Insulin Stem Cells Hold Hope for Diabetes Treatment

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For this study, published in this week's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Prockop's team injected human stem cells into mice who had been made diabetic. Another group of mice, the control animals, received no treatment.

Three weeks later, the mice that received the stem cells had higher levels of mouse insulin (not human insulin) than the control mice. "The human cells went to the pancreas and repaired the insulin-producing cells, so the mice began to produce more mouse insulin," Prockop explained. "The human cells went to the pancreas, but it was mouse insulin in the blood stream."

Kulkarni added, "It's intriguing that they enhanced the production of mouse insulin."

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Some of the human stem cells also evolved into kidney endothelial cells, or cells that line the interior of blood vessels, and were able to stop damage to the part of the kidney that filters blood. "We also saw human cells in the kidney, and they looked as though they repaired damage to the kidney," Prockop said.

Prockop said the group is now preparing for clinical trials with humans, although other experts still have many questions about the potential therapy.

"This is a very exciting story," said Robert Schwartz, director of the Texas A&M Health Science Center Institute of Biosciences and Technology in Houston. "The issue I take with the article is it's a little like a black box in that we don't understand the mechanism involved, although it's clear from the data that here is an important effect. There are big questions. How long does the effect last? We just don't understand the mechanism, but there's something here of great value," he said.

Insulin, a hormone produced in the pancreas, is needed to carry blood sugar to cells for energy. In people with type 1 diabetes, the pancreas no longer makes insulin. In people with type 2 diabetes, insulin is produced, but their bodies don't respond well to it.

More information

For much more on diabetes, head to the American Diabetes Association (www.diabetes.org ).

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