Pancreatic Cell News Volume 1.14 | Jul 27 2010

Pancreatic Beta Cell Neogenesis by Direct Conversion from Mature Alpha Cells 
Researchers developed a new model of beta cell regeneration, combining pancreatic duct ligation with elimination of preexisting beta cells with alloxan. In the model, in which virtually all beta cells observed were neogenic, large numbers of beta cells were generated within 2 weeks. Strikingly, the neogenic beta cells arose primarily from alpha cells. [Stem Cells]

Scripps Research Institute and Dana-Farber Scientists Uncover Novel Anti-Diabetes Mechanism
Scientists have uncovered a novel mechanism that dramatically increases insulin sensitivity and reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. [Press release from The Scripps Research Institute discussing online prepublication in Nature]

Study Suggests Link Between Metabolic Disease, Bone Mass in Mice
Researchers identified a unique communication between bone and pancreas cells through which insulin signaling in osteoblasts promotes postnatal bone accumulation and, at the same time, stimulates cells to make a bone protein called osteocalcin. [Press release from Johns Hopkins University discussing online prepublication in Cell]

Breakdown of Bone Keeps Blood Sugar in Check, New Study Finds
Researchers have discovered that the skeleton plays an important role in regulating blood sugar and have further illuminated how bone controls this process. [Press release from Columbia University Medical Center discussing online prepublication in Cell]

DIABETES

Anti-Diabetic Drugs Inhibit Obesity-Linked Phosphorylation of PPARGamma by Cdk5
Findings strongly suggest that Cdk5-mediated phosphorylation of PPARgamma may be involved in the pathogenesis of insulin-resistance, and present an opportunity for development of an improved generation of anti-diabetic drugs through PPARgamma. [Nature]

Insulin Receptor Signaling in Osteoblasts Regulates Postnatal Bone Acquisition and Body Composition
Results indicate the existence of a bone-pancreas endocrine loop through which insulin signaling in the osteoblast ensures osteoblast differentiation and stimulates osteocalcin production, which in turn regulates insulin sensitivity and pancreatic insulin secretion. [Cell]

Insulin Signaling in Osteoblasts Integrates Bone Remodeling and Energy Metabolism
In a feed-forward loop, insulin signals in osteoblasts activate a hormone, osteocalcin, that promotes glucose metabolism. [Cell]

Contribution of Postnatally Formed Small Beta Cell Aggregates to Functional Beta Cell Mass in Adult Rat Pancreas
Researchers investigated the contribution of postnatally formed small aggregates to functional beta cell mass in adult rats. [Diabetologia]

Mitochondrial Matrix pH Controls Oxidative Phosphorylation and Metabolism-Secretion Coupling in INS-1E Clonal Beta Cells
Results demonstrate that mitochondrial matrix pH exerts a control function on oxidative phosphorylation in intact cells and that this mode of regulation is of physiological relevance for the generation of downstream signals leading to insulin granule exocytosis. [FASEB J]

Synthesized Basement Membranes Direct the Differentiation of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells into Pancreatic Lineages
On a synthesized basement membrane, mouse embryonic stem or induced pluripotent stem cells sequentially differentiated into the definitive endoderm, pancreatic progenitor cells, and then insulin-expressing pancreatic beta cells in vitro. [J Cell Sci]

PANCREATIC CANCER

Fructose Induces Transketolase Flux to Promote Pancreatic Cancer Growth
Researchers report that fructose provides an alternative substrate to induce pancreatic cancer cell proliferation. [Cancer Res]

Disrupted Pancreatic Exocrine Differentiation and Malabsorption in Response to Chronic Elevated Systemic Glucocorticoid
Elevated levels of circulating glucocorticoid promote a trans -differentiation of adult exocrine pancreas into hepatocyte-like cells, and chronic exposure results in pancreatic malfunction. [Am J Pathol]

Systemic Administration of Polymeric Nanoparticle-Encapsulated Curcumin (NanoCurc) Blocks Tumor Growth and Metastases in Preclinical Models of Pancreatic Cancer
In xenograft models of human pancreatic cancer established in athymic mice, administration of parenteral NanoCurc significantly inhibits primary tumor growth in both subcutaneous and orthotopic settings. [Mol Cancer Ther]

Simultaneous Gene Silencing of Bcl-2, XIAP and Survivin Re-Sensitizes Pancreatic Cancer Cells Towards Apoptosis
Simultaneous gene silencing (SGS) reduced expression of the three target genes effectively. Compared to silencing of a single target or control, SGS of these genes resulted in a significant higher induction of apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells. [BMC Cancer]

Lilly Announces Completion of Alnara Acquisition
Eli Lilly and Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of Alnara Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately-held company developing protein therapeutics for the treatment of metabolic diseases. [Eli Lilly and Company Press Release]

New Biotech Company Grows from MCG Diabetes and Genomic Research
A new biotech company, called Jinfiniti Biosciences LLC, has grown out of laboratory and clinical studies at the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) with the goal of improving the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes and cancer. [Medical College of Georgia Press Release]

International Stem Cell Plans $10 Million Financing Through European Subsidiary
International Stem Cell Corporation announced that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with ARG Vermogensverwaltung AG, a German Investment Fund, to create a new European subsidiary to be funded with up to $10 million of capital derived from ARG and other independent sources in Europe. [International Stem Cell Corporation Press Release]

FDA Accepts AFREZZA Complete Response Resubmission and Sets Target Action Date
MannKind Corporation announced that it has submitted, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted, MannKind’s resubmission of its New Drug Application for AFREZZA™ (insulin human [rDNA origin]) and classified it as a Class 2 resubmission. [MannKind Corporation Press Release]

New Report Shows California Companies Developing 58 Drugs for Diabetes
Pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies based in California are researching and developing 58 new medicines for diabetes, a new report shows. [Medical News Today]

BioTime Announces Addition of New Stem Cell Lines to Its Product Portfolio
BioTime, Inc. announced that on August 1, 2010 the Company will be offering for sale 21 new stem cell products for research use only. [Yahoo! Finance]

Mesoblast Receives TGA Regulatory Approval to Commercially Manufacture Adult Stem Cell Products
Australian regenerative medicine company, Mesoblast Limited announced that the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has issued a license to Mesoblast to manufacture and supply its proprietary Mesenchymal Precursor Cell products. [Mesoblast Limited Press Release]

New Health Care Leaders Named
News outlets report on new leadership appointments at key health care groups. [The Medical News]

Brussels to Invest $8.3 Billion in Research
Research organizations, universities, and industry will receive a sum of EUR6.4 billion next year in the European Commission’s largest ever allocation for research and innovation. [European Commission, European Union]

Consumer Gene Test Results Misleading — U.S. Probe
People who send off their saliva to genetic testing companies to find out their risk for prostate cancer or diabetes are likely to get different results, depending on the company they choose, government investigators told lawmakers. [Government Accountability Office, United States]

Planned Trial of Diabetes Drug Avandia Runs Aground
A large study to test the safety of the controversial diabetes drug Avandia has been put on partial hold by the Food and Drug Administration. [Food and Drug Administration, United States]

NIH Takes on New Role in Fight Against Rare Diseases
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases (TRND) program has launched five pilot projects that are taking the NIH in a new direction: developing drugs. TRND will work together with scientists, advocates and others to do the required research and testing on drugs before a compound can be tried in humans in a clinical trial. [National Institutes of Health, United States]

NIH Asks for Input on Closing Loophole in Conflict-of-Interest Rule
Responding to yet another flap about the influence of drug companies on biomedical research, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has decided it needs more time to revise its rules for policing conflicts of interest so that sanctions will move with an investigator if he or she changes institutions. [National Institutes of Health, United States]

Responsibility of Applicants for Promoting Objectivity in Research for Which Public Health Service Funding Is Sought and Responsible Prospective Contractors [Docket Number NIH-2010-0001] [Department of Health and Human Services, United States]

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. et al.; Withdrawal of Approval of 27 New Drug Applications and 58 Abbreviated New Drug Applications [Docket No. FDA-2010-N-0318] [Food and Drug Administration, United States]

Notice of Change in Peer Review, Council Review and Anticipated Start Dates for PAR-10-090: NIDDK Central Repositories Non-renewable Sample Access (X01) (NOT-DK-10-010) [National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, United States]

National Institute of General Medical Sciences; Notice of Closed Meeting (Doc. 2010-18088) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

Center for Scientific Review; Notice of Closed Meeting (Doc. 2010-18052) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

Instrument Development for Biomedical Applications (R21) (RFA-RR-10-009) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

Bioengineering Research Partnerships (BRP)[R01] (PAR-10-234) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering Program Project (P01) Applications (PAR-10-233) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

The Tissue & Cell Engineering Society 2010 Meeting
July 28-30, 2010
Manchester, United Kingdom

2010 World Cancer Congress
August 18-21, 2010
Shenzhen, China

Select Biosciences Inaugural Cellular Therapy Summit
August 24-25, 2010
Edinburgh, Scotland

Select Biosciences 3rd Annual Stem Cells Europe Conference
August 24-25, 2010
Edinburgh, Scotland

Select Biosciences 2nd Annual World Biobanking Summit
August 24-25, 2010
Edinburgh, Scotland

The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Meeting – Advancing the Life Sciences
September 4-7, 2010
Barcelona, Spain

The Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland (AUGIS) 2010 Scientific Meeting 
September 9-10, 2010
Oxford, United Kingdom

Stem Cells USA & Regenerative Medicine Congress 2010
September 13-15, 2010
Philadelphia, United States 

Annual Human Proteome Organization (HUPO) World Congress
September 19-23, 2010
Sydney, Australia

Institute of Medicine – University of Illinois at Chicago Midwest Conference on Diabetes and Obesity
September 21, 2010
Chicago, United States

35th European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress
October 8-12, 2010
Milan, Italy

Fraunhofer Life Science Symposium 2010
October 29-30, 2010
Leipzig, Germany

2010 American Pancreatic Association (APA) Annual Meeting
November 3-6, 2010
Chicago, United States

Select Biosciences International Forum on Stem Cells
November 12-13, 2010
Tianjin, China

Type 2 Diabetes, Insulin Resistance and Metabolic Dysfunction
January 12-17, 2011
Dillon, United States

Epithelial Plasticity and Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition
January 21-26, 2011
Vancouver, Canada

NEW Select Biosciences 5th Annual Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine World Congress
January 24-25, 2011
San Diego, United States

NEW Phacilitate 7th Annual Cell & Gene Therapy Forum 2011
January 24-26, 2011
Washington, DC, United States

Visit our events page to stay up to date with the latest events in the cell, gene and immunotherapy community.

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