We’re so grateful for everyone who donates to individual projects and our General Fund – it allows us to accomplish our vision of supporting innovative scientific inquiry until type 1 diabetes is eliminated.

To show our gratitude, it’s important to us that we keep our donors updated on the research they’ve helped fund. Scientific research can at times be an arduous process, which is why we sometimes go months without any updates. However, our researchers are constantly working to complete their research projects and are dedicated to spending every day finding innovative new ways to treat and cure diabetes.

Update: Creating New Insulin-Producing Cells To Repair Damaged Pancreas

Kristin Mussar provided the following update to her research at the end of April:

In our last update we identified a population of macrophages residing in the pancreas of newborns that was necessary for islet cells to expand in number as well as to mature into functional insulin-producing cells. Recently, we found that a functionally similar population capable of boosting islet proliferation exists in the bone marrow of adult individuals, which suggests that there might be potential for islet repair in adults. We are currently investigating whether this bone marrow population can be used as a cell therapy to enhance the repair process of islet cells in adult mouse models of injury. Additionally, we are still working to characterize the molecular signals underlying the effects that this cell population has on islet cell expansion and maturation. Thank you again for donating and making this research possible!

Visit her project page to learn more about this study.

Once again, thanks for your support in helping our mission to prevent, treat and cure type 1 diabetes. It may sound cliché, but we truly couldn’t do it without you. Stay tuned for more updates later this summer. We’re expecting to hear from Dr. Subhadra Gunawardana and Wendy Yang, in particular!

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