Abstract
Diabetes is a chronic disease with significant morbidity and mortality. Pancreas or islet cell transplantation is limited by a shortage of donors and chronic immune suppression to prevent allograft rejection. Consequently, interest exists in islet cell neogenesis from embryonic or mesenchymal stem cell as a possible cure for diabetes. However, unless tolerance to islet cells is re-established, diabetes treated by islet cell transplantation would remain a chronic disease secondary to immune suppression related morbidity. If islet cell tolerance could be re-induced, a major clinical hurdle to curing diabetes by islet cell neogenesis may be overcome. Recent studies suggest that adult hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) can reintroduce tolerance to auto-antigens. It is possible that HSC may also be able to switch lineage and, therefore, be a convenient source of stem cells for both inducing tolerance and islet cell regeneration.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 133-138 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Autoimmunity Reviews |
Volume | 1 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 2002 |
Keywords
- Islet cell neogenesis
- Stem cell therapy
- Type 1 diabetes
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Immunology and Allergy
- Immunology