Neurodegenerative diseases come to mind, as does cardiovascular disease," said Melton. Arthur Caplan, a University of Pennsylvania bio- ethicist who wasn't involved in the study, called the findings a "breakthrough" for both diabetes and the field of regenerative medicine. "It's a system that's easier to manipulate than get- ting a new stem cell to turn into something you want," he said. "The kind of work done here has the promise to go into clinical practice in a rela- tively short time." Caveats remain, the foremost being the replica- tion of the work in human tissue. ... - - - end of excerpts from Wired News article - - -
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