Reducing the need for 24-hour insulin injections to control diabetes appears to be another step closer, thanks to a new understanding of how insulin-producing cells in the pancreas can be regenerated. Significant progress was made in research.
This breakthrough has come from harvesting pancreatic "ductal progenitor cells," which give rise to the tissue that lines the pancreatic ducts to mimic the functions of beta cells (ß-cells) that are normally type 1. 1 are ineffective or eliminated in people with diabetes.
Researchers led by a team from the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute in Australia have investigated new uses for FDA-approved drugs that target the EZH2 enzyme in human tissues.
This enzyme normally controls cell growth. Here, two small-molecule inhibitors, GSK126 and Tazemetostat, which are approved for use in cancer treatment, were used to overcome some of the barriers imposed by EZH2. , causing progenitor ductal cells to act like beta cells.
The researchers write in their published paper that targeting EZH2 is fundamental to conferring the regenerative capacity of ß-cells. Research has shown that they form the lining of the colon, which also helps regulate stomach acid, and can transform into beta cells in the right environment. Importantly, the new cells regulate glucose levels. can sense and adjust insulin production accordingly, just like beta cells.
In type 1 diabetes, the original beta cells are mistakenly destroyed by the body's immune system, which means that blood glucose and insulin must be controlled by regular injections.
Tests by the research team showed the same response in tissue samples from two people with type 1 diabetes, aged 7 and 61, and a 56-year-old without diabetes, proving that the process works. Can work with individuals of various ages.
Another positive sign is that it only took 48 hours before regular insulin production resumed. It is thought that around 420 million people worldwide are living with diabetes, which controls blood sugar levels. Dependent on assessment and management.
Pakistan is also in the grip of a growing diabetes crisis. In a report by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) on the top countries at risk of diabetes in the world, Pakistan was ranked third after China and India. In Pakistan, the proportion of deaths under the age of 60 due to diabetes is highest (35.5%).
The next day, during a press conference in Karachi, diabetes experts said that an estimated 100,000 children in Pakistan have type 1 diabetes, but due to a lack of awareness among parents and doctors, they are not diagnosed in time. This is an alarming situation. In the context of insulin control and the improvement of pancreatic function, the above research seems to be a great and useful development for diabetic patients.
Although this research is still in its early stages, Clinical trials are yet to come, but this appears to be another possible way to stimulate functions in the human body that have been affected by diabetes. But this is not the only promising avenue that scientists are exploring.
New types of drugs are being developed, while researchers are also working on ways to effectively preserve the original insulin-producing cells before they die.
"We see this creative approach as an important step forward in clinical development," says Sam Al-Aosta, a scientist with the Beckerhart Diabetes Institute. So far, he says, regeneration has been anecdotal and lacks confirmation, but more importantly, the "epigenetic mechanisms" that control such regeneration in humans are well understood. It is being understood in some way.