Brain Stem Cells Coaxed To Produce Insulin

Researchers from Stanford University in California are reporting promising results from a new study aimed at turning stem cells gathered from the brain into cells capable of producing insulin. If the concept is proven in additional studies, it may one day represent a new treatment -- or even a cure -- for diabetes. The authors emphasize the work is only in its very early stages today, and experiments in humans are still a ways off. However, they say the fact that they were able to transition neuronal cells into insulin-producing islet cells in the laboratory is exciting. They were also able to take the laboratory-created cells and implant them in mice, where they also proved capable of producing insulin in response to sugar. The study grew out of previous investigations showing embryonic stem cells can be coaxed into islet cells. However, embryonic stem cells are hard to work with and in short supply, so these researchers decided to see if stem cells from the brain might work as well. They were encouraged in their work by other studies showing neuronal stem cells can transform into cells that line the blood vessels. Plus, neuronal cells have some things in common with islet cells. One example is that they both release proteins (in the case of the islet cells, the protein is insulin itself). Study author Seung Kim, M.D., Ph.D., from Stanford University, says the work is adding to the growing body of knowledge on how various types of stem cells transform into islet cells. "The more ways we discover to form insulin-producing cells from stem cells, the more likely it is that stem cells can be used for islet replacement."