According to researchers, a hormone responsible for the body’s stress response is also linked to the growth of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. The findings are the latest advances to underscore the potential for regeneration as a key component of a possible cure for type 1 diabetes. The research was led by Wylie Vale and funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
According to Patricia Kilian, Program Director for Regeneration at Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the study showed that the stress hormone could increase the rate at which insulin-producing cells in the pancreas expand in animal models. These findings reinforce the potential of regeneration as a cure for diabetes and provide insights for discovering new approaches to treat people with diabetes by restoring or regenerating their ability to produce insulin.
Among the fastest-growing scientific areas Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation supports is research aimed at regenerating insulin producing cells in people who have diabetes (as opposed to transplanting cells from organ donors or other sources). This involves triggering the body to grow its own new insulin producing cells, either by copying existing ones – some are usually still active, even in people who have had diabetes for decades – or causing the pancreas to create new ones.
In addition to regenerating or replacing insulin producing cells, a cure for type 1 diabetes will also involve stopping the autoimmune attack that causes diabetes, and reestablishing excellent glucose control.
Research conducted by Dr. Vale’s laboratory since the 1980s established the role of the hormone CRF (corticotropin-releasing factor) in regulating the stress response in people. With this research, the team now reports that CRF has a direct effect on how insulin producing cells in the pancreas function and grow.
“We found that beta cells in the pancreas actually express the receptor for CRF,” explains Dr. Huising. “And once we had established the presence of CRF in these cells, we started filling in the blanks, trying to learn as much as we could.”
These results showed that when beta cells are exposed to the hormone, and to high levels of blood sugar, they will produce and release insulin. Working in collaboration with researchers at the Panum Institute in Copenhagen, the investigators discovered that these insulin producing cells proliferate when exposed to CRF.
“Being able to stimulate beta cells to divide a little faster may be part of a solution that may ultimately, hopefully, allow management of type 1 diabetes,” Dr. Vale says. “But because it is an autoimmune condition, making the cells divide won’t be enough. That is why researchers are working hard to solve the problem of destruction of beta cells.”
References:
1. Wylie Vale, et al. CRFR1 is expressed on pancreatic ? cells, promotes ? cell proliferation, and potentiates insulin secretion in a glucose-dependent manner. PNAS January 12, 2010 vol. 107 no. 2 912-917. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0913610107
