Endocrine Abstracts

Generating functional insulin-secreting cells is a major goal of developing cell therapies for diabetes. Studies have shown that insulin+ cells can be derived from non-beta cells by cellular reprogramming. We carried out a genetic screen in mouse to identify adult cell types amenable for direct conversion to insulin+ cells by a cocktail of reprogramming factors (Ngn3, Pdx1, and Mafa, termed NPM factors). Surprisingly, the antral stomach epithelial cells w...

Adrenal insufficiency is managed by hormone replacement therapy, which is far from optimal; the ability to generate functional steroidogenic cells would offer a unique opportunity for a curative approach restoring the complex feedback regulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. Here we generated human induced steroidogenic cells (hiSCs) from fibroblasts, blood- and urine-derived cells through forced expression of Steroidogenic Factor-1 and activation of PK...

Over the past decade, annual spending on pharmaceutical development to treat many endocrinological systems has increased exponentially. At the same time, in spite of these huge sums invested, the average number of drugs being approved for human use has decreased to one in ten. Currently, preclinical studies to test the safety and efficiency of new drugs, use laboratory animals and traditional 2D cell culture models. Neither of these methods are completely accurate reflections ...