[Towards a cell therapy for diabetes? An epistemiological perspective]
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 4, 2026

Regulatory T cells: Therapeutic Potential for Treating Transplant Rejection and Type I Diabetes
Published on: August 20, 2007
1INSERM U341, Service de Diabétologie, Hôtel-Dieu, 1, Place du Parvis Notre Dame, 75404 Paris.
Abstract:
This text describes, in an epistemological perspective, the development of the concept of cellular therapy applied to the treatment of type 1 diabetes. Emphasis is put on three recent papers describing the success of islet allograft in diabetic patients, the development of neo-islets from stem cells isolated from the pancreas of adult mice, and the effect of hepatic cell transfection with an adenovirus bearing the gene coding for PDX-1, a transcription factor involved in the maturation of islets of Langerhans. This text tries to delineate some factors which may be involved in the chances for these techniques to reach the real world of human therapeutics.
Related Concept Videos
Diabetes: Management and Pharmacotherapy
Insulin remains the cornerstone of treatment for most patients with type 1 and many...
Type II Diabetes II: Pathophysiology
Carbohydrate Metabolism
Starch accounts for approximately 60% of the carbohydrates consumed by humans. Since amylase enzymes cannot function in the stomach's acidic environment, starch can only be digested in the mouth and small intestine. Simple sugars are found naturally in milk and fruits in the...
Type I Diabetes II: Pathophysiology
EPS and iPS Cells in Disease Research
Diabetes Mellitus: Overview and Type I Subtype
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. As a result, the body is unable to produce sufficient insulin, and individuals with...
