To do so, they harvested pancreatic cells in their earliest stages of development from the mice themselves, then nurtured them in the laboratory until they evolved into small, insulin-secreting organs known as islets of Langerhans. Researchers collected the cells into a syringe and injected them just beneath the surface of the animals' skin. Within a few days they began to function like an endocrine pancreas - the pancreas' islets of Langerhans, said UF immunologist Ammon B. Peck. The findings open up the possibility of someday permanently reversing insulin-dependent diabetes for the more than 750,000 Americans who battle the disease. Many suffer major side effects, including damage to blood vessels, which can lead to heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure and poor circulation to the lower limbs.
Stem cells have the ability to evolve into an array of cell types as they mature.
After they were placed in the mice, the cells secreted insulin and thrived as new blood vessels grew toward them. Within a week to 10 days, all the mice were able to regulate levels of sugar, or glucose, in the bloodstream for the time of the study. The islets respond rapidly to that because they sense how much sugar is in the blood and produce insulin, and insulin allows for proper utilization of glucose for energy by other cells in the body. The ability to control the growth and development of pancreatic stem cells potentially provides an unlimited resource for insulin-producing cells for people with diabetes, the authors wrote in the journal. Peck's co-authors included UF pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Desmond A. Schatz.