pancreas

September 14, 2017

Patient’s freak pancreas injury spurs rapid response

Macie Glover sprinted across the gym floor at school earlier this year, tripped and crashed into a wall. In a bizzare sequence of events, she hit her head and arm and scraped her knees as the force of the crash propelled her whole body arching backward into a crescent shape.

By Christina Echegaray
Insulin in vials
December 8, 2016

Making human beta cells reproduce

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.

By VUMC News and Communications
Insulin in vials
November 18, 2015

Fighting type 2 diabetes with FGF1

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

By VUMC News and Communications
Insulin in vials
May 14, 2014

CaMKII enhances insulin secretion

The protein CaMKII acts as a calcium sensor in a positive feedback pathway that enhances glucose-stimulated insulin secretion.

By VUMC News and Communications
cells
January 13, 2014

Searching for beta cell stimulators

Vanderbilt researchers describe a new technique for identifying factors that stimulate the proliferation of pancreatic beta cells – factors that might offer therapeutic options for diabetes.

By Leigh MacMillan
February 18, 2013

Pancreas cells full of potential

Adult cells in the pancreas can return to a less mature state – and then become a different cell type, like the beta cells that secrete insulin.

By Jessica Mazerik
January 17, 2013

Study helps define pancreatic cancer’s cellular origins

Vanderbilt and University of California investigators have discovered the “cell of origin” for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, a finding that could lead to early detection methods and new treatments.
By Leigh MacMillan
January 20, 2012

Pumping up the pancreas in pregnancy

A strain of mutant mice provide a novel model for studying glucose intolerance and gestational diabetes during pregnancy and suggest that certain molecules may be useful for therapeutic applications.
By Leigh MacMillan
October 21, 2011

Growth factor boosts beta cells

A growth factor may help grow transplantation-quality pancreas cells for treating diabetes.
By VUMC News and Communications