http://diabetes.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/50/8/1691Insulin Production by Human Embryonic Stem Cells
Suheir Assady1, Gila Maor1, Michal Amit1, Joseph Itskovitz-Eldor1,2, Karl L. Skorecki1,2, and Maty Tzukerman2
1 Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, and
2 Rambam Medical Center, Bat-Galim, Haifa, Israel
Type 1 diabetes generally results from autoimmune destruction of pancreatic islet ß-cells, with consequent absolute insulin deficiency and complete dependence on exogenous insulin treatment. The relative paucity of donations for pancreas or islet allograft transplantation has prompted the search for alternative sources for ß-cell replacement therapy. In the current study, we used pluripotent undifferentiated human embryonic stem (hES) cells as a model system for lineage-specific differentiation