Diabetes Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Diabetes, including details on insulin, type i, type ii, diet, treatment, prevention.

Combined treatment with lisofylline and exendin-4 reverses autoimmune diabetes.

Yang Z, Chen M, Carter JD, Nunemaker CS, Garmey JC, Kimble SD, Nadler JL

Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA. zandong_yang@merck.com

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is an autoimmune disease leading to near complete pancreatic beta-cell destruction. New evidence suggests that beta-cell regeneration is possible, but ongoing autoimmune damage prevents restoration of beta-cell mass. We tested the hypothesis that simultaneously blocking autoimmune cytokine damage and supplying a growth-promoting stimulus for beta-cells would provide a novel approach to reverse T1DM. Therefore, in this study we combined lisofylline to suppress autoimmunity and exendin-4 to enhance beta-cell proliferation for treating autoimmune-mediated diabetes in the non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse model. We found that this combined therapy effectively reversed new-onset diabetes within a week of therapy, and even maintained euglycemia up to 145 days after treatment withdrawal. The therapeutic effect of this regimen was associated with improved beta-cell metabolism and insulin secretion, while reducing beta-cell apoptosis. It is possible that such combined therapy could become a new strategy to defeat T1DM in humans.

Published 2 May 2006 in Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 344(3): 1017-22.
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