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Dr. Coppieters explains that the movies have provided numerousremarkable insights: "We have drawn several scientific conclusions from these studies inmice that we believe will influence future therapeutic directions.We are continuing our studies and hope that other researchers willalso find these movies valuable in enhancing their researchefforts." In the movies, immune system T cells (the body's cellular soldiers)can be seen frantically dashing about looking for insulin-producingbeta cells. The T cells wrongly attack and destroy theinsulin-producing beta cells, eventually leading to type 1diabetes. The revolutionary investigations were enabled through the use of atwo-photon microscope and a novel procedure created by Dr. vonHerrath that allowed the microscope's use in the pancreas. Thepancreas is a small, soft, and difficult organ to access, that haslong presented scientists with significant challenges. To date,researchers have used the two-photon to examine the liver, lymphnodes and other organs in vivo, but has never been used to examinethe pancreas. Dr. von Herrath, said: "The two-photon microscope enables researchers to "see" into livingtissues at a much greater depth than conventional imaging methods.It uses intense pulses of light that enable us to monitorinteractions of cells without destroying them." Significant funding for the two-photon microscope was provided byThe Brehm Coalition, a unique type 1 diabetes researchcollaboration. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) wasa major contributor to the research investigations. Richard Insel,M.D., the JDRF s chief scientific officer, noting the awardtargets high-risk, high-reward endeavors, explained: "Dr. von Herrath was one of a very limited, select group ofscientists chosen to receive funding through the JDRF Scholar Awardprogram. We are thrilled that Dr. von Herrath's research hasprovided new insights into the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes thatcould lead to novel therapeutic approaches. This is just the kindof pioneering research that the Scholar Award was designed toencourage." According to Dr. Coppieters, the movies show the exact behaviors ofvarious cells: "We're able to see how the beta cells eventually die and how theimmune T cells access the pancreas from the blood stream." Amongthe several insights the investigators obtained, they were able todistinguish the exact blood vessels where the T cells (usuallythese cells do not live in the pancreas) enter the pancreas, aswell as how the T cells launch an attack and the time sequence ofevents. Furthermore, the movies highlight intriguing data about the betacell destruction process. Dr. Coppieters said: "The T cells moverandomly throughout the pancreas until they encounter the betacells, where they slow down and release toxic substances thateventually kill the beta cells. What was more surprising is thatthis "kiss of death" takes quite a while, elaborate calculationsindicated a timeline in the order of hours (to kill a few betacells)." In addition, the team discovered that a significant number of Tcells are required in the mice - tens of millions - to producemassive beta cell destruction. Dr. von Herrath said: "These factors may help explain the long pre-clinical stage in type1 diabetes, since T cell numbers in the human pancreas are thoughtto be significantly lower than in mice. This means that theautoimmune attack is already ongoing for years before the number ofbeta cells drops below a critical threshold, resulting in clinicaldiagnosis." Dr. von Herrath notes that 90% of beta cells are killedin humans prior to the disease being diagnosed. "From a therapeuticperspective, these studies suggest that we may need to find a wayto prevent the T cells from accessing the pancreas in the firstplace, since once they do, they have the ability to destroy severalbeta cells at a time." Written by Grace Rattue Copyright: Medical News Today Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today Additional References Citations. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Apple IPad Repairs , China IPhone Back Housing Replacement, and more. For more , please visit IPhone 4 OEM Parts today!
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