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Science 8 December 2000:
Vol. 290. no. 5498, p. 1853
DOI: 10.1126/science.290.5498.1853h
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This Week in Science
Diabetes, resulting either from decreased levels of insulin production from pancreatic b cells or a lack of insulin altogether, affects more than 100 million people. One approach to treatment would be to induce insulin production from other cells. However, it has not been possible to achieve proper regulation of insulin release from nonpancreatic cells. Cheung et al. (p. 1959) programmed specialized endocrine cells in the gut, K cells, to coexpress a human precursor of insulin and the regulatory region of glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP), a hormone that normally promotes insulin release. Mice transgenic for the insulin-GIP combination produced human insulin and were protected from diabetes induced by the b cell toxin streptozotocin. Despite destruction of b cells, these mice could tolerate an oral glucose challenge.
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)
