Diabetes Gene Discovery Opens New Therapeutic Avenues

Researchers at McGill University in Canada and the Eastern VirginiaMedical School in the USA believe they have discovered a gene which could be central to regenerating islet cells in the pancreas. The discovery could open the door to therapies which could restore islet function in diabetics, and the findings are published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation (May 1).

Called islets neogenesis-associated protein (INGAP), the gene and the peptide it encodes represent a new target for treatment, and also possibly a means of identifying people who are genetically susceptible to the disease, noted McGill University's Lawrence Rosenberg. The work stemmed from research into pancreatic cancer, and the serendipitous discovery that a pancreatic extract, called Ilotropin, was able to stimulate proliferation of pancreatic ductal cells in vitro. Protein purification eventually identified the INGAP peptide as the active principle in the extract.

The two institutions have been awarded a US patent on the INGAP technology, which they have licensed exclusively to Eli Lilly.