Cell therapy for type 1 diabetes.
Cell therapy in the form of human islet transplantation has been a successful form of treatment for patients with type 1 diabetes for over 10 years, but is significantly limited by lack of suitable donor material. A replenishable supply of insulin-producing cells has the potential to address this problem; however to date success has been limited to a few preclinical studies. Two of the most promising strategies include differentiation of embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells towards insulin-producing cells and transdifferentiation of acinar or other closely related cell types towards β-cells. Here, we discuss recent progress and challenges that need to be overcome in taking cell therapy to the clinic.
School of Medical Sciences, Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK. k.docherty@abdn.ac.uk.
K R
KR
Muir
M J
MJ
Lima
H M
HM
Docherty
K
K
Docherty
D017690:Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D057026:Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000637:transplantation; D050417:Insulin-Secreting Cells / Q000637:transplantation; D016381:Islets of Langerhans Transplantation / Q000379:methods