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from the we-must-have-cured-mice-from-everything-by-now dept.
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
Researchers have converted human stem cells into insulin-producing cells and demonstrated in mice infused with such cells that blood sugar levels can be controlled and diabetes functionally cured for nine months.
The findings, from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, are published online Feb. 24 in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
"These mice had very severe diabetes with blood sugar readings of more than 500 milligrams per deciliter of blood—levels that could be fatal for a person—and when we gave the mice the insulin-secreting cells, within two weeks their blood glucose levels had returned to normal and stayed that way for many months," said principal investigator Jeffrey R. Millman, Ph.D., an assistant professor of medicine and of biomedical engineering at Washington University.
Several years ago, the same researchers discovered how to convert human stem cells into pancreatic beta cells that make insulin. When such cells encounter blood sugar, they secrete insulin. Still, previous work has had its limitations and had not effectively controlled diabetes in mice.
Now, the researchers have shown a new technique they developed can more efficiently convert human stem cells into insulin-producing cells that more effectively control blood sugar.
"A common problem when you're trying to transform a human stem cell into an insulin-producing beta cell—or a neuron or a heart cell —is that you also produce other cells that you don't want," Millman said. "In the case of beta cells, we might get other types of pancreas cells or liver cells."
[...] He explained that there still is much to do before this strategy can be used to treat people with diabetes. They will need to test the cells over longer periods of time in larger animal models and work to automate the process to have any hope of producing beta cells that can help the millions of people who currently require insulin injections to control their diabetes. But the research is continuing.
More information: Nathaniel J. Hogrebe et al. Targeting the cytoskeleton to direct pancreatic differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells, Nature Biotechnology (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41587-020-0430-6
(Score: 3, Interesting) by DrkShadow on Thursday February 27 2020, @12:27AM (1 child)
Per the summary, first paragraph/sentence,
This is about half as long as the human islet cell transplants of last century. The benefit here over that is that without a donor host, you don't have to take anti-rejection drugs for your whole life to suppress your immune system. (That's mouse vs human, too though.)
Yes, your immune system will kill these off, too. Then you'll go in for another treatment, and be good for some more months. The question I have left is: does your body ramp up to kill off these islet cells? Will they last a shorter and shorter duration after each treatment? Or will you get nine months every treatment, for the rest of your life? That would be a whole lot better than four times daily.
(There are also type 1 diabetics for whom it's not an auto-immune condition. Those people would benefit from a one-time cure.)
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Thursday February 27 2020, @01:50AM
More to the point, can they be enclosed in a semi-permeable membrane with large pores that are just to small to let immune system cells through. (Of course, I'm making an assumption as to how the cells are being attacked. If it's with antigens, then coat the inside of the membrane with anti-sense antigens.)
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.