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A map of β-cell differentiation pathways supports cell therapies for diabetes

The use of stem-cell-derived β-cells to replace those destroyed in pancreatic islets has the potential to cure diabetes. A new analysis provides a deep mechanistic understanding of islet-cell differentiation from stem cells.
  1. Fabian J. Theis

    1. Fabian J. Theis is at the Institute of Computational Biology, German Research Center for Environmental Health, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany; and is also in the Department of Mathematics, Technical University of Munich, Garching, Germany, and TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany.

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  2. Heiko Lickert

    1. Heiko Lickert is at the Institute of Diabetes and Regeneration Research, German Research Center for Environmental Health, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany; and is also at the German Center for Diabetes Research, Neuherberg, and the School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Munich.

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The islets of Langerhans in the pancreas contain insulin-secreting β-cells and glucagon-secreting α-cells. Insulin and glucagon are hormones that cooperate to regulate the levels of glucose in blood. Destruction or dysfunction of β-cells leads to diabetes. Currently, no treatment can stop diabetes progression and its devastating vascular complications. Islet transplantation can often normalize blood glucose levels for several years and prevent the secondary complications of diabetes. However, organ donors are scarce, and alternative sources of islet cells are urgently needed. Stem-cell-derived cells are promising in this respect. Writing in Nature, Veres et al.1 map the molecular steps in the differentiation of stem cells into islet-like cells. The work will inform future efforts to produce islet cells for transplantation.

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Nature 569, 342-343 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-01211-9

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