(Thank you to the lovely and talented Gloria Gamat for writing and sharing this entry!)

Researchers from the University of Calgary are now developing the first bioreactor procedures to grow pancreatic cells in their laboratory. This breakthrough will lead to possibility of providing a steady supply of insulin-producing cells that can be transplanted into patients affected by type 1 diabetes. Moreover, this could also mean a future of freedom from insulin injections and all other health problems related to this serious disease.

"This is a significant milestone on the path to effectively producing human tissue that may be used to treat type 1 diabetes," said Dr. Leo Behie (in photo), professor of chemical engineering in the Schulich School of Engineering and holder of a Canada Research Chair in biomedical engineering. "The precursor cell type we are using appears to be a good candidate and brings us much closer to clinical trials," Behie said. "There is a huge international push to find a human pancreatic cell source - a 'holy grail' of sorts - that could be used for transplantation. Once it is found, our lab will be ready to grow these cells in a clinically acceptable manner."

Behie's team have previously developed bioreactor protocols to produce large quantities of pig pancreatic insulin-producing cells that has set the stage for the large-scale production of islet-like structures containing insulin-producing cells. The study was funded by the New York-based Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) which will appear shortly in the journal Biotechnology Progress.

This research breakthrough is very encouraging news for people with type 1 diabetes. The research team's findings have brought us one more step towards potentially securing a large supply of insulin-producing pancreatic cells for transplantation into individuals with type 1 diabetes.

Source: University of Calgary

http://www.ucalgary.ca/news/march06/diabetes-release.html

(Photo Source: Genome News Network)
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Gloria (http://www.filipinasoul.com) is a Chemist. She also blogs about medical stuff at http://www.straightfromthedoc.com and about the pharmaceutical business at http://www.thepharmvoice.com.