Regeneration of Pancreatic B Cells of Type 1 Diabetic Mouse by Stem Cell Transplatation

Abstract

Type 1 diabetes is the result of an autoimmune attack against the insulin-producing β cells of the pancreas. Current treatment for patients with type 1 diabetes typically involves a rigorous and invasive regimen of testing blood glucose levels many times a day along with injections of recombinant insulin. Islet transplantation is still not indicated for pediatric patients. Many recent researches have shown that stem cell therapy can be the best choice for treatment this disease. The aims of this research were investigating regeneration of pancreatic β cells of type 1 diabetic mouse after stem cell transplantation. Diabetic mice were induced by streptozocin. Some different kinds of stem cell such as mesenchymal stem cells and nucleated cells derived from human umbilical cord blood; mesenchymal stem cells and hematopoietic stem cells and mononuclear cells derived from murine bone marrow; insulin-secreting cells differentiated from mesenchymal stem cells were used to transplant into diabetic mice. Each diabetic mouse was transplanted with 5x10⁶ cells by one of two ways: inject into pancreas or inject into tail portal vein. Regeneration of β cells was confirmed by decreasing blood glucose level, increasing insulin concentration in blood, body weight and the number of islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. The results showed that transplanting different kinds of stem cells as well as injection methods would give different results for regeneration of β cells. The best result achieved when transplanting insulin producing cells derived from mesenchymal stem cells into diabetic mice by directly injecting into pancreas.