Commentary Cellscience Reviews Vol 5 No 1 ISSN 1742-8130

Human embryonic stem cells: one step closer to curing diabetes

Recent clinical studies have shown that transplanting islets of Langerhans may offer a cure for Type 1 diabetes, but the limited availability of suitable donors of human islets means that islet transplantation is available to only a few of the millions who could potentially benefit from this treatment. This clinical need is driving research into alternative sources of transplant material, and much interest has been focused on the potential of pluripotent embryonic stem (ES) cells as a source of insulin-secreting cells. A recent report in Nature provides proof-of-concept that human ES cells can generate glucose-responsive, insulin-secreting cells that have the potential to provide an essentially limitless source of human material for transplantation therapy of Type 1 diabetes.

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