LOS ANGELES, Dec. 12 -- Men with type 1 diabetes ( juvenile onset diabetes) may be able to grow their own insulin- producing cells from their testicular tissue, a new study suggests.
The research was conducted by Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC), according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), which published the study findings on Sunday.
The research team took one gram of tissue from human testes and produced about 1 million stem cells in the laboratory. These cells showed many of the biological markers that characterize normal beta islet cells.
They then transplanted those cells into the back of immune deficient diabetic mice, and were able to decrease glucose levels in the mice for about a week, demonstrating the cells were producing enough insulin to reduce hyperglycemia.
While the effect lasted only week, newer research has shown the yield can be substantially increased, said the study's lead investigator, G. Ian Gallicano, Ph.D.
The researchers accomplished this feat without use of any of the extra genes now employed in most labs to turn adult stem cells into a tissue of choice, according to the report.
The study is a proof of principle that human spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) extracted from testicular tissue can morph into insulin-secreting beta islet cells normally found in the pancreas, the report said.
"No stem cells, adult or embryonic, have been induced to secrete enough insulin yet to cure diabetes in humans, but we know SSCs have the potential to do what we want them to do, and we know how to improve their yield," said Gallicano, an associate professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Director of the Transgenic Core Facility at GUMC.
Given continuing progress, Gallicano said his strategy could provide a unique solution to treatment of individuals with type 1 diabetes.
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