Study Finds New Way To Regenerate Insulin-Producing Cells To Treat Diabetes

A study has found a new way to regenerate insulin-producing cells to treat diabetes in the form of MNK2 protein. The MNK2 protein could serve as a source of insulin for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

A novel possible treatment target for diabetes has been identified by a Swedish researcher. In zebrafish larvae, laboratory pigs, and human cell cultures, inhibition of the protein MNK2 led to the regeneration of pancreatic insulin-producing cells.

According to Dr. Olov Andersson, senior researcher at the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology at the Karolinska Institute, "our findings indicate a new potential target for treating diabetes, in that we demonstrate a possible way of stimulating the formation of new insulin-producing cells."

According to the study (read below), regeneration of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas occurred when the MNK2 protein was completely removed or inhibited in zebrafish cells.

Insulin is produced by beta cells, which are found...

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