Gene Therapy Reverses Type 1 Diabetes in Mice, Experimental Technique Shows

In this article, researchers developed a cure for Type I Diabetes, which occurs in the immune system. The research was done on a mouse. They found two defects, "autoimmune attack and destruction of the insulin-producing beta cell." They used nonobese diabetic mice for the research. One treatment for mice cured 50% of them. In an original gene therapy, beta cells were formed by stimulation in the liver. It restored insulin production and normal blood sugar levels in over 100 mice that were chemically induced diabetes. But, it failed in nonobese mice. Interleukin-10 was used as an added gene. It is "an important regulator of the immune system." It showed to prevent the development of diabetes in mice but is not reversible. When they used both the gene therapy and interleukin-10, a complete reversial was found in half the mice because it protected the new beta cells that were formed.