Our bodies rely on the pancreas to help control blood sugar, thanks to special cells called beta cells. These cells make insulin, the hormone that lowers blood sugar after we eat. For a long time, scientists thought all beta cells were pretty much the same. But new research from Weill Cornell Medicine shows that’s not true—some beta cells are much more important than others.
The study, led by Dr. James Lo and published in Nature Cell Biology, found that there are actually four different types of beta cells in the pancreas. Among these, one group, called “cluster 1 beta cells,” stands out.
These cells do a better job at making insulin and processing sugar than the other three types. The study found that losing these cluster 1 cells could be a reason why people develop type 2 diabetes.
The scientists discovered these differences using a high-tech method called single-cell transcriptomics. This allowed them to look at which genes were active in each individual beta cell from mice.
It turned out that cluster 1 cells had high levels of genes for breaking down sugar and making insulin. One gene in particular, called CD63, was found in large amounts in these cells. Because of this, the protein made by CD63 can be used as a marker to easily spot these powerful beta cells.
The researchers checked both mouse and human beta cells and found that those with a lot of CD63 made more insulin when there was sugar around. But in mice that were overweight or had type 2 diabetes, there were fewer of these high-performing cells.
This means that as people (or mice) develop diabetes, they seem to lose these special cluster 1 beta cells, which leads to less insulin being made and higher blood sugar.
The findings don’t just help us understand diabetes—they might also change how it’s treated. In one experiment, the researchers took the cluster 1 beta cells from healthy mice and put them into mice with diabetes.
Amazingly, this brought their blood sugar levels back to normal. But when they took those cells away again, the high blood sugar came back. Transplanting beta cells with low CD63 didn’t help the diabetic mice, showing how important the cluster 1 cells are.
This research suggests that if doctors focus on using these powerful beta cells for transplants, they might be able to treat diabetes more effectively—and possibly even use fewer cells to get the same result. In the future, we might see treatments that protect or boost the number of cluster 1 beta cells in people at risk for diabetes.
The next steps for Dr. Lo’s team are to find out why these important cells disappear in diabetes, and how to stop it from happening.
They also want to see how today’s diabetes medicines, like GLP-1 agonists (which help the body make more insulin), affect different types of beta cells. If these drugs can help the weaker beta cells work more like cluster 1 cells, it could improve treatment for many people.
If you’re interested in keeping your blood sugar healthy, it’s good to know that not all whole grain foods are helpful for people with diabetes, and that some studies suggest honey might help control blood sugar. Other research has found that blueberries are great for people with metabolic syndrome, and vitamin D might help lower blood pressure in people with diabetes.
This exciting discovery about beta cells shows that science is always learning more about how our bodies work, and these new findings could one day make life better for people with diabetes.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies that pomace olive oil could help lower blood cholesterol, and honey could help control blood sugar.
For more information about health, please see recent studies that blueberries strongly benefit people with metabolic syndrome, and results showing eggs in a plant-based diet may benefit people with type 2 diabetes.
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