Diabetes may soon have a cure, as doctors have managed to transform human stem cells into nearly normal insulin-producing cells in mice. Scientists, at the biotechnology company Novocell converted stem cells of mice into cells that kept blood sugar in check after their natural insulin-producing cells were destroyed.

Further research and development in this direction could lead to a renewable source of cells for treatment of diabetics, said Emmanuel Baetge, of Novocell Inc., in San Diego, and colleagues, who published their work online in the current issue of Nature Biotechnology.

Loss and dysfunction of the pancreatic beta cells lead to Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes respectively. The beta cells of pancreas are responsible for responsible for the regulation of sugar (glucose) levels in blood as they release the hormone, insulin.

The research involved transplantation of immature beta cells derived from human embryonic stem cells into mice whose beta cells had been spoiled by chemical treatment. The transplanted cells, after one to three months, were noticed to develop into glucose-responsive, insulin-secreting cells that helped control blood glucose levels in the experimental mice.

"They are producing all the right enzymes and release insulin in response to glucose," said Baetge. "Our data provide the first compelling evidence that human embryonic stem cells can serve as a renewable source of functional insulin-producing cells for diabetes cell replacement therapies."

It has been revealed by previous studies that transplantation of pancreatic beta cells, can help control diabetes in humans but the therapy is dependant upon cells from donor pancreases, which means the supply of such cells is limited.

“For those who say there is not much evidence that embryonic stem cells can cure diabetes, there you go,” said Dr. Camillo Ricordi, director of the Diabetes Research Institute at the University of Miami, who was not involved in the research.