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Project Description
Stem cells offer new hopes for cell replacement therapies to cure Type 1 Diabetes (T1D), an autoimmune disease causing the loss of insulin-producing b-cells. Yet, despite promising results from pilot clinical trials, there is still a significant knowledge gap on molecular mechanisms that drive pluripotent stem cell maturation into functional insulin-producing b-cells. We have recently discovered that augmenting cell-to-cell communication through the activation of specialized intercellular channels (Gap Junctions) increases the production of pancreatic progenitors and islet cells. In this project, I am taking steps to identify regulatory genes that may control and increase the production and purity of insulin-secreting b-cells from stem cells. Our laboratory has pioneered the discovery of mechanisms of cell-to-cell communication, a function that all cells in our body have to exchange biochemical signals and “talk to one another”.
Ms. Guzman’s most recent research resulted in the discovery that by augmenting cell-to-cell communication, stem cells increase the production of small regulatory molecules known as microRNAs. Using state-of-the-art methods, I will manipulate the production of these microRNAs in stem cells undergoing differentiation into islet cells, and assess if this intervention can increase the yield of mature islet tissue from stem cells.
I anticipate that this research will fill a knowledge gap on molecular mechanisms governing stem cell differentiation into functional islet tissue and ultimately broaden the therapeutic potential of stem cell therapies for T1D.
Watch Ms. Guzman’s video here:
