Researchers have discovered a way to reprogram mouse liver cells into precursor pancreatic cells by changing the expression of a single gene. They suggest that the finding is an important step toward showing that reprogramming liver cells might offer a way forward for the treatment of type 1 diabetes in humans. <\/p>\n
The team - led by researchers from the Max Delbrck Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin, Germany - reports the study in the journal Nature Communications. <\/p>\n
Diabetes is a chronic disease that develops either when the body cannot make enough insulin, or when it cannot effectively use the insulin that it does make. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar, or glucose, and it helps to convert glucose from food into energy for cells. <\/p>\n
Uncontrolled diabetes leads to high blood sugar, or hyperglycemia, which over time causes serious damage to many parts of the body, including the heart, blood vessels, nerves, eyes, and kidneys. <\/p>\n
In the United States, an estimated 29.1 million people have diabetes, including 8.1 million who are undiagnosed. <\/p>\n
The most common type of diabetes is type 2, in which the body cannot use insulin effectively. Type 1 diabetes, in which the body does not make enough insulin, accounts for around 5 percent of diabetes cases in adults. <\/p>\n
The new study is likely to interest researchers developing treatments for type 1 diabetes. In people with type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. <\/p>\n
Researchers in regenerative medicine are exploring ways to generate new populations of pancreatic beta cells as a possible avenue for the treatment of type 1 diabetes. <\/p>\n
Fast facts about type 1 diabetes <\/p>\n
Learn more about type 1 diabetes <\/p>\n
The new study concerns a method called cell reprogramming, in which it is possible to convert one type of cell into another type of cell, by tweaking genes. <\/p>\n
An obvious source of cells for reprogramming into insulin-producing beta cells might be other types of cell in the pancreas. <\/p>\n
In their study paper, the researchers mention other research that shows such pancreatic cells display a high degree of the necessary \"cellular plasticity.\" <\/p>\n
However, the researchers chose to focus on liver cells because, from a clinical perspective, they offer important advantages over pancreatic cells; for example, they are more accessible and abundant. <\/p>\n
They also cite studies that have partially corrected hyperglycemia in diabetic mice by reprogramming liver cells into pancreatic beta cells. <\/p>\n
The new study shows how just by changing the expression of a single gene called TGIF2, the team was able to coax mouse liver cells to take on a less specialized state and then stimulate them to develop into cells with pancreatic features. <\/p>\n
When the researchers transplanted the modified cells into diabetic mice, the animals' blood sugar levels improved, suggesting the cells were behaving in a way similar to pancreatic beta cells. <\/p>\n
The researchers identified TGIF2 (Three-Amino-acid-Loop-Extension homeobox TG-interacting factor 2) by running gene expression profiling tests on immature liver and pancreas cells isolated from mouse embryos as the cells differentiated toward their particular cell fates. <\/p>\n
They found that at a particular differentiation branchpoint, the expression of TGIF2 changes in opposite directions as the cells commit to either liver or pancreatic fates. <\/p>\n
The authors note that their study shows that \"TGIF2 is a developmental regulator of pancreas versus liver fate decision,\" and when expressed in adult mouse liver cells, it suppresses the transcription program for liver cells and induces a subset of pancreatic genes. <\/p>\n
There is still a lot of work to do to investigate whether the results with mice translate to humans. The team has already started working on human liver cells. <\/p>\n
\"There are differences between mice and humans, which we still have to overcome. But we are well on the path to developing a 'proof of concept' for future therapies.\" <\/p>\n
Senior author Dr. Francesca M. Spagnoli, Max Delbrck Center <\/p>\n
Learn how type 1 diabetes kills some insulin-producing cells but not others. <\/p>\n
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See the rest here:<\/p>\n
Type 1 diabetes: Reprogramming liver cells may lead to new treatments - Medical News Today<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Researchers have discovered a way to reprogram mouse liver cells into precursor pancreatic cells by changing the expression of a single gene. They suggest that the finding is an important step toward showing that reprogramming liver cells might offer a way forward for the treatment of type 1 diabetes in humans Continue reading