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

糖尿病（DM）是一种影响英国至少120万人的疾病。它会导致许多并发症，包括失明和肾脏疾病。虽然注射胰岛素是挽救1型糖尿病生命的一种治疗方法，但它离治愈还有很长的路要走。修复胰腺中因糖尿病而受损的细胞（β细胞）可能提供一种潜在的治疗方法。然而，要以安全的方式做到这一点，就需要更深入地了解β细胞在人类早期发育过程中最初是如何发生的。我的研究将致力于解决这个问题，通过研究胰腺细胞如何发育，识别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，初步证据表明一种激素，胰高血糖素样肽1 （GLP-1）是重要的。值得注意的是，模拟GLP-1的药物目前正在用于治疗2型糖尿病。因此，关于这些药物如何刺激新β细胞形成的任何信息都将非常令人兴奋。对潜在机制的更好理解也可能带来新的途径，可以用于治疗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.