Adult stem cells have a major role to play in curing type 1 diabetic mice, according to a new study by an Indian-origin scientist.
In the study, the researchers focussed on a study by Dr. Lawrence C.B. Chan and colleagues in his Baylor College of Medicine laboratory, in which they cured mice with type 1 diabetes by using a gene to induce liver cells to make insulin.
“Now we know how it works. The answer is adult stem cells,” said Chan.
Chan and Dr. Vijay Yechoor, assistant professor of medicine-endocrinology and first author of the report, said that a gene called neurogenin3 proved critical to inducing cells in the liver to produce insulin on a continuing basis.
They used a disarmed virus called a vector to deliver the gene to the livers of diabetic mice by a procedure commonly known as gene therapy.
“The mice responded within a week,” said Yechoor.
The levels of sugar in their blood plummeted to normal and stayed that way for the rest of their normal lives, and this quick response generated more questions as did the length of time that the animals stayed healthy.
Yechoor found that there was a two-step response-firstly, the neurogenin3 gene goes into the mature liver cells and causes them to make small quantities of insulin - enough to drop sugar levels to normal,.
“This is a transient effect. Liver cells lose the capacity to make insulin after about six weeks,” he said.
But, they found that other cells that made larger quantities of insulin showed up later, clustered around the portal veins (blood vessels that carry blood from the intestines and abdominal organs to the liver).
“They look similar to normal pancreatic islet cells (that make insulin normally),” said Yechoor.
Also, they discovered that these “islet” cells came from a small population of adult stem cells usually found near the portal vein.
Only a few are needed usually because they serve as a safety net in case of liver injury. When that occurs, they quickly activate to form mature liver cells or bile duct cells.
However, neurogenin3 changes their fates, directing them down a path to becoming insulin-producing islet cells located in the liver.
The mature liver cell cannot make this change because its fate appears to be fixed before exposure to neurogenin3.
Yechoor said that the islet cells in the liver were quite similar to those made by pancreas after an injury.
“If we didn’t use neurogenin3, none of this would happen. Neurogenin3 is necessary and sufficient to produce these changes,” he said.
Chan cautioned that much more work is needed before similar results could be seen in humans.
“The concept is important because we can induce normal adult stem cells to acquire a new cell fate. It might even be applicable to regenerating other organs or tissues using a different gene from other types of adult stem cells,” he said.
The study appears in the journal Developmental Cell. (ANI)
Other articles and science reports on Adult Stem Cells.
Check, E., Cardiologists take heart from stem-cell treatment success, Nature 428(6986):880, 29 April 2004: "Adult stem cells have long been viewed as less flexible than embryonic stem cells, which can divide to produce any cell type in the body. But recent studies of human cells suggest that adult stem cells can also turn into many cell types, including heart, brain and liver cells."
Terada, N. et al., Bone marrow cells adopt the phenotype of other cells by spontaneous cells fusion, Nature (416(6880):542–545, 4 April 2002.
Cohen, P., Stem cells could save sight, New Scientist 175:(2354):18, 3 August 2002.
Stem cells do their stuff for Parkinson’s patient, New Scientist 174(2338):5, 13 April 2002.
Randerson, J., Stem cells fix the damage, New Scientist 177(2377):14, 11 January 2003.
Pluchino, S. et al., Injection of adult neurospheres induces recovery in a chronic model of multiple sclerosis, Nature 422(6933):688–694, 17 April 2003.
Jochen Ringe et al., Stem cells for regenerative medicine: advances in the engineering of tissues and organs, Naturwissenschaften 89(8), August 2002.
About the Formulator of StemEnhance - Christian Drapeau
Mr. Drapeau, a foremost scientist in the study of Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, holds a Masters of Science degree in Neurology and Neurosurgery from the Montreal Neurological Institute, an affiliate of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He has been extensively involved in the study of nutrition, naturopathy, and various natural therapies.
Most significantly, Mr. Drapeau collaborated with many scientists affiliated with Harvard University, McGill University, the University of Illinois, Oregon State University, the University of New Mexico, and the University of Mississippi in the study of the effects of blue-green algae (Aphanizomenon flos-aquae) on human health. Mr. Drapeau continues his involvement in the clinical study of AFA.
Circulating stem cells can reach various organs and become cells of that organ, helping such organ regain and maintain optimal health. Recent studies have suggested that the number of circulating stem cells is a key factor; the higher the number of circulating stem cells the greater is the ability of the body at healing itself. What happens to stem cells if they do not reach a tissue? Stem cells released from the bone marrow that do not reach a tissue simply return to the bone marrow after some timeCheck, E., Cardiologists take heart from stem-cell treatment success, Nature 428(6986):880, 29 April 2004: "Adult stem cells have long been viewed as less flexible than embryonic stem cells, which can divide to produce any cell type in the body. But recent studies of human cells suggest that adult stem cells can also turn into many cell types, including heart, brain and liver cells."
Terada, N. et al., Bone marrow cells adopt the phenotype of other cells by spontaneous cells fusion, Nature (416(6880):542–545, 4 April 2002.
Cohen, P., Stem cells could save sight, New Scientist 175:(2354):18, 3 August 2002.
Stem cells do their stuff for Parkinson’s patient, New Scientist 174(2338):5, 13 April 2002.
Randerson, J., Stem cells fix the damage, New Scientist 177(2377):14, 11 January 2003.
Pluchino, S. et al., Injection of adult neurospheres induces recovery in a chronic model of multiple sclerosis, Nature 422(6933):688–694, 17 April 2003.
Jochen Ringe et al., Stem cells for regenerative medicine: advances in the engineering of tissues and organs, Naturwissenschaften 89(8), August 2002.
About the Formulator of StemEnhance - Christian Drapeau
Mr. Drapeau, a foremost scientist in the study of Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, holds a Masters of Science degree in Neurology and Neurosurgery from the Montreal Neurological Institute, an affiliate of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He has been extensively involved in the study of nutrition, naturopathy, and various natural therapies.
Most significantly, Mr. Drapeau collaborated with many scientists affiliated with Harvard University, McGill University, the University of Illinois, Oregon State University, the University of New Mexico, and the University of Mississippi in the study of the effects of blue-green algae (Aphanizomenon flos-aquae) on human health. Mr. Drapeau continues his involvement in the clinical study of AFA.
United States Patent Patent No.: 6,814,961 B1 Date of Patent: November 9, 2004 Subj: METHOD FOR ENHANCING STEM CELL PHYSIOLOGY Inventors: Gitte S. Jensen and Christian Drapeau
