Development of multipotent cells in human embryonic pancreas and the influence of GLP-1

糖尿病(DM)是一种在英国至少影响120万人的疾病。它会导致许多并发症，包括失明和肾脏疾病。尽管可注射胰岛素是1型糖尿病的一种挽救生命的治疗方法，但它距离治愈还有很长的路要走。恢复糖尿病中受损的胰腺细胞(β细胞)可能会提供潜在的治疗方法。然而，要以安全的方式做到这一点，就需要更好地了解贝塔细胞是如何在人类早期发育过程中首次出现的。我的研究将致力于解决这个问题，通过研究胰腺细胞是如何发育的，识别涉及的基因和信号传递过程。最近，我开始梳理早期胰腺细胞能够形成胰腺中所有细胞的时间框架。此外，初步证据表明，一种名为胰高血糖素样肽1(GLP-1)的激素也很重要。值得注意的是，模拟GLP-1的药物目前正被用于治疗2型糖尿病。因此，任何关于这些药物如何刺激新的β细胞形成的信息都将是非常令人兴奋的。对潜在机制的更好理解也可能带来新的途径，这些途径可以用于治疗上的β细胞再生。

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a disease that affects at least 1.2 million people in the UK. It can lead to a number of complications, including blindness and kidney disease. Although injectable insulin represents a life-saving treatment for Type 1 diabetes, it falls a long way short of a cure. Restoring the cells in the pancreas that are damaged in diabetes (beta cells) could offer a potential cure. However to do this in a safe manner a greater understanding of how beta cells first occur during early human development is required. My research will aim to address this, by studying how pancreatic cells develop, identifying the genes and signalling processes involved. Recently I have begun to tease apart the time frame when early pancreatic cells are capable of forming all cells in the pancreas. In addition, preliminary evidence suggests a hormone, glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) is important. Significantly, drugs that mimic GLP-1 are currently being used in the treatment of Type 2 DM. Any information on how these agents might stimulate new beta cell formation would therefore be very exciting. Better understanding of underlying mechanisms might also bring to light new pathways that could be exploited therapeutically for beta cell regeneration.