Page 37 - GPD-3-2

Gene & Protein in Disease

REVIEW ARTICLE
Decoding and understanding molecular

mechanisms: Cell signaling pathways, pancreatic
β-cell regeneration, and stem cell niche

engineering for diabetes

Rajiv Kumar * and Gerardo Caruso 2
1
1 Faculty of Science, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India
2 Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, Unit of
Neurosurgery, University of Messina, Messina, Sicily, Italy

Abstract

Stem cell bioengineering addresses regenerative medicine and cellular therapies
by applying advanced techniques to stem-cell-derived systems. Despite their
promise, stem cell applications are limited by incomplete knowledge. Stem cells and
phytochemicals show potential in treating diabetes by halting β-cell degeneration
and promoting endogenous islet regeneration. Current diabetes cell therapies
include stem cells, mature pancreatic cells, endocrine progenitors, and β-cells, with
researchers actively seeking new cell sources for clinically relevant β-cells. Stem cell-
derived pancreatic cells are particularly promising for pancreatic islet regeneration.
Diabetes mellitus results from cell loss or malfunction: Type 1 diabetes stems from
autoimmune damage, whereas Type 2 diabetes is largely attributed to cell malfunction
*Corresponding author: or insulin resistance. The only operative therapy, islet transplantation, necessitates
Rajiv Kumar lifelong immune suppression. Significant progress has been made in strategies
(rajivkumar@nimsuniversity.org) for therapeutic adult β-cell regeneration. This review assesses studies on cellular
Citation: Kumar R, Caruso G. signaling pathways linked to β-cell survival and proliferation, exploring regenerative
Decoding and understanding medicine methodologies for pancreatic islet replacement or regeneration. While the
molecular mechanisms: Cell
signaling pathways, pancreatic “replacement” technique involves cell transplantation, the “regeneration” strategy
β-cell regeneration, and stem cell preserves cell populations through replication. Moreover, artemether and gamma-
niche engineering for diabetes. aminobutyric acid induce pancreatic cells to adopt β-cell-like phenotypes, potentially
Gene Protein Dis. 2024;3(2):2996.
doi: 10.36922/gpd.2996 aiding in the development of new β-cell-like cells for treating severe diabetes in rats.
Understanding G-protein-coupled receptor activation pathways is crucial, as new
Received: February 22, 2024
Accepted: March 26, 2024 treatment strategies for insulin-dependent diabetic mellitus may emerge from this
Published Online: June 6, 2024 knowledge.
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s).
This is an Open-Access article Keywords: Stem cell bioengineering; Cell signaling pathways; Stem cell niche; Pancreatic
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution β cell regeneration; Clinical and preclinical agents
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is
properly cited. 1. Introduction
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with Diabetes type 2 (T2D) is characterized by insulin resistance and dysfunctional pancreatic
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional beta cells, which play a crucial role in glucose regulation. This dysfunction reduces
1
affiliations. β-cell mass and function. Recent advancements have enabled the creation of glucose-

Volume 3 Issue 2 (2024) 1 doi: 10.36922/gpd.2996