Correction Of Diabetes In An Autoimmune Model Using Insulin-secreting Liver Cells.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$472,500.00
Summary
Type I diabetes mellitus is caused by the autoimmune destruction of the beta cells of the pancreas that secrete insulin. The problems of the chronic complications of diabetes and the lack of donor tissue for transplantation, could theoretically be overcome by engineering from the patient's own cells, an artificial beta cell, i. e. a non-islet cell capable of synthesising, storing and secreting mature insulin in response to metabolic stimuli, such as glucose. The ultimate goal of this technology ....Type I diabetes mellitus is caused by the autoimmune destruction of the beta cells of the pancreas that secrete insulin. The problems of the chronic complications of diabetes and the lack of donor tissue for transplantation, could theoretically be overcome by engineering from the patient's own cells, an artificial beta cell, i. e. a non-islet cell capable of synthesising, storing and secreting mature insulin in response to metabolic stimuli, such as glucose. The ultimate goal of this technology is to deliver the insulin gene directly to a patient's own liver cells which would regulate insulin secretion in response to glucose and other substances that stimulate insulin secretion, controlling blood glucose without the need for immunosuppression. To accomplish this it must be possible to deliver the insulin gene efficiently to primary liver cells (cells derived from an animal's or human's body). Results from our laboratory using a non-pathogenic viral delivery system indicate that we can reverse diabetes in chemically induced diabetic rats by expression of insulin and a beta cell transcription factor NeuroD. The aim of this study is to repeat this in an auto-immune model of diabetes the nonobese diabetic mouse, which mimicks very closely the development of diabetes in humans. We will determine if we can reverse diabetes in these animals and determine if their response to glucose is normal over an extended period of time, with no attack by the factors of the immune system that stimulate the development of diabetes in man. The results from this research proposal should result in the delivery of the insulin gene to large numbers of primary liver cells that will then synthesise, store and secrete insulin in response to glucose. These cells would control blood glucose levels in patients without the need for immunosuppression.Read moreRead less
Kallikrein Gene Variants In Prostate Cancer: Analysis Of Gene Regulation And Diagnostic/Prognostic Use
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$486,801.00
Summary
Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer in Australia. However, early detection through screening programs has proven challenging, and about 30% of the 10,000 new cases diagnosed annually already have advanced disease. Hence, there is a fundamental need for increased basic research in prostate cancer etiology (cause) and tumour biology, and a critical requirement for methods that will assist in earlier detection of the disease and predict progression. A family of proteins called kallikrein ....Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer in Australia. However, early detection through screening programs has proven challenging, and about 30% of the 10,000 new cases diagnosed annually already have advanced disease. Hence, there is a fundamental need for increased basic research in prostate cancer etiology (cause) and tumour biology, and a critical requirement for methods that will assist in earlier detection of the disease and predict progression. A family of proteins called kallikreins (including prostate specific antigen, PSA) are often associated with clinical features of prostate cancer. We will characterise genetic variants (polymorphisms) in kallikrein genes that are consistently over-produced in prostate cancer, and determine whether they cause more protein to be produced in cells grown in the laboratory and in tumour tissue, and-or give rise to different expression products or splice variants. We will use bioinformatics (computer programs) to characterise published kallikrein gene sequences and to examine them for genetic variants that might be related to changes in gene expression or to splice variants. We will then use a case-control study, involving 1200 men with prostate cancer and 1200 healthy men, to determine whether these gene variants are associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer or with clinical aspects of the disease. Finally, we will examine the functional significance of the gene variants. This project represents an important and novel combination of molecular biology with the study of clinical disease at the population level, in the relatively new field of molecular epidemiology. It will clarify the role of kallikrein gene variants in prostate cancer risk and progression. The technologies may ultimately prove useful clinically for diagnosis of prostate cancer or for monitoring of treatment and prognosis, and hopefully will assist in clinical decision-making.Read moreRead less