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Scientists Cure Mice of Diabetes Using Cells Grown Inside Rats (qz.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the medical-breakthrough dept.

In a process that could transform organ transplantation, scientists in Japan and the U.S. have reportedly cured mice of diabetes by transplanting mouse cells grown in rats. The study has been published in the journal Nature. Quartz reports: To achieve this feat, researchers injected mouse pluripotent stem cells into a rat embryo. As the name suggests, these pluripotent stem cells are able to transform themselves into all types of cells. The mouse cells intermingled with rat cells, and created a chimera whose organs and tissues were almost all created from a mix of mouse and rat cells. Crucially, however, they had modified the rat to not produce pancreatic cells. They achieved this by knocking out a gene called Pdx1. The upshot was that the pancreas in the chimera was almost completely made of mouse cells. When the rat-mouse chimeras became adults, the researchers removed the animals' pancreases and from them, isolated endocrine islets, which contain B-cells that produce insulin. The B-cells were then transplanted to diabetic mice that had lost all their native B-cells. The mice that received the transplant were put on mild immunosuppressant drugs. However, the scientists found they only needed to administer the drugs for five days after transplantation. Surprisingly, the few rat cells that came along during the transplant (mostly in the blood vessels in the islets) had been destroyed and replaced by the mouse's own cells. The B-cells in mice that got the transplants functioned just as they would in a healthy mouse for more than a year, which was the complete observation period. These lab mice only live for two to three years, which makes a one-year observation fairly long. The research opens up the door for growing human organs inside, say, a pig, using the patient's own stem cells and then transplanting the organ when it's mature and ready.

72 comments

  1. Sorry, Miss Piggy by Black+Parrot · · Score: 1

    But we need to take that liver now.

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
    1. Re:Sorry, Miss Piggy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The pig liver will grow back. On a related note, Henrietta Lacks was a modern Prometheus.

  2. Sounds amazing... but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Give some time, and this 'cure' will just vanish mysteriously.

    1. Re:Sounds amazing... but... by cdrudge · · Score: 1

      No. This "cure" is/was never a cure. It's an opportunity to learn something that one day might lead to a cure. Ideas like this that "vanish mysteriously" vanish because they learn something that didn't work out.

      It's kind of like the Thomas Edison quote "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

  3. Pessimistic by Major+Blud · · Score: 5, Interesting

    As somebody who has Type 1 diabetes, I really want this to work on people, but it's so hard to be optimistic when I hear about research like this. Animal models don't always translate well when it comes to humans.

    It's a shame that Mary Tyler Moore didn't make it long enough to hear about this.

    --
    If you post as Anonymous Coward, don't expect a reply.
    1. Re: Pessimistic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      She is still alive. The death reports are fake news. Just like this article, your post, and my post.

    2. Re: Pessimistic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Type 1? Thats so last week. I upgraded to Type 4

    3. Re: Pessimistic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bob Newhart is still alive. I'm disappointed because I had expected him to die first.

    4. Re:Pessimistic by corychristison · · Score: 5, Insightful

      My 7 year old son was diagnosed T1D about a year and a half ago.

      Seeing things like this kind of make me angry for the reasons you mentioned. In my research it seems we're always "10 years away from a cure".

      So far the islet implants are looking the most promising, but I guess we'll see.

    5. Re: Pessimistic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Being cured of diabetes is great, but not sure if I'm willing to become a lion, goat and serpent hybrid in the process... ... well I suppose it's cool to be a chimera.

    6. Re: Pessimistic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think the point of this is that you can take your own stem cells, grow them inside another animal (one that reaches maturity far faster than a human), then extract an organ from that chimera that consists of only your own cells.

    7. Re:Pessimistic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      First, I sincerely hope that this leads to a cure and that your son manages to live a long healthy life. Secondly, as far as things making you angry go, have you had to deal yet with ignorant idiots explaining to you that your child's diabetes is caused by poor diet?

    8. Re:Pessimistic by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      I have a different uncurable problem and I'd happily volunteer to test various experimental treatments, but there doesn't seem to be any way to do it. I guess it's for safety, but I know people with the same problem who have gone to eastern Europe and China for treatment out of desperation. So far none of them have been badly affected but it's only a matter of time.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    9. Re: Pessimistic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      All. The. Freakin'. Time.

      Diabetes is deeply misunderstood by those that don't live with it every second of their lives.

    10. Re:Pessimistic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There have been dozens, if not hundreds of "promising transplant approaches" for the last 50 years, to my personal knowledge, as a diabetic for 50 years. A literature search would doubtless show more. Much like spectrograph based glucometers to avoid having to draw blood to measure blood glucose, none have worked.

      Dr. Faustmann's work at Mass. General Hospital, though is *fascinating*. No transplant, but her work alters the auto-immune response that destroys insulin producing cells for almost all Type 1 diabetics, and it cured the lab animals. It's in its second round of successful human testing, and the medication used is the BCG vaccine, the common tuberculosis vaccine. So it's already proven safe in billions of uses. The effectiveness of treatment for diabetes was unnoticed, partly because it wasn't given on the right dosages and schedule, and because it requires *meticulous* blood sugar control during the treatment period to be effective. Check the URL below.

            http://www.faustmanlab.org/res...

      They do need money: human trials are *very* expensive.

    11. Re:Pessimistic by kwiecmmm · · Score: 1

      I am also a Type 1 diabetic and I am very pessimistic about this. The problem here is scientists have already come up with a few different ways to do this but there is still one major issue remaining that is not being addressed by this.

      Type 1 diabetes is caused by the immune system destroying B-cells, and this will not prevent this from happening. So even if Type 1 diabetic's can get working islet cells, it would only last for a little while before our immune systems would destroy them once again. This is nice and it will make headlines, but it is only half of the cure that we need.

    12. Re: Pessimistic by corychristison · · Score: 1

      On a regular basis... and when I try to actually explain what it is, and how it happens they just look at me like I'M the stupid one.

      Its infuriating how poorly educated people are about this disease. It doesn't help that when drug companies advertise drugs in commercials, they just say "Diabetes", not specifying which one.

      While I understand they are similar, they really ought to have two very different names to avoid confusion.

    13. Re:Pessimistic by The-Ixian · · Score: 1

      Even if it would work in humans, we will likely never see it happen because of the embryo thing

      To achieve this feat, researchers injected mouse pluripotent stem cells into a rat embryo

      Harvesting human embryos would probably not go over well in this country (US)

      --
      My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
    14. Re: Pessimistic by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 1

      I don't think this is being pitched as a cure for diabetes, and it's likely diabetes treatment isn't the end goal (there are other problems that need to be solved first). It's likely this is just for proving the concept of xenotransplantation. My guess is that they chose beta cells because their function is easier to measure and they can be destroyed by the immune system much easier than whole organs, which probably can't be adequately tested since mice don't live long enough.

      This will probably be useful for failed organs and tissues, but not if the cause is autoimmune related.

    15. Re:Pessimistic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If it works on humans, where are they going to farm the giants to transplant our cells into?

    16. Re: Pessimistic by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      Given how much of a problem organ rejection is in human-to-human transplants, I'm wondering how on earth the rat's (or eventual pig's) body is not rejecting the human I get that it's a chimera organ, containing both, but just as the mouse immune system purges the rat cells from the organ, how does the rat's system not purge the mouse cells while the organ is growing?

    17. Re: Pessimistic by beastofburdon · · Score: 1

      Since the foreign cells are present from the beginning of development, well before the immune system has formed, they are seen as a natural part of the animal. You can see the same thing happening with absorbed twins. Some of them actually combine to form chimera humans. Different parts of their bodies will have different DNA in the cells. Those cells are not attacked by the immune system because they were there before the immune system existed.

    18. Re:Pessimistic by beastofburdon · · Score: 1

      What is it, are you a vegan?

  4. Lukcy mice by Dunbal · · Score: 0

    It's a good year to be a mouse.

    --
    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  5. Obligatory Douglas Adams post by LordByronStyrofoam · · Score: 1

    Alternative read: "The mice persuaded the humans to create mouse/rat chimeras and grow them for slaughter, to harvest something the mice needed."

    --
    Slashdot's name? When my compiler sees /. it generates a warning about a badly formed comment.
  6. I have been a type 1 diabetic for 20 years by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    This is great as it works to solve the Islet cell production problem, however it by itself is not a cure.

    There are already several drugs that are known to cause insulin producing beta cells to grow in the human pancreas, however the problem that this does not address is how to stop the immune system in the type 1 diabetes (autoimmune) from just destroying all of the new islets from this process.

    There have been trials of procedures to limit, suppress or re-educate the immune system to halt the autoimmunity with varying degrees of success (usually just making it so that the autoimmune attack on the pancreas does not get any worse but does not get any better either in the best of cases) Unless you can do both, halting the autoimmunity and replacing the beta cell mass this will not be a practical cure for type 1 diabetes. It is simply an alternative piece of the puzzles for the part about how to replace islet cells once we are able to stop them from being destroyed by the patient's autoimmune condition. We are not very far along on the understanding of the cause of autoimmunity. Some studies say that it is caused by bacteria, some say it is caused by genetics, some say it is caused by heavy metal poisoning some say it is caused by viruses some say it is caused by radiation. Until we can figure out why autoimmunity occurs in a specific patient and reverse that autoimmunity, implanting replacement beta cells is an exercise in futility.

    1. Re:I have been a type 1 diabetic for 20 years by BigIrv · · Score: 2

      Totally agree. A true cure fixes/blocks the autoimmune system and replenishes the beta cells.

      The only cures I've seen require a pancreas transplant and immune system suppression drugs. The Viacyte also has promise http://viacyte.com/

      --

      --Good morning fellas; Hand me that thing; Boy, this work's hard; Guys, break's over.
    2. Re:I have been a type 1 diabetic for 20 years by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is great as it works to solve the Islet cell production problem, however it by itself is not a cure.

      There are already several drugs that are known to cause insulin producing beta cells to grow in the human pancreas, however the problem that this does not address is how to stop the immune system in the type 1 diabetes (autoimmune) from just destroying all of the new islets from this process.

      There have been trials of procedures to limit, suppress or re-educate the immune system to halt the autoimmunity with varying degrees of success (usually just making it so that the autoimmune attack on the pancreas does not get any worse but does not get any better either in the best of cases) Unless you can do both, halting the autoimmunity and replacing the beta cell mass this will not be a practical cure for type 1 diabetes. It is simply an alternative piece of the puzzles for the part about how to replace islet cells once we are able to stop them from being destroyed by the patient's autoimmune condition. We are not very far along on the understanding of the cause of autoimmunity. Some studies say that it is caused by bacteria, some say it is caused by genetics, some say it is caused by heavy metal poisoning some say it is caused by viruses some say it is caused by radiation. Until we can figure out why autoimmunity occurs in a specific patient and reverse that autoimmunity, implanting replacement beta cells is an exercise in futility.

      This is great as it works to solve the Islet cell production problem, however it by itself is not a cure.

      There are already several drugs that are known to cause insulin producing beta cells to grow in the human pancreas, however the problem that this does not address is how to stop the immune system in the type 1 diabetes (autoimmune) from just destroying all of the new islets from this process.

      There have been trials of procedures to limit, suppress or re-educate the immune system to halt the autoimmunity with varying degrees of success (usually just making it so that the autoimmune attack on the pancreas does not get any worse but does not get any better either in the best of cases) Unless you can do both, halting the autoimmunity and replacing the beta cell mass this will not be a practical cure for type 1 diabetes. It is simply an alternative piece of the puzzles for the part about how to replace islet cells once we are able to stop them from being destroyed by the patient's autoimmune condition. We are not very far along on the understanding of the cause of autoimmunity. Some studies say that it is caused by bacteria, some say it is caused by genetics, some say it is caused by heavy metal poisoning some say it is caused by viruses some say it is caused by radiation. Until we can figure out why autoimmunity occurs in a specific patient and reverse that autoimmunity, implanting replacement beta cells is an exercise in futility.

      Agreed. But think about the implications for people with liver, heard and kidney disease? Lung failure?

      This is huge. TD1 may have been the goal, but they just stated that they made organs in another host that required no immunosuppressive drugs long term.

      Huge.

    3. Re:I have been a type 1 diabetic for 20 years by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's my understanding is that there is a trade-off when it comes to the immune system: if it's overactive it attacks the body, if it's underactive you get infected too easily. It's a very difficult balance to maintain.

    4. Re:I have been a type 1 diabetic for 20 years by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Absolutely. This is not a cure for diabetes. It is an expensive insulin delivery strategy that must continually be refreshed as the diabetic's body kills off the transplanted cells.

      Type 1 Diabetes is not the lack of insulin producing cells. The lack of insulin producing cells is the result of Type 1 Diabetes. T1 is an autoimmune disorder. Cure the autoimmune disorder AND replace the body's insulin production capacity that the disease has killed, you have cured the disease.

  7. Now swap them by hackwrench · · Score: 1

    Great! Now tell me when they can cure rats with cells grown in mice!

  8. Will it grow back? by hackwrench · · Score: 2

    Not if it is grown with a knockout gene for liver, it won't!

    1. Re:Will it grow back? by michelcolman · · Score: 1

      I wonder how muslims and jews will react if offered an organ transplant from a pig. Seriously, not being racist or anything, will they stick to their religious beliefs that pigs are unclean rather than get cured of diabetes?

    2. Re:Will it grow back? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Many Jehova's Witnesses have died because they refused to receive blood transfusions. Others have received transfusions and had to repent or be excommunicated. I would expect the same results from porcine transplants.

    3. Re:Will it grow back? by Dareth · · Score: 1

      I for one welcome our new diabetes free Orc overlords!!!

      --

      I only look human.
      My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
  9. As if fecal transplants weren't bad enough by Snotnose · · Score: 0

    Now we get fecal transplants from rats? Isn't that called "eating at an iffy restaurant"?

    / I'm gonna use this space to plug Mary Roach's Gulp
    // has a chapter on fecal transplants
    /// rest of the book is a hella good read.
    //// Um, Ms Roach. I'm kinda broke, and kinda sent some money your way. IfuknowwhatImean, and Ithinkudo.

  10. Re:How many control mice did they murder? by Wycliffe · · Score: 2

    Tl; dr: scientists are murderers.

    I would venture to guess that the number of mice killed by mousetraps in the USA dwarfs the number killed by scientists each year. I wouldn't be surprised if the number killed by pet snakes is larger than the number killed by scientists and I know that the number killed by pet cats is *way* larger. And let's not get started on the millions of chickens killed each year before barely matured. These mice lived almost their entire lifespan well fed and well cared for. They likely had a much longer and happier life than their wild siblings and may have also helped us get closer to curing diabetes. It pretty much sounds like a win/win for everyone including the mice.

  11. So if they cure mice with rats... by TWX · · Score: 0

    ...does that mean we cure humans with gorillas?

    I don't exactly make a study of it, but last time I heard there were scant few gorillas compared to humans.

    --
    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
    1. Re:So if they cure mice with rats... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just as the last bonobo is eaten, the researchers discover that nothing else will do..

  12. Re:How many control mice did they murder? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We must err on the side of ethics. Assume the mice have souls and first, do no harm. No matter if the whole world is engaging in violence, you shouldn't allow others to make you deviate from the path you know is right. Listen to the still quiet voice within. Murder no more mice, rats, chickens, pigs, wolves, bears, cows, bacteria ...

  13. Human equivalent by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So the human equivalent of this is that we can cure diabetes in human democrats by growing cells in republicans.

    1. Re:Human equivalent by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well we tried to grow them in democrats but we ended up with Rosie O'Donnell.

  14. Re:How many control mice did they murder? by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 1

    Murder no more... bacteria ...

    As a child, I was forced to engage in a legacy of genocide by cleaning the bathroom every weekend. The guilt of a billion billion silenced innocents is my cross to bear. At times, the pain is almost too much, but my own death would be a coward's escape. The nightmares are almost a relief, a small atonement for those who were never even allowed to dream. Never again... never forget.

    --
    Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
  15. Sugary Drinks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yes. Finally! I can code with Dr. Pepper and Mtn. Dew until I'm 100. Here piggy piggy piggy. Heeere piggy piggy piggy grow me an organ..

  16. What ever happened to capsaicin injections? by lkroll4565 · · Score: 1

    What ever happened to capsaicin injections as a cure? http://www.naturalnews.com/021... My bet is it wasn't expensive enough to do. Besides, the government want us all to die instead of cure diseases. :)

    1. Re:What ever happened to capsaicin injections? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Even the article at the site you link to puts "cured" in quotes. Capsaicin and Capsiate do appear to have effects as a diabetes treatment. For a chronic condition, it's pretty important to distinguish between treatment and cure isn't it?

  17. Mr. Pig, you have won! by xenog · · Score: 1

    You are now going to the Island.

    1. Re:Mr. Pig, you have won! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Great Movie. If Scarlett Johansson were on the island I would dress up as a pig just to go.

  18. Re:How many control mice did they murder? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We must err on the side of ethics. Assume the mice have souls and first, do no harm. No matter if the whole world is engaging in violence, you shouldn't allow others to make you deviate from the path you know is right. Listen to the still quiet voice within. Murder no more mice, rats, chickens, pigs, wolves, bears, cows, bacteria ...

    So, let the kids with diseases die?

    Yeah, your argument just boils down to bog-standard leftist "HUMANS ARE TEH EVUL" misanthropy.

  19. What a great time to be a mouse. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Humans curing all these mouse ailments. Soon they will be invincible.

    1. Re:What a great time to be a mouse. by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      Of course we're making treatments for mice. After all, we are their experiment...

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    2. Re:What a great time to be a mouse. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ha, a Hitchhikers reference.

  20. My uncle got diabetes while in a cell! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Maybe there is something to the holistic life view?

  21. Let me see if I get this by ausekilis · · Score: 1

    So, future people will be less than 98% chimp... and some % bacon?

    1. Re:Let me see if I get this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, it will only make Trump more correct when he calls a woman a fat pig.

      captcha: blunders

    2. Re:Let me see if I get this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We'll name them "Kevin".

  22. Re:How many control mice did they murder? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Eh, I'm worse. I help with rehabing birds of prey and we kill upwards of 40 mice a day to feed them. We probably kill them far more kindly than the birds would have.

  23. Interesting, however: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wake me up when they can cure Democrat with Ray cells. BeauHD needs this to fix his rectal prolapse from Trump's recent landslide victory.

  24. SO... by MitchDev · · Score: 1

    To help human diabetics, they'll need to take cells from the 1% and politicians?

  25. Optimism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ViaCyte has the most promising approach in my opinion. See if you can get in their clinical trial.

  26. Auto-immune suppressant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does anyone know if the auto-immune suppressant supplied by intestinal worms would "stop the immune system in the type 1 diabetes (autoimmune) from just destroying all of the new islets from this process"?

  27. Nom nom by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm eating a candy bar right now.

  28. Not the same thing by Anonymous+Cow+Ward · · Score: 1

    The term you're looking for is beta cells. B cells are a different thing entirely; they're the immune cells that make antibodies. Beta cells are the cells in the pancreas that make insulin.

    --
    Examine even your most deeply held beliefs. Nobody is always right.
  29. Re:How many control mice did they murder? by Anonymous+Cow+Ward · · Score: 1

    Killing a mouse is, by definition, not murder. Murder is the unlawful killing of a human, often with specific additional requirements added on (in various legal contexts, for instance).

    --
    Examine even your most deeply held beliefs. Nobody is always right.