Banana-lemon beta cells

Scientists from the Singapore Institute of Medical Biology (IMB) and the Faculty of Medicine of the National University (NUS) reported another major achievement in the field of diabetes treatment. A group led by associate professors Lim Sai Kiang and Li Guodong managed to grow full-fledged pancreatic beta cells from mouse embryonic stem cells.

After transplantation of these cells to diabetic mice, their blood glucose levels returned to normal, and after removal of the graft returned to the initial high level.

It is especially important that none of the experimental animals developed teratomas – tumors into which undifferentiated embryonic cells often degenerate in the recipient organisms. The transplanted cells retained the ability to produce insulin unchanged throughout the observation period. According to the researchers, this method can also be used to obtain beta cells from human ESCs.

The results of the work are published in two articles in the electronic version of the journal 'Stem Cell Research'.

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25.11.2008