Diabetes New starting point for regenerative therapies identified

New starting point for regenerative therapies
Beta cells in the pancreas are available in different variants. Together with colleagues from the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) and the Technical University of Munich, scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München have now found a marker that can differentiate between two groups of cells: while some produce insulin in order to keep their blood sugar in equilibrium, the others form a strong division reserve pool. This report the researchers currently in the journal Nature.

Image: Alexander Raths - fotolia

The scientists found that the protein Flattop can serve as a marker for the differentiation of beta cells. As the study shows, Flattop-positive cells effectively determine the sugar content of their environment and accordingly release insulin into the blood. Flattop-negative cells appear to be a precursor to the metabolically active cells. If necessary, they multiplied up to four times more often than the positive cells.

"With this discovery, we hope for a regeneration therapy in patients with a deficiency of functional beta cells to stimulate their growth or maturation. On the other hand, attempts can be made to promote the maturation of beta cells in the Petri dish via Flattop-triggered signaling pathways, which is important for cell replacement therapy, but not yet completely possible, "explains Professor Heiko Lickert, Director of the Institute of Diabetes Research. and Regeneration Research at Helmholtz Zentrum München, which led the study. Original publication: Bader E. et al. (2016). Langerhans, Nature, doi: 10.1038 / nature18624