Blum B, Hrvatin S, Schuetz C, Bonal C, Rezania A, Melton DA. Functional beta-cell maturation is marked by an increased glucose threshold and by expression of urocortin 3. Nat Biotechnol. 2012 02 26; 30(3):261-4.

Citation

Blum B, Hrvatin S, Schuetz C, Bonal C, Rezania A, Melton DA. 2012. Functional beta-cell maturation is marked by an increased glucose threshold and by expression of urocortin 3. Nature biotechnology. 30(3):261-4. Pubmed: 22371083 DOI:10.1038/nbt.2141

Abstract

Insulin-expressing cells that have been differentiated from human pluripotent stem cells in vitro lack the glucose responsiveness characteristic of mature beta cells. Beta-cell maturation in mice was studied to find genetic markers that enable screens for factors that induce bona fide beta cells in vitro. We find that functional beta-cell maturation is marked by an increase in the glucose threshold for insulin secretion and by expression of the gene urocortin 3.

Related Faculty

Douglas Melton, Ph.D.

Doug Melton is pursuing a cure for type 1 diabetes. His lab studies the developmental biology of the pancreas, using that information to grow and develop pancreatic cells (islets of Langerhans). In parallel, they investigate ways to protect beta cells from autoimmune attack.