Researchers claim to have found a faster way to convert stem cells into insulin-producing cells to combat type 1 diabetes, the more severe form of diabetes.
According to health experts, stem cells can potentially develop into various cell types in the body during early life and adulthood. They also act as a kind of internal repair system in several tissues, dividing mainly without limit to refill other cells as long as the person or animal is still alive.
The current research shows that the team could turn stem cells into reliable, insulin-producing cells in about six weeks, which is way sooner than the four months it took using previous methods.
Type 1 diabetes is sometimes called 'juvenile' diabetes as it mostly affects children and teenagers. However, a person can develop the disease at any age. It is the result of the body's own immune system destroying insulin secreting pancreatic beta cells.
"We are a step closer to having an unlimited supply of insulin-producing cells to treat patients with Type 1 diabetes," lead study author Timothy Kieffer, a professor at University of British Columbia in Canada, said in a press release.
Researchers explained that the protocol transformed stem cells into insulin-secreting pancreatic cells through a cell-culture method. As the cells are transplanted into a host, the conversion is completed. "We have not yet made fully functional cells in a dish, but we are very close," said Kieffer.
"The cells we make in the lab produce insulin, but are still immature and need the transplant host to complete the transformation into fully functioning cells," Kieffer said.
Researchers said that the major step is to understand the prevention of the insulin-producing cells from being rejected by the body.
Diabetes is steadily increasing in the United States. In 2010, it was the seventh leading cause of death in the country. In 2012, 86 million Americans who were 20-year-old or above had prediabetes; this is up from 79 million in 2010, according to the numbers given by American Diabetes Association.
The current research was published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
