People living with diabetes might have a new hope. Scientists have tested a new drug therapy in diabetic mice, and found that it boosted insulin-producing cells by 700% over three months, effectively reversing their disease. Beta cells in the pancreas have the important job of producing insulin in response to blood sugar levels, but a hallmark of diabetes is that these cells are either destroyed or can’t produce enough insulin.
The most common treatment is regular injections of insulin to manage blood sugar levels. But a recent avenue of research has involved restoring the function of these beta cells. In some cases that’s started with stem cells being coaxed into , which are then transplanted into patients with diabetes.
Researchers behind this kind of work have described it as a “ .” Now, scientists at Mount Sinai and City of Hope have demonstrated a new breakthrough. Previous studies have mostly involved growing new beta cells in a lab dish, then transplanting them into mice or a .
But this new study has been able to grow the insulin-producing cells right there in the body, in a matter of months. The therapy involved a combination of two drugs: one is harmine, a natural molecule found in certain plants, which works to inhibit an enzyme called DYRK1A found in beta cells. The second is a GLP1 receptor agonist.
The latter is a class of , which is gaining attention lately for its side effect of weight loss. The researchers tested the therapy in mouse models of type 1 a.