NYSCF Scientists Find Compound To Preserve Beta Cell Function in Diabetes Model
Press ReleaseNYSCF scientists published a paper today in the journal Diabetes on a breakthrough in diabetes research that could lead to new therapeutic approaches for patients with a rare and often lethal form of diabetes, Wolfram syndrome, and which may also be applicable to all types of diabetes.
NYSCF scientists Linshan Shang, Dieter Egli, and colleagues in collaboration with scientists at Columbia University Medical Center identified a drug that preserved the function of beta cells, which produce insulin, in Wolfram syndrome patients. By making induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from the skin of these patients, and then making beta cells from the iPS cells that failed to normally secrete insulin, the scientists were able to find a chemical compound that relieved the stress on these non-functioning beta cells and subsequently allowed them to properly secrete insulin.