-
Science Saturday: A discovery step toward cell replacement therapy for diabetes
Share this:
In what could be a step toward cell replacement therapy for diabetes, Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered how to manufacture cells capable of generating a hormone that regulates low blood sugar. Quinn Peterson, Ph.D. and his team have developed a new method of mass producing a cell product containing the hormone glucagon that is capable of protecting against hypoglycemia in animal models. Dr. Peterson’s research is published in Nature Communications.
“We now have the ability to manufacture large quantities of an important cell type that is necessary to prevent hypoglycemia and regulate blood glucose in patients with diabetes. Generating pancreatic cell types from renewable sources holds promise for cell replacement therapies for diabetes,” says Dr. Peterson, principal investigator.
Alpha cells in the pancreas produce glucagon, which is released to correct low blood sugar levels. However, in diabetes these alpha cells become dysfunctional, leaving patients susceptible to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Left untreated, hypoglycemia can cause a patient to fall into a coma and die.
Read the rest of the article on the Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Medicine blog.
____________________________________________
Other Mayo Clinic medical research websites:
- Research at Mayo Clinic
- Discovery’s Edge
- Advancing the Science
- Forefront
- Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine
- Center for Regenerative Medicine
- Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery
Share this:
Related articles
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: When I wake up in the morning and go to stand up, I have such excruciating pain in my heel that I have ...
Breathing for residents across certain regions of the U.S. is becoming increasingly difficult as wildfires continue to spread across large portions of several Canadian provinces, ...
It's not uncommon for teens to experience mental health issues like anxiety. It's believed 1 in 5 young people experiences some type of mental health ...