Mother's cells 'could offer hope of diabetes treatment'

By JOHN VON RADOWITZ

CELLS passed from mother to child during pregnancy could be used to treat diabetes, new research suggests.

US scientists found they can develop into functioning islet beta cells which produce insulin in the pancreas.

They think maternal cells may protect against the damage that leads to type 1 diabetes. This opens up the prospect of a mother's stem cells being harvested and used to treat a diabetic child.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder which destroys insulin-producing pancreatic cells. Insulin is the hormone used by the body to regulate the uptake of glucose for energy production.

Around 350,000 people in the UK suffer from type 1 diabetes and have to give themselves insulin injections.

The findings suggest a beneficial form of "microchimerism", the harbouring of cells or DNA that originate from another genetically distinct individual.

Originally, the research was carried out to investigate whether cells passing from mother to child in the womb were in some way responsible for type 1 diabetes.

Scientists studied 172 individuals and took pancreatic tissue from four deceased males. They found small numbers of female islet beta cells able to produce insulin.

There was no evidence the mother's cells were causing damage or becoming the target of an immune response.

However, the team found more maternal DNA in the blood of children and young adults with type 1 diabetes than in healthy individuals.

"We think the maternal cells may be helping to regenerate tissue in the pancreas," said Dr Lee Nelson, one of the investigators.

Story from The Scotsman