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Current Diabetes Reports
Published in: Current Diabetes Reports 5/2016

01-05-2016 | Immunology and Transplantation (L Piemonti and V Sordi, Section Editors)

New Insights into Diabetes Cell Therapy

Authors: Philippe A. Lysy, Elisa Corritore, Etienne M. Sokal

Published in: Current Diabetes Reports | Issue 5/2016

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Abstract

Since insulin discovery, islet transplantation was the first protocol to show the possibility to cure patients with type 1 diabetes using low-risk procedures. The scarcity of pancreas donors triggered a burst of studies focused on the production of new β cells in vitro. These were rapidly dominated by pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) demonstrating diabetes-reversal potential in diabetic mice. Subsequent enthusiasm fostered a clinical trial with immunoisolated embryonic-derived pancreatic progenitors. Yet safety is the Achilles’ heel of PSCs, and a whole branch of β cell engineering medicine focuses on transdifferentiation of adult pancreatic cells. New data showed the possibility to chemically stimulate acinar or α cells to undergo β cell neogenesis and provide opportunities to intervene in situ without the need for a transplant, at least after weighing benefits against systemic adverse effects. The current studies suggested the pancreas as a reservoir of facultative progenitors (e.g., in the duct lining) could be exploited ex vivo for expansion and β cell differentiation in timely fashion and without the hurdles of PSC use. Diabetes cell therapy is thus a growing field not only with great potential but also with many pitfalls to overcome for becoming fully envisioned as a competitor to the current treatment standards.
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Metadata
Title
New Insights into Diabetes Cell Therapy
Authors
Philippe A. Lysy
Elisa Corritore
Etienne M. Sokal
Publication date
01-05-2016
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Current Diabetes Reports / Issue 5/2016
Print ISSN: 1534-4827
Electronic ISSN: 1539-0829
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11892-016-0729-3

Other articles of this Issue 5/2016

Current Diabetes Reports 5/2016 Go to the issue

Genetics (AP Morris, Section Editor)

Genetic Epidemiology of Type 1 Diabetes in the 22 Arab Countries

Microvascular Complications—Nephropathy (AP Maxwell, Section Editor)

The Promise of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy for Diabetic Kidney Disease

Diabetes and Pregnancy (CJ Homko, Section Editor)

Management of Pregnant Women with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and the Consequences of Fetal Programming in Their Offspring

Genetics (AP Morris, Section Editor)

Genome-Wide Studies of Type 2 Diabetes and Lipid Traits in Hispanics

Immunology and Transplantation (L Piemonti and V Sordi, Section Editors)

Targeting Homeostatic T Cell Proliferation to Control Beta-Cell Autoimmunity

Immunology and Transplantation (L Piemonti and V Sordi, Section Editors)

Bone Marrow-Derived Stem Cells: a Mixed Blessing in the Multifaceted World of Diabetic Complications
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