Regenerative medicine for diabetes mellitus

Abstract

In diabetes, a loss of pancreatic β-cells causes insulin dependency. When insulin dependency is caused by type 1 diabetes or pancreatic diabetes, for example, pancreatic β-cells need to be regenerated for definitive treatment. The methods for generating pancreatic β-cells include a method of creating pancreatic β-cells in vitro and implanting them into the body and a method of regenerating pancreatic β-cells in the body via gene introduction or the administration of differential proliferation factors to the body. Moreover, the number of pancreatic β-cells is also low in type 2 diabetes, caused by the compounding factors of insulin secretory failure and insulin resistance; therefore, if pancreatic β-cells can be regenerated in a living body, then a further amelioration of the pathology can be expected. The development of pancreatic β-cell-targeting regenerative medicine can lead to the next generation of diabetes treatment. Copyright © 2009 Cognizant Comm. Corp. All rights reserved.