Qatar Biomedical Scientists 'Instruct' Stem Cells to Secrete Insulin

Doha, June 16 (QNA) - Scientists at Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, have discovered a new way to instruct isolated stem cells in a laboratory setting to secrete insulin whenever required to maintain the correct sugar level in the body's circulation. This path-breaking discovery, made in collaboration with researchers at Imperial College London, opens new avenues in the treatment of diabetes, Qatar Foundation said today. The journal of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, Molecular Therapy-Nucleic Acids, has published the results of the new research. Dr Nagy Habib, the Scientific Director of the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center at QBRI, is the lead investigator of the team of scientists at QBRI and Imperial College London that made the discovery. QBRI Executive Director Dr Abdelali Haoudi and co-author of the study said, "People with diabetes face serious medical complications, including heart disease and kidney failure. This discovery has the potential to reduce this burden by harnessing the body's own stem cells to secrete insulin as needed to maintain proper blood sugar levels in the body. "This research represents the first promising steps toward a new treatment, but it will need to go through the clinical validation before it is declared as a viable therapy." In a healthy person, insulin is proportionately produced by the pancreas to remove excess glucose, or sugar, from the blood. When a person consumes more sugar-rich food, the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas (called beta cells) secrete more insulin. When a person eats less sugar, the beta cells produce less insulin. "The stem cells engineered by the QBRI team behave in the same way, secreting more or less insulin, depending on glucose levels in the blood," said Dr Haoudi. Although yet to be tested in animals and humans, the discovery shows promise for helping people with diabetes who have lost the ability to produce enough insulin for the body to maintain the correct sugar level in the body's circulation. QBRI was established in 2012 to tackle diseases of major worldwide importance, and particularly prevalent in Qatar and the Middle East, such as diabetes and certain forms of cancer. QBRI has a specific focus on developing translational biomedical research and biotechnology. To fulfill its mission, QBRI has set up eight research centers: Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research Center, Genomic Medicine and Systems Biology Research Center, Gene-based Therapy Research Center, Biomedical Engineering Research Center, Diabetes Research Center, Cancer Research Center, Genetic Diseases Research Center, and the Qatar Biobank. (QNA)