Critical mass in diabetes

A University of Bremen group has found a new target-serine/threonine kinase 4-that can increase b cell mass and could represent an alternative to invasive islet cell transplants in patients with diabetes.¹ Next, the team will need to rule out long-term safety issues associated with blocking the kinase.

Destruction of insulin-secreting b cells occurs in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes but through different mechanisms. In type 1 disease, an autoimmune reaction destroys the pancreatic b cells. In type 2, exhaustion and cellular toxicity are responsible...