Scientists from Mount Sinai Health System in New York City and City of Hope in Los Angeles have discovered a promising new approach to treating diabetes.
Their research reveals that a combination of two drugs can dramatically increase the number of human insulin-producing cells, which could lead to more effective treatments for diabetes.
This important discovery was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
The research was led by Dr. Andrew F. Stewart from Mount Sinai and Dr. Adolfo Garcia-Ocaña, who now works at City of Hope—a leading research center for diabetes and cancer.
Their work began back in 2015, focusing on ways to make the body produce more of its own insulin-producing cells, known as beta cells.
These cells are crucial for controlling blood sugar levels, but people with diabetes often have too few of them or their cells don’t work properly.
To tackle this problem, the scientists experimented with a natural substance called harmine, which is found in certain plants. They combined harmine with a common type 2 diabetes drug called GLP1 receptor agonists.
This combination turned out to be incredibly powerful. The team tested it on mice that had been implanted with a small number of human beta cells. These mice did not have immune systems, which allowed the scientists to study the human cells without interference.
The results were stunning. The combination therapy not only reversed diabetes in the mice but also made the number of human beta cells grow by 700% over just three months.
This is the first time that scientists have proven that adult human beta cells can multiply significantly inside a living organism. According to Dr. Garcia-Ocaña, this discovery gives hope for future treatments that might restore the body’s ability to produce insulin naturally.
Dr. Stewart and Dr. Peng Wang from Mount Sinai originally found harmine’s potential during a process called high-throughput drug screening. This method allows scientists to test many different drugs quickly to see if any of them have the desired effect. Their initial results were published in Nature Medicine in 2015, and they have been working on improving the approach ever since.
Diabetes is a major global health issue, affecting more than 10% of adults worldwide. It occurs when the body cannot produce enough insulin or cannot use it properly. Insulin is a hormone made by beta cells in the pancreas that helps regulate blood sugar levels.
In both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, the number of these vital cells is reduced, leading to high blood sugar and serious health problems. Current treatments help manage blood sugar levels but cannot increase the number of beta cells, so they cannot fully reverse the disease. This new research offers hope that someday that might change.
Before this breakthrough, the research team had found that stopping an enzyme called DYRK1A could make beta cells multiply in laboratory dishes. But until now, nobody had been able to do this inside a living organism. To measure how many beta cells were growing, the team used an advanced laser-based tool called iDISCO+.
This technology makes biological tissue clear, allowing scientists to look inside and count the cells easily. Dr. Sarah A. Stanley from Mount Sinai used this tool to observe a huge increase in beta cell numbers. Not only did the cells multiply, but they also worked better and lived longer.
Safety is, of course, a key concern. The Mount Sinai team recently completed a Phase I clinical trial of harmine to ensure it is safe for people. Dr. Robert J. DeVita from Mount Sinai has also created newer versions of DYRK1A inhibitors. These next-generation drugs are now being tested for safety and effectiveness, with plans to begin human trials soon.
One of the biggest challenges in treating type 1 diabetes is that the immune system attacks new beta cells as soon as they form. To solve this, Dr. Garcia-Ocaña and Dr. Alberto Pugliese from City of Hope are experimenting with ways to protect the new cells from the immune system.
They are combining the beta cell regenerators with immune system regulators to help the new cells survive and function properly.
Dr. Garcia-Ocaña is optimistic about the future. “Our studies pave the way for moving DYRK1A inhibitors into human clinical trials,” he said. “There is nothing like this available to patients right now.”
Dr. Stewart and Dr. DeVita have even filed patents for these new treatments through the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, although the patents are not yet licensed.
This breakthrough brings real hope to millions of people living with diabetes. If these new treatments can safely increase the number of beta cells in humans as they did in mice, it could dramatically change how diabetes is managed and possibly lead to a cure in the future.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about a cure for type 2 diabetes, and these vegetables could protect against kidney damage in diabetes.
For more information about diabetes, please see recent studies about bone drug that could lower risk of type 2 diabetes, and results showing eating more eggs linked to higher risk of type 2 diabetes.
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