Pancreatic islets take center stage in diabetes research
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Posted on Apr 21, 2009, 2 p.m.
By gary clark
Pancreatic islets, a type of hormone-producing cell that is playing an increasingly significant role in diabetes research, may impact the development of new treatments – and may even help cure diabetes, say researchers from California’s City of Hope National Medical Center.
Cell replacement therapy involving transplantation of pancreatic islets from a donated pancreas into a person with diabetes is considered the "most prominent application of islet-based research today," writes John S. Kaddis and his colleagues from the City of Hope National Medical Center, in Duarte, CA in the recent Journal of the American Medical Association's themed issue on diabetes. According to the scientists, studies have already shown the success of islet transplantation with insulin-dependent diabetics to "improve glucose control and in a few cases to lead to insulin independence." The goal of transplantation is to restore the function of beta cells in the pancreas, the destruction of which causes type 1 diabetes.
Such studies are leading experts in the field of diabetes research to suggest that pancreatic islets could play a major role in the development of new treatments in the future. "The importance of human pancreatic islets, clinically or for basic science research, is substantiated by the number and quality of studies being performed that rely on these preparations," write the study authors. "Human pancreatic islets will be critical for restoration of beta-cell function in patients with diabetes." However, they caution that even if there is adequate funding for research, the ongoing challenge of supplying enough human islets is a key issue that must be addressed.
Demand for human islets used in transplantations has indeed escalated. The City of Hope National Medical Center researchers note that based on data generated by the Islet Cell Resource (ICR) consortium, "a total of 151 national and international scientists received human islets for use in both intramural research performed by the ICR, as well as 182 clinical and basic science projects submitted to the consortium for support." Islet-sharing networks have been established to help meet the demand. From 2001 to 2008, 14 laboratories in the ICR produced 297.6 million islets. Of those two-thirds were used for basic research, and one-third for clinical purposes.
News Release: Pancreatic islets in forefront of diabetes research www.forbes.com April 13, 2009
