A glimmer of hope for diabetics?
Diabetes affects 150 million people worldwide and results from abnormal function of pancreatic islets. The scarcity of human tissue donors has focused interest in developing renewable sources of insulin-producing cells appropriate for engraftment. Advances in stem cell technology and transdifferentiation techniques have provided powerful tools to study pancreatic development, function and disease. Recent results from these two approaches could have significant implications for future therapies of diabetes.
Orive Arroyo
Gorka
G
Laboratory of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of the Basque Country, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.
Hernánedez
Rosa M
RM
Gascón
Alicia R
AR
Igartua
Manoli
M
Pedraz
José Luis
JL
D002454:Cell Differentiation; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D016381:Islets of Langerhans Transplantation / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends