Gut Cells Help Produce Insulin for Patients with Type 1 Diabetes

Gut cells may be the key to treating individuals with type 1 diabetes. According to a recent study published in the journal Nature Communications, coaxing these natural cells into making insulin can help treat diabetes patients who lack the hormone in their body. 

"The search for the 'holy grail' is to produce a source of insulin producing cells either for transplantation or to convert the body's own cells to make sufficient insulin," said expert, Dr. Derek LeRoith, professor of medicine and diabetes at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.

For the study, researchers from Columbia University Medical Center used pluripotent stem cells to create a tissue model of the small intestine. The team identified and deactivated the FOX01 gene found in the gut cells through engineering. As the cells were changed, researchers found that they began to release insulin in response to the glucose within just seven days.

Researchers concluded that cells could be "reeducated" in order to perform the functions of other cells that may be missing in the body. More specifically, the team believe that if a drug can deactivate FOX01, it could ven potentially cure diabetes. 

"This study and others like it may form the basis of future development of insulin producing cells that could be used in 'curing' type 1 diabetes," LeRoith added.