People with type 1 diabetes could grow their own insulin-producing cells, say researchers

Dec 22 2010

At the annual meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology last week in Philadelphia, researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C., announced that it may be possible for people with type 1 diabetes to grow their own insulin-producing cells, a breakthrough that could lead to a cure for the disease.

The Georgetown team, led by developmental biologist Ian Gallicano, isolated sperm-producing stem cells from the testes of organ donors. The Georgetown researchers then treated the cells with chemicals to coax them into mimicking beta-islet cells from the pancreas, the same kind of cells that are compromised in diabetes, and injected them into mice with diabetes. According to the report, the rodents were cured of disease symptoms for a week.

"If stem cells can be modified to produce enough insulin to cure diabetes in people, we could see human trials begin soon on a cure," said Cindy Morrissey, EHSI's president and CEO. "Each new stem cell breakthrough that emerges encourages us to push forward to help usher in the Stem Cell Era of medicine."

Emerging Healthcare Solutions is committed to developing new stem cell treatments for previously incurable diseases. Earlier this month, EHSI announced its acquisition of Panamanian biotech firm CelulasGenetica, a Central American leader in stem-cell technology acquisition and development. CelulasGenetica is working on an international patent application for the Rutherford Procedure, a revolutionary new stem-cell treatment for liver disease. The company licensed the procedure from a Chinese firm, BBFITCL, and plans to conduct the treatment's clinical trials in China, as well.

The Rutherford Procedure is being developed to use proton therapy to destroy scar-tissue cells in the liver using high-energy proton beams, a non-invasive treatment proven to minimize damage to healthy tissues and to eliminate the side effects (including nausea) of traditional radiation therapy.

As the scar tissue is systematically destroyed by the proton therapy, plans call for a catheter to deliver the patient's own cultured stem cells directly to the liver through the bloodstream. As more and more diseased tissue is destroyed, these cultured stem cells could help regenerate the patient's damaged liver into a healthy organ once more.