Posted on 04/28/2013 10:01:53 PM PDT by neverdem
Biologists have found a hormone in the liver that spurs the growth of insulin-secreting cells in the pancreas, a discovery they hope will lead to new treatments for diabetes.
A team led by Douglas Melton, co-director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, identified the hormone, betatrophin, by inducing insulin resistance in mice using a peptide that binds to insulin receptors. That caused the animals' insulin-secreting pancreatic β cells to proliferate. The researchers then searched for genes that showed increased activity, zeroing in on one that they were able to link to betatrophin production.
Further experiments showed that 8-week-old mice injected with betatrophin showed showed an average 17-fold rise in the replication of their insulin-secreting pancreatic β cells, the researchers report in Cell1. Betatrophin is also found in the human liver, the team says.
Its rare that one discovers a new hormone, and this one is interesting because its so specific, says Melton. It works only on β cells and its so robust and so potent.
Pancreatic β cells replicate rapidly during embryonic and neonatal stages in both mice and humans, but their growth falls off dramatically in adults. A decrease in the function of the cells late in life is the main cause of type 2 diabetes, a metabolic disorder that affects more than 300 million people worldwide. In the United States alone, the two forms of diabetes type 2 and and type 1, which is caused by an autoimmune attack on pancreatic β cells account for US$176 billion in direct medical costs each year...
(Excerpt) Read more at nature.com ...
FReepmail me if you want on or off the diabetes ping list.
That is absolutely the case. The pharmaceutical industry makes billions from medication, and also contribute staggering sums to the American Diabetes Association, which is absolutely useless.
US $176 billion just for diabetes. That is a lotttt of money!
That sounds like the greenies talking about carbon based fuels. It's wishful thinking disguised as conspiracy theory.
That sounds like the greenies talking about carbon based fuels. It's wishful thinking disguised as conspiracy theory.
Sounds encouraging. However whenever you stimulate cell growth beware the risk of overstimulating it into cancer. Research it properly.
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