6/29/2010 PERMALINK
Embryonic cell and adult pig islet transplants can combine to cure diabetes in rats. Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis : In a step toward curing diabetes in humans, scientists have alleviated the disease in rats using transplants from both embryonic and adult pigs. The rats adopted the pig transplants as their own and produced enough insulin to control their blood sugar – all without the need for anti-rejection drugs. Using a two-step approach, the researchers first transplanted a cluster of embryonic pig pancreatic cells into diabetic rats. These cells grow to become the pancreas, which houses the islet cells that produce insulin. The embryonic cells primed the rats' immune system to accept a second implant of islets from adult pigs several weeks later.