Stem Cells and Diabetes: A New Era of Regenerative Medicine


Authors : Zufnoon Khan; Neelam Jain; Sushil Giri; Abeer Kulsoom

Volume/Issue : Volume 10 - 2025, Issue 3 - March

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/36xtb2jf

Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/4hsw2f96

DOI : https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14987811

Abstract : Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder and is recognized as the most common condition affecting the endocrine system. It is characterized by high blood sugar levels due to insulin resistance, insufficient insulin production, or a combination of both. This condition is often associated with various acute and chronic complications. Managing these complications has placed a considerable financial burden on many communities. Over the past decade, pancreatic islet transplantation has been thoroughly investigated as a potential treatment for diabetes. However, obtaining pancreatic cells from cadavers is quite difficult due to inherent limitations. Stem cells are being explored as a renewable cellular resource that could serve as an alternative to organ transplantation. These cells, found in nearly all multicellular organisms, have the unique ability to divide and differentiate into specialized cells, as well as to regenerate damaged or missing cells. The scientific community has extensively considered the potential application of stem cells in treating diabetes and developing insulin-producing islets, which may offer a promising future solution for diabetes management. Notably, human stem cells derived from hematopoietic organs, liver, pancreas, and embryonic sources are among the various types being studied. This article provides a brief overview of a series of research efforts conducted in this area.

Keywords : Diabetes, Insulin Resistance, Pancreatic Islet Transplantation, Organ Transplantation Alternative, Stem Cells, Hematopoietic Stem Cells, Pancreatic Islet Transplantation

References :

  1. Jerreat L (2009) Treatment of hyperglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes. Nursing standard (Royal College of Nursing (Great Britain)
  2. Olfatifar M, Karami M, Hosseini S Prevalence of Chronic Complications and Related Risk Factors of Diabetes in Patients Referred to the Diabetes Center of Hamedan Province. Sci J Hamadan Nurs Midwifery Fac 25 (2): 69-74
  3. Izadi N, Rahimi M, Rezvanmadani F, Shetabi H, Darbandi M (2017) A Survey on Epidemiology of Type II Diabetes in Patients Referring to the Diabetes Clinic in Kermanshah Province du ring 2013-14: A Short Report. JRUMS (1): 83 90
  4. Corriere M, Rooparinesingh N, Kalyani RR (2013) Epidemiology of diabetes and diabetes complications in the elderly: an emerging public health burden. Current diabetes reports 13 (6): 805-813.
  5. Steele C, Hagopian WA, Gitelman S, Masharani U, Cavaghan M, Rother KI, Donaldson D, Harlan DM, Bluestone J, Herold KC (2004) Insulin secretion in type 1 diabetes. Diabetes 53 (2): 426-433.
  6.  Singh A, Verma V, Kumar M, Kumar A, Sarma DK, Singh B, Jha R (2022) Stem cells derived in vitro meat: from petri dish to dinner plate. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 62 (10): 2641-2654.
  7. Buades JM, Craver L, Del Pino MD, Prieto Velasco M, Ruiz JC, Salgueira M, de Sequera P, Vega N (2021) Management of Kidney Failure in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus: What Are the Best Options? "J. Clin. Med."10 (13): 2943.
  8. Nussbaum EL, Houghton P, Anthony J, Rennie S, Shay BL, Hoens AM (2017) Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation for Treatment of Muscle Impairment: Critical Review and Recommendations for Clinical Practice. Physiotherapy Canada Physiotherapie Canada 69 (5): 1-76.
  9. Lindberg I, Torbjørnsen A, Söderberg S, Ribu L (2017) Telemonitoring and Health Counseling for Self-Management Support of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR diabetes 2 (1): e10.
  10. Hosianpour F, Tehrani AM, Dehkordi AH, Ghaderi H (2021) Quality of life and its related factors among participants in Shahrecord–Iran cohort study. Przeglad Epidemiologiczny 75 (2): 248-253.
  11. Nikpouraghdam M, Farahani AJ, Alishiri G, Heydari S, Ebrahimnia M, Samadinia H, Sepandi M, Jafari NJ, Izadi M, Qazvini A (2020) Epidemiological characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in IRAN: A single center study.  J. Clin. Virol 127): 104378.
  12. Kabir MA, Kamrul-Hasan A, Faruque MO, Hoque F, Selim S, Abul M, Hasanat MF (2019) Frequency and predictors of hyperglycemia in patients with various thyroid disorders attending a tertiary hospital of Bangladesh. Sri Lanka Journal of Diabetes Endocrinology and Metabolism 9 (1): 18-25.
  13. Kobrin Klein BE (2007) Overview of epidemiologic studies of diabetic retinopathy. Ophthalmic epidemiology 14 (4): 179-183.
  14. Eckert A, Galler A, Papsch M, Hess M, Holder M, Döing C, Bierkamp‐Christophersen D, Hammer E, Pappa A, Lanzinger S (2021) Are psychiatric disorders associated with thyroid hormone therapy in adolescents and young adults with type 1 diabetes? J. Diabetes13 (7): 562-571.
  15. Argyropoulos AJ, Robichaud P, Balimunkwe RM, Fisher GJ, Hammerberg C, Yan Y, Quan T (2016) Alterations of dermal connective tissue collagen in diabetes: molecular basis of aged-appearing skin. PloS one 11 (4): e0153806.
  16. Rahmani M, Raiszadeh F, Allahverdian S, Kiaii S, Navab M, Azizi F (2002) Coronary artery disease is associated with the ratio of apolipoprotein AI/B and serum concentration of apolipoprotein B, but not with paraoxonase enzyme activity in Iranian subjects. Atherosclerosis 162 (2): 381-389.
  17. Hua R, Li Y, Li W, Wei Z, Yuan Z, Zhou J (2021) Apolipoprotein B/A1 Ratio Is Associated with Severity of Coronary Artery Stenosis in CAD Patients but Not in Non-CAD Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention. Disease markers 2021): 8959019.
  18. Elahi-Moghaddam Z, Behnam-Rassouli M, Mahdavi-Shahri N, Hajinejad-Boshroue R, Khajouee E (2013) Comparative study on the effects of type 1 and type 2 diabetes on structural changes and hormonal output of the adrenal cortex in male Wistar rats. Journal of diabetes and metabolic disorders 12 (1): 9.
  19. Amini A, Chien S, Bayat M (2022) Potential of stem cells for treating infected Diabetic Foot Wounds and Ulcers: a systematic review. Mol Biol Rep).
  20. Wan J, Xia L, Liang W, Liu Y, Cai Q (2013) Transplantation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells promotes delayed wound healing in diabetic rats.  "J. Diabetes Res." 2013): Article ID: 647107.
  21. Chrvala CA, Sherr D, Lipman RD (2016) Diabetes self-management education for adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A systematic review of the effect on glycemic control. Patient education and counseling 99 (6): 926-943.
  22. Lehmann R (2018) Beta-cell replacement for treatment of severe hypoglycemia: long-term comparison between islet kidney vs. pancreas-kidney transplantation. Diabetologia Hungarica 26): 207-220.
  23. Gerber P, Pavlicek V, Demartines N, Zuellig R, Pfammatter T, Wüthrich R, Weber M, Spinas G, Lehmann R (2008) Simultaneous islet–kidney vs pancreas–kidney transplantation in type 1 diabetes mellitus: a 5 year single centre follow-up. Diabetologia 51 (1): 110-119.
  24. Lee S-H, Hao E, Savinov AY, Geron I, Strongin AY, Itkin-Ansari P (2009) Human β-cell precursors mature into functional insulin-producing cells in an immunoisolation device: implications for diabetes cell therapies. Transplantation 87 (7): 983.
  25. Simerman AA, Dumesic DA, Chazenbalk GD (2014) Pluripotent muse cells derived from human adipose tissue: a new perspective on regenerative medicine and cell therapy. Clinical and Translational Medicine 3 (1): 1-8.
  26. Daniels JT, Dart JK, Tuft SJ, Khaw PT (2001) Corneal stem cells in review. Wound repair and regeneration: official publication of the Wound Healing Society [and] the European Tissue Repair Society 9 (6): 483-494.
  27. Jose J, George T, Thomas AM (2020) Regulation of stem cell-based research in India in comparison with the US, EU and other Asian countries: current issues and future perspectives. Current Stem Cell Research & Therapy 15 (6): 492-508.
  28. Zhao Y, Wang H, Mazzone T (2006) Identification of stem cells from human umbilical cord blood with embryonic and hematopoietic characteristics. Experimental cell research 312 (13): 2454 2464.
  29. Secco M, Zucconi E, Vieira NM, Fogaça LL, Cerqueira A, Carvalho MDF, Jazedje T, Okamoto OK, Muotri AR, Zatz M (2008) Mesenchymal stem cells from umbilical cord: do not discard the cord! Neuromuscular Disorders 18 (1): 17-18.
  30. Schütt J, Nägler T, Schenk T, Brioli A (2021) Investigating the Interplay between Myeloma Cells and Bone Marrow Stromal Cells in the Development of Drug Resistance: Dissecting the Role of Epigenetic Modifications. Cancers 13 (16): 4069.
  31. Broccaioli E, Niada S, Rasperini G, Ferreira LM, Arrigoni E, Yenagi V, Brini AT (2013) Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Bichat's Fat Pad: In Vitro Comparison with Adipose Derived Stem Cells from Subcutaneous Tissue. BioResearch open access 2 (2): 107-117.
  32. Wang H, Yang Y, Liu J, Qian L (2021) Direct cell reprogramming: approaches, mechanisms and progress. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 22 (6): 410-424.
  33. Ieda M (2013) Direct reprogramming into desired cell types by defined factors. KJM): 2012-0017-RE. 
  34. Sachamitr P, Hackett S, Fairchild PJ (2014) Induced pluripotent stem cells: challenges and opportunities for cancer immunotherapy. Frontiers in immunology 5):176
  35. Zahiri M, Shafikhodaii S, Keshavarz H (2014) Stem cells in review. ISMJ 17 (4): 733-747.
  36. . Akbari A, Jabbari N, Sharifi R, Ahmadi M, Vahhabi A, Seyedzadeh SJ, Nawaz M, Szafert S, Mahmoodi M, Jabbari E (2020) Free and hydrogel encapsulated exosome based therapies in regenerative medicine. Life sciences 249): 117447.
  37. Ebrahimi A, Ahmadi H, Pourfraidon Ghasrodashti Z, Tanide N, Shahriarirad R, Erfani A, Ranjbar K, Ashkani-Esfahani S (2021) Therapeutic effects of stem cells in different body systems, a novel method that is yet to gain trust: A comprehensive review. BJBMS 21 (6): 672-701.
  38. Larijani B, Akrami S, Amoli M (2005) Insulin production by human stem cells. IJEM 7 (3): 269-278
  39. Li TD, Feng GH, Li YF, Wang M, Mao JJ, Wang JQ, Li X, Wang XP, Qu B, Wang LY, Zhang XX, Wan HF, Cui TT, Wan C, Liu L, Zhao XY, Hu BY, Li W, Zhou Q (2017) Rat embryonic stem cells produce fertile offspring through tetraploid complementation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 114 (45): 11974-11979.
  40. Burns CJ, Persaud SJ, Jones PM (2004) Stem cell therapy for diabetes: do we need to make beta cells? Journal of endocrinology 183 (3): 437-443.
  41. Meier JJ, Bhushan A, Butler PC (2006) The potential for stem cell therapy in diabetes. Pediatric Research 59 (4): 65-73.
  42. Zeeshan N, Naveed M, Irshad DFA, Ahsan A, Abrar M, Ghafoor S (2017) "J Cell Sci Ther".8 (2): 1000263.
  43. Rahim F, Arjmand B, Shirbandi K, Payab M, Larijani B (2018) Stem cell therapy for patients with diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of metabolomics-based risks and benefits. Stem cell investigation 5): 40.
  44. Lopes L, Setia O, Aurshina A, Liu S, Hu H, Isaji T, Liu H, Wang T, Ono S, Guo X (2018) Stem cell therapy for d abetic foot ulcers: a review of preclinical and clinical research. Stem cell research & therapy 9 (1): 1-16.
  45. Mathias E, Goveas R, Rajak M (2018) Stem cell therapy: recent success and continuing progress in treating diabetes. Int J Stem Cell Res Ther 5 (1): 1-8.
  46. Ferguson AM, Rubin MA (2022) Lineage plasticity in prostate cancer: Looking beyond intrinsic alterations. Cancer letters 548): 215901.
  47. Azizi R, Goodarzi MT, Salemi Z (2014) Effect of biochanin a on serum visfatin level of streptozocin-induced diabetic rats. IRCMJ 16 (9).
  48. Yu VW, Scadden DT (2016) Hematopoietic Stem Cell and Its Bone Marrow Niche. Current topics in developmental biology 118): 21-44.
  49. Kim HS, Lee MK (2016) β-Cell regeneration through the transdifferentiation of pancreatic cells: Pancreatic progenitor cells in the pancreas. "J. Diabetes Investig."7 (3): 286-296.
  50. Jung JA, Yoon YD, Lee HW, Kang SR, Han SK (2018) Comparison of human umbilical cord blood‐derived mesenchymal stem cells with healthy fibroblasts on wound‐healing activity of diabetic fibroblasts.  "Int. Wound J."15 (1): 133-139.
  51. Yang L, Li S, Hatch H, Ahrens K, Cornelius JG, Petersen BE, Peck AB (2002) In vitro trans-differentiation of adult hepatic stem cells into pancreatic endocrine hormone producing cells. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 99 (12): 8078-8083
  52. Dor Y, Brown J, Martinez OI, Melton DA (2004) Adult pancreatic β-cells are formed by self-duplication rather than stem-cell differentiation. Nature 429 (6987): 41-46.

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder and is recognized as the most common condition affecting the endocrine system. It is characterized by high blood sugar levels due to insulin resistance, insufficient insulin production, or a combination of both. This condition is often associated with various acute and chronic complications. Managing these complications has placed a considerable financial burden on many communities. Over the past decade, pancreatic islet transplantation has been thoroughly investigated as a potential treatment for diabetes. However, obtaining pancreatic cells from cadavers is quite difficult due to inherent limitations. Stem cells are being explored as a renewable cellular resource that could serve as an alternative to organ transplantation. These cells, found in nearly all multicellular organisms, have the unique ability to divide and differentiate into specialized cells, as well as to regenerate damaged or missing cells. The scientific community has extensively considered the potential application of stem cells in treating diabetes and developing insulin-producing islets, which may offer a promising future solution for diabetes management. Notably, human stem cells derived from hematopoietic organs, liver, pancreas, and embryonic sources are among the various types being studied. This article provides a brief overview of a series of research efforts conducted in this area.

Keywords : Diabetes, Insulin Resistance, Pancreatic Islet Transplantation, Organ Transplantation Alternative, Stem Cells, Hematopoietic Stem Cells, Pancreatic Islet Transplantation

Video Explanation for Published paper

Never miss an update from Papermashup

Get notified about the latest tutorials and downloads.

Subscribe by Email

Get alerts directly into your inbox after each post and stay updated.
Subscribe
OR

Subscribe by RSS

Add our RSS to your feedreader to get regular updates from us.
Subscribe