A breakthrough experiment involving the use of embryonic pig insulin cells could lead to a new treatment for diabetes. In a study, researchers took pig cells from very young embryos and transplanted them into the cells of diabetic rats. The rats adopted the pig cells as their own and proceeded to produce their own insulin.
If this procedure is effective in humans, it could not only treat but also potentially cure diabetes. The rats went on to produce insulin through the pig cells for the remainder of their lives.
Researchers are hoping this technology of using pig insulin will eventually replace insulin in type 1 diabetes patients.
Since any organism’s immune system will attack foreign bodies, two groups of rats were used: One was given drugs to suppress the response of the immune system and the other, the control group, wasn’t given any drugs.
Researchers figured the control group didn’t reject the pig cells for a number of reasons. Some of the reasons included using very young cells, placing the cells in the lining of the abdomen, which empty directly into the liver, which is the process of how insulin is normally secreted. If these trials prove successful, the next step would be to test the protocol in primates and then possibly in human trials.
With rejection of the cells being a concern, researchers are investigating other methods such as developing genetically modified pigs that lack the genes that cause humans to reject the pig cells.
Certain people are opposed to the process of transplanting animal cells because they fear it could lead to the possiblity of introducing new AIDS-like viruses into the human population.
Wired News February 27, 2004
In my opinion, type 1 diabetes is one of the worst diseases out there. Even if you live the healthiest lifestyle, it is unbelievably challenging to stop the ravages of the disease. The reason for this is the enormous, near impossible feat of artificially regualting one’s insulin levels.
As several of you may already know, elevated insulin is one of the main factors to chronic disease. Longtime readers of this newsletter are aware that I rarely use the word, "cure" for any treatment, however this new approach for diabetes appears to be just that.
The key of this experiment was the use of embryonic cells. In the ‘70s I was the kidney transplant coordinator at the University of Illinois prior to attending medical school and even back then islet cell transplants were being performed. However, the embyonic cells are apparently young enough to not have any of the antigens that trigger rejection, as the rats in this study appear to have developed perfectly functioning cells without needing any dangerous and destructive anti-rejection medicine.
Apparently this is the first time someone has taken the pancreatic cells this early and used the whole pancreas and implanted it into the peritoneal membrane.The combination of this magical trio seems to have done the trick. This is critical research especially considering 1.5 million people have type 1 diabetes in the United States and 13,000 new cases are diagnosed every year.
Until we have a treatment it would be wise to take following steps:
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