Scientists reverse diabetes in mice with human stomach cells producing insulin

Scientists have hacked into human cells that produce insulin and have reversed diabetes in mice, according to a recent study.

In the study published in the journalNature Cell BiologyScientists have repurposed human stomach cells to release insulin, effectively managing type 1 diabetes.

The experiment, which was led by researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine in the US, revealed that transplants of insulin-secreting cells in the stomach reversed diabetes in mice.

In people with diabetes, cells that produce the hormone insulin usually die, affecting their ability to transport glucose into cells for fuel.

“The stomach makes its own hormone-secreting cells, so it’s not surprising to direct its cells to produce insulin,” says Joe Zhu, an associate professor in the study from New York.

The hormone insulin is crucial in regulating blood glucose, and when the body does not produce it sufficiently, there are serious complications that may lead to death.

The researchers hope that the research will help prompt the body to produce insulin normally again for people with diabetes.

Diabetes is one of the fastest growing chronic diseases globally, according to a 2022 study.