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The researchers caution
that the findings cannot be applied to treating diabetics
now, but may one day provide a means to use the bone
marrow of diabetes patients to produce unlimited quantities
of functional insulin-producing pancreatic cells.
One of the long-standing goals of diabetes
research is to find a way to replace the insulin-producing
cells in the pancreas that are damaged or destroyed
in some forms of diabetes. These cells, called “beta
cells,” are found in the pancreas in groups called
“islets of Langerhans.” In recent years,
researchers have reported that they successfully transplanted
pancreatic islets from cadavers into severely ill diabetics,
most of whom were subsequently freed from daily insulin
shots.
However, the supply of islets from cadavers
is extremely limited, and immunosuppressive drugs were
required to prevent rejection of the transplants, so
medical researchers are looking elsewhere. Several research
groups have reported that embryonic stem cells and pancreatic
cells (other than beta cells) could be converted into
insulin-producing cells, but until now no one had specifically
explored the bone marrow as a source. (The bone marrow
normally replenishes blood cells, and in recent years
researchers have shown that stem cells from the marrow
can become cells of other organs.)
“I am absolutely excited by
the potential applications of our findings,” says
Dr. Hussain. “This is an additional, easily accessible
source of cells from the patients themselves that are
capable of becoming insulin-producing pancreatic cells.”
One of the advantages of using a patient’s own
cells for transplantation is the likelihood that the
cells would not be rejected by the patient’s immune
system. |
