Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
use of viruses is dangerous and faces a substantial amount of regulatory hurdles
[
87
,
88
]. In this context, a number of non DNA-based reprogramming strategies
currently under development [
105
,
118
,
119
] could have a significant impact down
the road. However, before we dismiss the in vitro approach altogether, we should
consider that reprogrammed cells may not need to be ''true'' beta cells to be
therapeutically effective. Even if these pseudo-beta cells worked just as an insulin
pump, continuously secreting a basal amount of insulin in a non-regulated manner,
a therapy based on such cells could still make a tremendous difference in
the quality of life of diabetic patients. Indeed, because in type 1 diabetes it is the
''true'' beta cell the one to elicit the autoimmune attack, we cannot reject the
possibility that pseudo-beta cells may have a selective advantage over native ones.
Although insulin itself has been shown to be an autoantibody in type 1 diabetes
[
120
-
122
], the unique surface makeup of these hybrid cells may potentially help
evade or reduce the autoimmune response.
Whenever there is a pancreatic islet isolation, the acinar tissue is invariably
discarded. Considering that the exocrine cells of the pancreas are represented in a
50:1 ratio versus islets, the utilization of this cell source could dramatically expand
the usage of each organ for therapeutic purposes.
Acknowledgments JDB acknowledges the funding of the JDRF, the NIH and the Diabetes
Research Institute Foundation (DRIF)
References
1. Wilmut I, Schnieke AE, McWhir J, Kind AJ, Campbell KH (1997) Viable offspring derived
from fetal and adult mammalian cells. Nature 385(6619):810-813
2. Munsie MJ, Michalska AE, O'Brien CM, Trounson AO, Pera MF, Mountford PS (2000)
Isolation of pluripotent embryonic stem cells from reprogrammed adult mouse somatic cell
nuclei. Curr Biol 10(16):989-992
3. Byrne JA, Pedersen DA, Clepper LL, Nelson M, Sanger WG, Gokhale S, Wolf DP,
Mitalipov SM (2007) Producing primate embryonic stem cells by somatic cell nuclear
transfer. Nature 450(7169):497-502
4. Hwang WS, Lee BC, Lee CK, Kang SK (2005) Cloned human embryonic stem cells for
tissue repair and transplantation. Stem Cell Rev 1(2):99-109
5. Hwang WS, Roh SI, Lee BC, Kang SK, Kwon DK, Kim S, Kim SJ, Park SW, Kwon HS,
Lee CK, Lee JB, Kim JM, Ahn C, Paek SH, Chang SS, Koo JJ, Yoon HS, Hwang JH,
Hwang YY, Park YS, Oh SK, Kim HS, Park JH, Moon SY, Schatten G (2005) Patient-
specific
embryonic
stem
cells
derived
from
human
SCNT
blastocysts.
Science
308(5729):1777-1783
6. Hwang WS, Ryu YJ, Park JH, Park ES, Lee EG, Koo JM, Jeon HY, Lee BC, Kang SK, Kim
SJ, Ahn C, Hwang JH, Park KY, Cibelli JB, Moon SY (2004) Evidence of a pluripotent
human embryonic stem cell line derived from a cloned blastocyst. Science 303(5664):
1669-1674
7. Kennedy D (2006) Editorial retraction. Science 311(5759):335
8. French AJ, Adams CA, Anderson LS, Kitchen JR, Hughes MR, Wood SH (2008)
Development of Human cloned Blastocysts Following Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer
(SCNT) with Adult Fibroblasts. Stem Cells 26(2): 485-493
