Mouse Study Reprograms Stomach Tissue To Replace Lost Pancreatic Beta Cells.

for many years now, “scientists have been trying to figure out how to replenish vital insulin-producing beta cells that are missing in type 1 diabetes.” Unfortunately, “in type 1 diabetes, the body continues to inflict damage on native and transplanted insulin cells.” In research published online Feb. 18 in the journal Cell Stem Cell, researchers reveal they “may have found a way to replace these lost beta cells – by reprogramming stomach tissue.” Working with mice, investigators “took samples of tissue from the lower stomach...and grew this tissue into mini-organs that, when transplanted back into animals, functioned as insulin-producing cells.” http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/#8aef9ba6dbd2