Use of in vitro-generated, stem cell-derived islets to cure type 1 diabetes: how close are we?

• Published in: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Vol. 958; no. 1; pp. 59 - 68
• Main Authors: Peck, A B, Cornelius, J G, Chaudhari, M, Shatz, D, Ramiya, V K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.04.2002
• Subjects: Animals; Cell Culture Techniques - methods; Cell Differentiation; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - pathology; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - surgery; Embryonic and Fetal Development; Gene Expression Regulation - drug effects; Humans; Insulin - metabolism; Islets of Langerhans - cytology; Islets of Langerhans - drug effects; Islets of Langerhans Transplantation - methods; Mice; Niacinamide - pharmacology; Somatostatin - metabolism; Stem Cells - cytology
• ISSN: 0077-8923; 1749-6632
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2002.tb02947.x

Recent successes in treating type 1 diabetic patients with islet transplantation portends a future need for an increase in available islets. Ductal structures of the adult pancreas contain multipotent stem cells that, under the proper in vitro conditions, can both self-renew and differentiate into functional islets of Langerhans. In vitro-generated islets exhibit temporal changes in mRNA transcripts for islet-associated markers as well as regulated insulin responses following glucose challenge. When implanted into diabetic mice, in vitro-generated islets induce neovascularization and reverse insulin-dependent diabetes. The possibility of growing functional endocrine pancreas from stem cells provides new opportunities to produce large numbers of islets, even autologous islets, for use as implants.