News

Human pluripotent stem (hPS) cells can differentiate into any cell type in the human body, including pancreatic islet cells. The current methods used to differentiate hPS cells into mature, insulin-producing beta cells are not efficient or consistent enough to be used for diabetes cell therapies. In this new study, published in 'Scientific Reports', researchers from the DZD partner Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden (PLID) have developed hPS cell fluorescent reporter lines that can be used to monitor the progress and efficiency of the differentiation into functional pancreatic islet cells.

Flow chart of the research task. — © Anthony Gavalas | PLID

Pancreatic beta cells produce insulin, the hormone that regulates the uptake of glucose from the blood into the cells of the body. The loss or impaired function of these cells leads to diabetes, a disease in which the body cannot produce sufficient amounts of insulin. Current treatments, particularly for type 1 diabetes, include insulin injections or pancreas transplants, but these therapies have their limitations. Another possible future diabetes therapy would be the use of pancreatic islet cells, including insulin-producing beta cells derived from hPS cells. The use of hPS cells for diabetes cell therapies would be able to overcome the limitations of current treatments. However, the process of differentiation of hPS cells into beta cells is currently not well enough understood. Furthermore, it will be necessary to improve the current differentiation methods for the production of mature, insulin-producing cells.

Detailed information in our press release

Back

Development of novel hPS reporter cell lines for the improvement of diabetes stem cell therapies