Above 50 years in alcoholics, the number of beta cells very much decreased and the
alpha cells increased.
Beta cell preparations consisted of 90% insulin+, 3% glucagon+, 1% somatostatin+, and 2% pancreatic polypeptide+ cells;
alpha cells contained 2% insulin+, 94% glucagon+, 1% somatostatin+, and 2% pancreatic polypeptide+ cells, as previously described [10, 12].
Chrome Alum Hematoxylin-Phloxin stain was used to differentiate between beta and
alpha cells. Beta cell cytoplasm stained bluish while
alpha cell cytoplasm stained pinkish andthe nuclei stained violet.
If the discovery translates to people, scientists may one day be able to coax type 1 diabetics' own
alpha cells into replacing insulin-producing cells.
That's because it will likely require development of a glucagon-releasing system functioning akin to the pancreatic
alpha cell, in addition to insulin release in response to CGM data.
Liraglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analog with a 97% homology with endogenous GLP-1, lowers blood glucose by enhancing glucose-dependent insulin secretion of beta cells and suppressing glucagon secretion of
alpha cells [8].
In those mice, but not in normal mice, they found that caerulein caused existing
alpha cells in the pancreas to differentiate into insulin-producing beta cells.
'The hyperglucagonemia that results when the
alpha cells overproduce glucagon has led to pancreas tumors in animal studies, so that's a risk.'
Failure of suppression of glucagon secretion from the
alpha cells of the pancreas contributes to hyperglycaemia in T2DM and is aLso seen in prediabetes.
This was due to restoration in the damaged pancreas of the balance between insulin-producing beta cells, which reduce blood glucose, and glucagon-producing
alpha cells, which increase blood glucose.Leading international diabetes expert Professor Michael Horowitz, Director of the Endocrine and Metabolic Unit at The Royal Adelaide Hospital, who has reviewed the results said: "These data are very exciting, and clearly demonstrate the potential of using these unique adult stem cells in the treatment of patients with Type 2 diabetes".Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90-95 per cent of the 230 million diabetics in the western world, and its prevalence is increasing at an alarming rate.
Conversely,
alpha cells secrete glucagon, a hormone that triggers tissues to release sugar into the bloodstream.
COPENHAGEN Denmark, September 21, 2017 -- New stem cell research finds that current methods of producing beta cells from human embryonic stem cells have significant shortfalls, viz., beta cells produced have some features resembling
alpha cells.
In the past three months, the Powers group at Vanderbilt, in four separate papers, has reported important findings about the "microenvironment" of the insulin-secreting beta cells and glucagon-secreting
alpha cells, which are among four types of cells clustered in "islets" in the pancreas.
"Our study shows that neighboring cells called
alpha cells can behave like adversaries for beta cells.
While the
alpha cells of the pancreas that produce glucagon are not destroyed in people with type 1 diabetes, the cells no longer release glucagon in response to low blood sugar.
