Mechanisms underlying glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in genetically engineered human liver cells

Project Member(s): Simpson, A.

Start year: 2003

Summary: Type 1 Diabetes is caused by the severe insulin deficiency secondary to autoimmune destruction of the pancreatic beta cells of the pancreas that secrete insulin. This study aims to increase understanding of how cells work in order to help the engineering of better insulin-secreting liver cells in the future. Specifically, the aim is to determine: if the other insulin-secreting liver cell line Huh7ins secretes insulin to glucose via potassium channels; the movement of glucose-stimulated insulin in insulin-secreting liver cells; the structural and functional properties of the potassium channels in the liver cell lines and the genetic mechanism underlying the appearance of functional potassium channels in the transfected liver cell lines.

Keywords: insulin dependent diabetes mellitus; gene therapy; confocal laser scanning microscopy; patch-clamping; insulin secretion; liver

FOR Codes: Gene Therapy, Endocrine organs and diseases (incl. diabetes), Diabetes, Gene and Molecular Therapy, Gene and molecular therapy , Clinical health

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