Regenerative Medicine for Diabetes Mellitus

In diabetes, a loss of pancreatic beta-cells causes insulin dependency. When insulin dependency is caused by type 1 diabetes or pancreatic diabetes, for example, pancreatic beta-cells need to be regenerated for definitive treatment. The methods for generating pancreatic beta-cells include a method of creating pancreatic beta-cells in vitro and implanting them into the body and a method of regenerating pancreatic beta-cells in the body via gene introduction or the administration of differential proliferation factors to the body. Moreover, the number of pancreatic beta-cells is also low in type 2 diabetes, caused by the compounding factors of insulin secretory failure and insulin resistance; therefore, if pancreatic beta-cells can be regenerated in a living body, then a further amelioration of the pathology can be expected. The development of pancreatic beta-cell-targeting regenerative medicine can lead to the next generation of diabetes treatment.