What are Stem Cells? 
Stem cells are cells that can be transformed into any one of the many different types of cells that make up your body. Did you know that virtually all the cells in your body have identical DNA? If you think about it, it seems strange that a bone cell would have the same DNA as a muscle cell, or a pancreas cell, but they do. How do cells turn into different tissues like muscles, bone, the pancreas? The answer is that they undergo a mysterious process known as differentiation.

Differentiation
Differentiation begins when a fertilized egg cell starts to grow. It divides into two cells, then four cells, and so on. These early cells appear to be nearly identical, but as they develop, they start to perform different functions and turn into the predecessors of all the tissues in the body. These early cells, with the ability to turn into all of the different tissues, are known as stem cells. As the fertilized egg grows into an embryo and eventually becomes a human being, the cells continue to differentiate to become specific for each tissue type. Tissues join into units called organs. The different organs operate as systems that make up a healthy human being. Thus all the cells in the body “stem” from the original stem cells, hence the name.

As the stem cells begin to differentiate into the different tissue types, they lose the ability to transform into other tissue types. They are no longer stem cells, but are cells specific to a particular organ or system. The differentiated tissue cells continue to divide and grow as the body matures. Mature cells have a limited ability to regenerate, such as when you get a cut. Skin cells are able to heal the cut, and grow new skin over it. But if you lose a finger, you are not able to regenerate a whole finger. Diabetes sufferers have the same problem: once the pancreas cells that produce insulin are destroyed, they cannot be regenerated by the body.

Importance of Stem Cells
So what is so important about stem cells? In adults the human body preserves some stem cells and uses them for some kinds of repair and replacement when required. A major problem is that the reserve of stem cells in our body is limited. We end up using the reserve, and fall prey to different diseases. Blood cancer, heart failure, stroke, osteoarthritis, diabetes (both type 1 and 2), Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury and even aging are some of the examples of such diseases and disorders.

Stem cells in adults are found in areas like bone marrow. However, even these cells are not “smart” enough to know when tissues like the pancreas need to be replaced. But new research is determining how these stem cells can be reprogrammed. Can they be used to regenerate lost tissue cells? Perhaps regenerate a lost finger, or regenerate a damaged pancreas? The answer may soon be “Yes.”

Turning Stem Cells into Insulin-producing Cells
How can stem cells be used to treat diabetes? If you recall, Type 1 diabetes is caused by the destruction of the pancreas cells that produce insulin. Can adult stem cells be used to replace the damaged pancreas cells? Scientists are currently identifying sources of “adult stem cells” in the human body, and learning how to grow them outside the body. To treat Type 1 diabetes, the specific cells of the pancreas that produce insulin are removed and grown in the laboratory. Researchers are learning how to make the cells multiply into insulin-producing clusters that can be transplanted back into the pancreas. For more information, see: (Bonner-Weir, S., Taneja, M., Weir, G. C., Tatarkiewicz, K., Song, K. H., Sharma, A. and O’Neil, J. J., In vitro cultivation of human islets from expanded ductal tissue. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 2000, 97, 7999–8004 (6))

For more information on how our Program Director, Dr. Antonio Jimenez is helping move this research forward, see (Jimenez, A. and Grischenko, V.I., Understanding the Basics of Stem Cell Therapy, The Institute for Life Science 2008. 1-39 (39)) If you would like to know more about stem cell therapy for diabetes, or would like to be included in any future clinical trials, click here. Much of the current stem cell research is taking place right here in Southern California, at the Stem Cell Research Institute at the University of California, Irvine.

Where Stem Cells Come From
There are three major types of stem cells: embryonic, fetal and adult, each with different sources. Zygotes (fertilized eggs) are known to have the highest degree of plasticity as they can develop into any kinds of cells. They are known as “totipotent” stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are derived from embryos that develop from zygotes, and are able to grow indefinitely while maintaining pluripotency, which is less plastic than totipotency. As the embryo develops into fetus, the stem cells become more tissue-specific. They are termed as “multipotent”. They have the potential to turn back into pluripotent stem cells when subjected to appropriate conditions. These are the richest sources of primitive progenitor cells. Embryonic and fetal stem cells are hypoallergenic and thus give rise to side effects only very rarely.

Adult stem cells are derived from bone marrow, bloodstream, cord blood, and adipose tissue. They can also turn into pluripotent stem cells under the right conditions. (Jimenez and Grischenko, 2008). Adult stem cells offer the advantage that they can be harvested from any individual requiring stem cell therapy.

Clinical Treatments with Stem Cells
The clinical benefits of successful stem cell therapy for diabetics are a complete lack of dependence on injected insulin or pharmaceuticals needed to treat diabetes. It would actually heal diabetes. The future promises a complete cure for diabetes. At the Hope4Diabetes Medical Center, we are at the forefront in synthesizing current pharmaceutical treatments with complimentary and alternative methods, including lifestyle modifications,  nutrition,  supplements, detoxification, current scientific methods, and cutting-edge advances in science to give you the best possible relief from the complications of diabetes.

The Hope4Diabetes Medical Center is currently gearing up to use autologous adipose stem cells for the treatment of patients on a widespread scale. Autologous means the cells come from the same person that they will be used to treat. The advantage of autologous adipose stem cells is that they can be conveniently and less invasively harvested from each patient. It is often impossible to obtain stem cells from cord tissue, and harvesting stem cells from bone marrow is painful and can require a recovery time to rebuild the marrow of up to six weeks. Adipose stem cells can be obtained from a patient’s fatty tissue just under the skin using a technique called “microliposuction” that can be performed under local anaesthetic at our clinic. Another advantage of using autologous adipose stem cells is that they are already programmed with the DNA of the patient, and do not require further treatment to alleviate immune rejection. For information about the potential of stem cell therapy to assist you in healing, click here.

Pancreas Transplants
Why not just transplant a whole pancreas into a patient with Type 1 diabetes? The answer is that for any transplant to be successful, the body’s immune system has to be “tricked” into thinking the transplanted organ is not foreign. To do this, powerful immune system suppressing drugs must be used. The hazards of using these drugs are so great that pancreas transplants are only attempted about 1,000 times each year in the USA (recall there are 21 million diabetes sufferers in the United States alone). For more information on how the immune system can affect the health of a diabetic, click here.