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AssigneeThe Regents of the University of California
InventorsFred Levine, Dominique Gouty, Pamela Itkin-Ansari
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The present invention provides methods for inducing insulin gene expression in cultured pancreas cells, the method comprising contacting a culture of endocrine pancreas cells expressing a PDX-1 gene and a NeuroD/BETA2 gene with a GLP-1 receptor agonist, wherein the cells have been cultured under conditions such that the cells are in contact with other cells in the culture, thereby inducing insulin gene expression in the cells. The invention also provides high throughput screening methods for modulators of β-cell function, stable cultures of cells made by the methods of the invention, and methods of treating a human subject using the methods of the invention.
A method for inducing insulin gene expression in cultured endocrine pancreas β-cells, the method comprising the steps of:
A stable culture of endocrine pancreas β-cells, wherein the β-cells are in contact with other cells in the culture, wherein the β-cells express a recombinant PDX-1 polynucleotide and a recombinant NeuroD/BETA2 polynucleotide, and wherein insulin gene expression is stimulated in the β-cells when exposed to an effective amount of a GLP-1 receptor agonist.
A method of treating a diabetic subject by providing to the subject cells that secrete insulin in response to glucose, the method comprising the steps of:
An endocrine pancreas β-cell comprising a recombinant PDX-1 polynucleotide and a recombinant NeuroD/BETA2 polynucleotide.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.