Pancreatic Cell News Volume 2.09 | Mar 8 2011

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    Pancreatic Cell News 2.09, March 8, 2011

         In this issue: Science News | Current Publications | Industry News | Policy News | Events
     

    TOP STORY
    The Adult Mouse and Human Pancreas Contain Rare Multipotent Stem Cells that Express Insulin
    Findings demonstrate that the adult mammalian pancreas contains a population of insulin+ multipotent stem cells and suggest that these cells may provide a promising line of investigation toward potential therapeutic benefit. [Cell Stem Cell]

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    SCIENCE NEWS

    Type 2 Diabetes Linked to Single Gene Mutation in One-in-Ten Patients
    A multinational study has identified a key gene mutation responsible for type 2 diabetes in nearly 10 percent of patients of white European ancestry. [Press release from the University of California, San Francisco discussing online prepublication in the Journal of the American Medical Association]

    BioSante’s Pancreas Cancer Vaccine Shows Survival Increase in Newly Published Study
    BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced publication of results from a Phase II clinical study that show BioSante’s Pancreas Cancer Vaccine increased the median survival of resected pancreatic cancer patients from 15 to 20 months, as reported in published data, to 24.8 months, an increase of more than 25 percent. [Press release from BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc. discussing online prepublication in the Annals of Surgery]

    Possible New Treatment Strategies for Pancreatic Cancer
    New University of Georgia research has identified a protein that can be modified to improve the effectiveness of one of the most common drugs used to treat pancreatic cancer. [Press release from ScienceDaily discussing online prepublication in Cancer Research]

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    CURRENT PUBLICATIONS (Ranked by Impact Factor of the Journal)

    DIABETES

    Functional Variants of the HMGA1 Gene and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
    Compared with healthy controls, the presence of functional HMGA1 gene variants in individuals of white European ancestry was associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus. [JAMA]

    Maternal Diet and Aging Alter the Epigenetic Control of a Promoter-Enhancer Interaction at the Hnf4a Gene in Rat Pancreatic Islets
    Researchers show that the transcription factor Hnf4a, which has been implicated in the etiology of type 2 diabetes, is epigenetically regulated by maternal diet and aging in rat islets. [Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A]

    MicroRNAs Control Insulin Content in Pancreatic β-Cells via Downregulation of Transcriptional Repressors
    Scientists show that microRNA inactivation in β-cells of adult mice results in a striking diabetic phenotype. [EMBO J]

    Bimodal Effect on Pancreatic β-Cells of Secretory Products From Normal or Insulin Resistant Human Skeletal Muscle
    Data suggest a possible new route of communication between skeletal muscle and β-cells that is modulated by insulin-resistance and could contribute to normal β-cell functional mass in healthy subjects, as well as the decrease seen in type 2 diabetes. [Diabetes]

    Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 5 Promotes Pancreatic β-Cell Survival via Fak-Akt Signaling Pathways
    This study shows that by regulating Fak phosphorylation and subsequently PI3K/Akt survival pathway, CDK5 plays a previously unrecognized role in promoting β-cell survival. [Diabetes]

    Permanent Neonatal Diabetes and Enteric Anendocrinosis Associated with Biallelic Mutations in NEUROG3
    Severe deficiency of neurogenin 3 causes a rare novel subtype of permanent neonatal diabetes. This finding confirms the essential role of NEUROG3 in islet development and function in humans. [Diabetes]

    Partial Inhibition of Insulin Secretion Results in Glucose Intolerance But Not Hyperglucagonemia
    Results underscore the primary glucoregulatory role of insulin and support the evidence that β-cell secretion is not the only regulator of α-cell glucagon secretion. [Diabetes]

    PANCREATIC CANCER

    A Lethally Irradiated Allogeneic Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor-Secreting Tumor Vaccine for Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: A Phase II Trial of Safety, Efficacy, and Immune Activation
    Researchers tested the safety and efficacy of a granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor-based immunotherapy administered in patients with resected pancreatic adenocarcinoma. [Ann Surg]

    CNT1 Expression Influences Proliferation and Chemosensitivity in Drug-Resistant Pancreatic Cancer Cells
    Researchers discovered a role for the human concentrative nucleoside transporter-1 (hCNT1; SLC28A1), a high-affinity pyrimidine nucleoside transporter, in determining the chemosensitivity of human pancreatic cancer cells to gemcitabine. [Cancer Res]

    Overexpression of CXCL5 Is Associated with Poor Survival in Patients with Pancreatic Cancer
    Data suggest that epithelial neutrophil-activating peptide-78 (CXCL5) is an important mediator of tumor-derived angiogenesis and that it may serve as a survival factor for pancreatic cancer. [Am J Pathol]

    Ethanol Enhances Carbachol-Induced Protease Activation and Accelerates Ca2+ Waves in Isolated Rat Pancreatic Acini
    Researchers examined the effect of ethanol on mediating both pathologic intra-acinar protease activation, a precursor to pancreatitis, as well as ryanodine receptor Ca2+ signals. [J Biol Chem]

    INDUSTRY NEWS

    Pancreatic Cancer Action Network – AACR Pathway to Leadership Grants Awarded to Early-Career Investigators
    The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) have awarded Jennifer M. Bailey, Ph.D., and E. Scott Seeley, M.D., Ph.D., the 2011 Pancreatic Cancer Action Network – AACR Pathway to Leadership Grants. [American Association for Cancer Research Press Release]

    BioSante Pharmaceuticals to Raise $25.1 Million in Registered Direct Offering
    BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that it has received commitments from several institutional investors to purchase $25.1 million of securities in a registered direct offering. [BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Press Release]

    DURATION-6 Top-Line Study Results Announced
    Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Eli Lilly and Company and Alkermes, Inc. announced top-line results from DURATION-6, a head-to-head study designed to compare weekly BYDUREON™ (exenatide extended-release for injectable suspension), an investigational type 2 diabetes therapy, to daily Victoza® (liraglutide (rDNA origin) injection). [Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Press Release]

    Omeros Unlocks Orphan GPCRs Linked to Pancreatic Cancer and Cognitive Disorders
    Omeros Corporation announced that it has identified compounds that interact selectively with two orphan G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) linked to pancreatic cancer (GPR182) and cognitive disorders (GPR12). [Omeros Corporation Press Release]

    FDA Accepts New Drug Application for Investigational Compound Dapagliflozin for the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes
    AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review a New Drug Application for dapagliflozin, an investigational compound for the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. [AstraZeneca PLC Press Release]

    Genus Oncology, LLC Announces Orphan Drug Status for GO-203-2c for Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer
    Genus Oncology, LLC announced it has received an Orphan Drug Designation from the FDA’s Office of Orphan Products Development for its Mucin 1 targeting peptide, GO-203-2c, for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. [PR Newswire]

    Valeritas Receives FDA 510(k) Clearance for the V-Go™ Disposable Insulin Delivery Device for Use with NovoLog®
    Valeritas, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared the company’s V-Go Disposable Insulin Delivery Device for use with Novo Nordisk’s NovoLog® for the continuous subcutaneous delivery of insulin in preset basal rates and with on-demand bolus dosing for adult patients requiring insulin. [Valeritas, Inc. Press Release]

    Onglyza Becomes the First DPP4 Inhibitor Available for Use in Europe in Type 2 Diabetes Patients with Moderate or Severe Renal Impairment
    AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company announced that the European Commission has approved a label update for ONGLYZA® (saxagliptin) in the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes who have moderate or severe renal impairment. [AstraZeneca PLC Press Release]

    Omni Bio Pharmaceutical Intends to Expand Type 1 Diabetes Trial to 50 Patients
    Omni Bio Pharmaceutical, Inc. has committed to expand its Phase I/II human clinical trial in recently diagnosed Type 1 diabetes patients from 15 patients to 50. [Omni Bio Pharmaceutical, Inc. Press Release]

    POLICY NEWS

    National Institutes of Health (United States)

    Food and Drug Administration (United States)
     
    Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (United States)

    European Medicines Agency (European Union)

    Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (United Kingdom)

    National Health Service (United Kingdom)

    Therapeutic Goods Administration (Australia)

    EVENTS

    NEW Pancreatic Cancer Symposium
    March 19, 2011
    Washington, DC, United States

    NEW Pancreatic Cancer Symposium
    April 15, 2011
    Chicago, United States

    NEW 20th Annual American Association for Cancer Research Aspen Workshop: Molecular Biology in Clinical Oncology
    July 16-22, 2011
    Snowmass, United States

    NEW The Collaborative Alliance for Pancreatic Education and Research (CAPER) Annual Meeting
    July 31, 2011
    Pittsburgh, United States

    NEW American Pancreatic Association
    November 2-5, 2011
    Chicago, United States

    Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the pancreatic cell community.

    JOB OPPORTUNITIES

    Lab Technologist – Human Embryonic and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (STEMCELL Technologies)

    Postdoctoral Position (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine)

    Postdoctoral Positions – Stem Cell Biology (Joslin Diabetes Center/Harvard Stem Cell Institute)

    Field Applications Specialist – Cell Therapy (Medical) (Pall Corporation)

    Postdoctoral Scientist (University of Oxford Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences)

    Chief, Division of Endocrinology (University of Florida/Shands)

    Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Diabetes/Cardiovascular Disease (Children’s Hospital Boston/Harvard Medical School)

    Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Bioinformatics/Computational Biology – Diabetes (Lund University)

    Postdoctoral Position in Biology (Inserm)
     
    Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Ontario Cancer Institute of University Health Network)

    Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Medical College of Wisconsin)

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