Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Harvard makes diabetic cells produce insulin in mice

By Mass High Tech Staff

Researchers at Harvard University have found a technique to develop the pancreatic cells of mice to produce insulin, which could one day aid people with diabetes.

The technique involves cell-fate analysis in which the researchers funneled through 1,400 transcription factors in mice and eventually inserted the diabetic disease carrying genes encoded with three of the factors into the pancreatic cells of the mice, according to a report in the journal Nature. The experiment resulted in 20 percent of the mice switching to insulin-producing pancreatic cells.

The technique was a mixture of luck and experimentation, the researchers said in the journal. However, the pancreatic cell conversion process remains successful after six months since the test.

Douglas Melton, co-author of the article and co-director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, would like to apply the cell conversion technique to neurogenerative and liver disorders.