Pancreatic β Cell Regeneration as a Possible Therapy for Diabetes

Diabetes is the result of having inadequate supply of functional insulin-producing b cells. Two possible approaches for replenishing the beta cells are: (1) replacement by transplanting cadaveric islets or beta cells derived from human embryonic stem cells/induced pluripotent stem cells and (2) induction of endogenous regeneration. This review focuses on endogenous regeneration, which can follow two pathways: enhanced replication of existing beta cells and formation of new beta cells from cells not expressing insulin, either by conversion from a differentiated cell type (transdifferentiation) or differentiation from progenitors (neogenesis). Exciting progress on both pathways suggest that regeneration may have therapeutic promise.