"Nature is telling us about mechanisms that might rescue the cells from death," says Weir, who is also a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. "Knowing these mechanisms might suggest some treatments, such as genetic manipulations to the cells before they're transplanted, or drugs after they're transplanted, that help to guard the cells."

Weir notes that blood glucose levels run higher in mice than in humans, so that in this way the transplanted cells were in an environment similar to that of an actual transplant. The glucose levels also were similar to those of people with the impaired glucose tolerance that leads toward type 2 diabetes. "This may be a general mechanism for beta cells under stress, so these results may also tell us something about glucose toxicity to beta cells in type 2 diabetes," he adds.

SOURCE Joslin Diabetes Center