"Insulinomas, Benign Tumors, Key To Novel Diabetes Drug Targets" - Liam Davenport
A rare benign tumor may hold the key to understanding how to regenerate insulin-producing beta cells and consequently lead to the development of novel drugs for patients with diabetes, the results of a new US study indicate. "For the first time, we have a genomic recipe, an actual wiring diagram in molecular terms that demonstrates how beta cells replicate," said study co-author Andrew Stewart, MD, director of diabetes, obesity, and metabolic institute and professor of medicine, endocrinology, diabetes and bone disease at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "The real innovation here is that we collected benign tumors that don't metastasize and don't cause great harm, and we're trying to use these — that have beta-cell regeneration going on in them — as the only reasonable source of genomic information on how to make beta cells regenerate." Dennis Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and president for academic affairs at the Mount Sinai Health System, said, "We are excited and gratified by these remarkable results, which reveal an extraordinary array of new and validated pathways for diabetes drug development. In a very short time, we have made terrific progress."
- Andrew Stewart, MD, Director, Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolic Institute, Professor, Medicine, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and President for Academic Affairs, Mount Sinai Health System