Endocrine Abstracts

One possible route for treating type 1 diabetes is through an induced augmentation of beta cell mass. Some success has been achieved in recent years using islet grafts into the liver but at present the main limitation to the wider application of this technique is the limited supply of islets from human organ donors. To overcome this problem, alternative sources of β-cells need to be found. One approach is via transdifferentiation, or the conversion of one cell type...

The replacement or regeneration of functional insulin-secreting beta cells is an exciting prospect for the treatment of Type 1 diabetes. Research aimed at this goal must be conducted in a responsible, measured manner in order to maintain public consent and to manage the expectations of patients.My research group couples investigations of pluripotent stem cell biology with studies of the formation and function of the human endocrine organs during early de...

Stem cell therapy for haematological disorders is a longstanding successful procedure. Over the past few years it has been realised that stem cells originate from tissues other than bone marrow and it is generally accepted that these cells and products derived from them offer the possibility of new treatment for many diverse conditions. Currently the relative therapeutic benefits of stem cells obtained from embryos, fetal cord blood, bone marrow or other tissues have yet to be...

Understanding the mechanisms regulating pancreatic beta cell mass is a major challenge in pancreas biology with direct clinical implications for future therapies to diabetes. Key questions in this field regard the regenerative potential of beta cells, the identity of the cell of origin for regenerating beta cells and the nature of signals that govern beta cell homeostasis. We have developed a transgenic mouse system for conditional ablation of beta cells, ...