What an incredible transformation. A protein used to help bones mend can also force pancreatic cells into producing insulin. The discovery could help people with type 1 diabetes produce their own insulin without having to take daily injections.
In type 1 diabetes, beta cells in the pancreas that make insulin - the hormone that keeps our blood glucose levels at a safe concentration - are destroyed by the immune system. As a result, people with the disease have to inject themselves daily with insulin.
Now, researchers have discovered that non-beta cells in the pancreas can be transformed into insulin-producing cells, merely by exposing them to a growth factor called BMP-7.