Vanderbilt investigators are defining the genetic programs that control the development of pancreatic beta cells — studies that could inform new cellular or regenerative therapies for diabetes.

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have identified a biomarker for insulin-producing beta cells. Their finding, reported this month in the journal Cell Metabolism, could lead to improved ways to study and treat diabetes.

Potassium channels in a cellular organelle regulate calcium flux and appear to play a critical role in pancreatic beta cell health.

Vanderbilt investigators have identified novel regulators of insulin-producing beta-cell proliferation and survival, suggesting new targets for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

A new method developed at Vanderbilt will speed the search for potential therapeutics for diabetes: compounds that stimulate the replication of insulin-producing beta cells.

The growth factor FGF1 induces the growth of new insulin-producing beta cells and may help treat type 2 diabetes.

The factor FoxM1 increases the proliferation and function of insulin-producing beta cells, making it an attractive therapeutic target for diabetes.