Pancreatic Cell News Volume 1.17 | Aug 17 2010

Inactivation of the Orphan Nuclear Receptor TR3/Nur77 Inhibits Pancreatic Cancer Cell and Tumor Growth 
Results offer preclinical validation of TR3 as a drug target for pancreatic cancer chemotherapy, based on the ability of TR3 inhibitors to block the growth of pancreatic tumors. [Cancer Res]

Ultimate Diabetes Survivors, the Joslin 50-Year Medalists, Give Clues to Cures
A study has now established that some pancreatic beta cells endure for many decades in a small group of people with type 1 diabetes, offering clues to potential treatments for preserving and even restoring the crucial cell population. [Press release from the Joslin Diabetes Center discussing online prepublication in Diabetes]

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Residual Insulin Production and Pancreatic Beta Cell Turnover After 50 Years of Diabetes: Joslin Medalist Study
Demonstration of persistence and function of insulin-producing pancreatic cells suggests the possibility of a steady state of turnover in which stimuli to enhance endogenous beta cells could be a viable therapeutic approach in a significant number of patients with type 1 diabetes, even with chronic duration. [Diabetes]

MicroRNA Deficiency in Pancreatic Islet Cells Exacerbates Streptozotocin-Induced Murine Autoimmune Diabetes
Researchers report that specific microRNA (miRNA) deficiency in pancreatic islet cells exacerbates multiple low-dose streptozotocin-induced murine autoimmune type 1 diabetes, suggesting that miRNAs expressed in islet beta cells regulate their susceptibility to immune-mediated beta cell destruction. [Cell Cycle]

Concomitant Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay Measurements (ELISA) of Rat Insulin, Rat C-Peptide, and Rat Proinsulin from Rat Pancreatic Islets: Effects of Prolonged Exposure to Different Glucose Concentrations
Researchers used a well-established rat insulin ELISA and validated two novel ELISAs for rat C-peptide and rat/mouse proinsulin to examine secretion and content of insulin, proinsulin, and C-peptide from rat islets cultured for 72 hours at different glucose concentrations in culture medium. [Endocrinology]

Binding of the Fibronectin-Mimetic Peptide, PR_b, to Alpha(5)Beta(1) on Pig Islet Cells Increases Fibronectin Production and Facilitates Internalization of PR_b Functionalized Liposomes
Researchers investigated the ability of a fibronectin-mimetic peptide, PR_b, which specifically binds to the alpha(5)beta(1) integrin, to re-establish lost extracellular matrix around isolated pig islets and increase internalization of liposomes. [Langmuir]
 
Obesity-Induced Diabetes in Mouse Strains Treated with Gold Thioglucose: A Novel Animal Model for Studying Beta Cell Dysfunction
Results suggest that the pathogenesis of obesity-induced diabetes in gold thioglucose-treated mice is attributable to the inability of their pancreatic beta cells to secrete enough insulin to compensate for insulin resistance. [Obesity]

PANCREATIC CANCER

Antitumor Activity of Ribonuclease Multimers Created by Site-Specific Covalent Tethering
Researchers report on the use of eight distinct thiol-reactive cross-linking reagents to produce dimeric and trimeric conjugates of four pancreatic-type ribonucleases. [Bioconjug Chem]
 
Serum IGF-I, IGF-II, IGFBP-3, and IGF-I/IGFBP-3 Molar Ratio and Risk of Pancreatic Cancer in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial
A higher insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I/IGF binding protein (IGFBP)-3 molar ratio represents increased free IGF-I, which may be a risk factor for pancreatic cancer. [Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev]
 
Calcitriol Enhances Gemcitabine Anti-Tumor Activity In Vitro and In Vivo by Promoting Apoptosis in a Human Pancreatic Carcinoma Model System
The study suggests that calcitriol and gemcitabine in combination promotes caspase-dependent apoptosis, which may contribute to increased anti-tumor activity compared to either agent alone. [Cell Cycle]
 
MicroRNA miR-17-5p Is Overexpressed in Pancreatic Cancer, Associated with a Poor Prognosis, and Involved in Cancer Cell Proliferation and Invasion
The present findings suggest that miR-17-5p plays important roles in pancreatic carcinogenesis and cancer progression, and is associated with a poor prognosis in pancreatic cancer. [Cancer Biol Ther]

Dietary Polyphenol Quercetin Targets Pancreatic Cancer Stem Cells
Using in vitro and in vivo models of pancreatic cancer stem cells, researchers found quercetin-mediated reduction of self-renewal as measured by spheroid and colony formation. [Int J Oncol]

International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) Joins Forces with Roche and Genzyme to Launch Cell Therapy Industry Partnership
Many companies in the cell therapy regenerative medicine market including Roche, Genzyme, Athersys, Miltenyi Biotec, Hospira, Lonza and Life Technologies will join ISCT to launch a series of new initiatives that will create greater strategic alignment within the industry and drive late stage clinical development. [International Society for Cellular Therapy Press Release]
 
JDRF and Sanford Health to Test Novel Beta Cell Regeneration Therapy for Type 1 Diabetes
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) announced that it is supporting evaluation of a novel drug therapy to regenerate or help restore the insulin-producing cells destroyed by type 1 diabetes. [Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Press Release]

JDRF Launches Research Program to Accelerate Delivery of Faster Acting Insulin; Key Step on Road to an Artificial Pancreas
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) announced another important step on the road to the development of an artificial pancreas – an automated system to better manage the blood sugar of people with type 1 diabetes – with the establishment of a research program to speed the development of faster-acting insulin. [Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Press Release]
 
Researchers Receive $1 Million NIH Grant to Improve Health in Northern California Native American Communities
The University of California, Davis School of Medicine researchers will train Native American communities in Northern California to develop and implement culturally appropriate interventions to improve their health by decreasing obesity and type-2 diabetes, through a $1 million research grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health. [University of California, Davis School of Medicine Press Release]
 
One in Five Hospital Stays Involves a Person with Diabetes
U.S. hospitals spent $83 billion caring for people with diabetes in 2008, according to a statistical brief issued by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. That year, roughly one out of every five hospitalizations involved a person with the disease. [FierceHealthcare]

Caring for Carcinoid Foundation-AACR Grants for Carcinoid Tumor and Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor Research
The Caring for Carcinoid Foundation-American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Grants for Carcinoid Tumor and Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor Research represent a joint effort to promote and support innovative cancer research. Applications are now open. [American Association for Cancer Research, United States]
 
EMA and U.S. FDA Seek Potential Candidate Companies for Joint GMP Inspection Program
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the Food and Drug Administration of the United States of America (U.S. FDA) continue to seek potential candidate companies for a joint GMP inspection pilot programmed for manufacturers of medicinal products. [European Medicines Agency, European Union]

EU Agency Allows Access to Drug Side Effects Data
The European Medicines Agency has agreed to provide access to studies about drug side effects, following criticism over data secrecy from the European Ombudsman. [European Medicines Agency, European Union]
 
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; Notice of Meetings (FR Doc. 2010-20159) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

Proposed Collection; Comment Request; NIH NCI Central Institutional Review Board (CIRB) Initiative (NCI) (FR Doc. 2010-20167) [National Institutes of Health, United States]
 
Center for Scientific Review, Notice of Closed Meetings (FR Doc. 2010- 20044) [National Institutes of Health, United States]
 
Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health; Notice of Meeting (FR Doc. 2010-20021) [National Institutes of Health, United States]
 
Basic Research on Self-Regulation (R21) (RFA-AG-11-010) [National Institutes of Health, United States]
 
National Center for Research Resources; Notice of Meeting (FR Doc. 2010-20014) [National Institutes of Health, United States]
 
7342.007 Addendum – Imported Human Cells, Tissues, and Cellular and Tissue-Based Products (HCT/Ps) [Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, United States]

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

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

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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