MONDAY, Aug. 23, 2004 (HealthDayNews) -- Individual cells in the pancreas that are capable of producing insulin-producing beta cells have been identified in adult mice by University of Toronto scientists.
The discovery of these potential pancreatic stem cells could prove important for diabetics who take insulin to compensate for defective pancreatic islets, which are made up mostly of beta cells. Pancreatic islets release insulin to help regulate blood sugar levels in the body.
"People have been intensely searching for pancreatic stem cells for a while now, and so our discovery of precursor cells within the adult pancreas that are capable of making new pancreatic cells is very exciting," researcher Simon Smukler, from the university's department of medical genetics and microbiology, said in a prepared statement.
The next step in their research, he added, is to prove that these precursor cells really are stem cells.
The study was published Aug. 22 in the online edition of the journal Nature Biotechnology.
More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about diabetes.
