Nov. 13, 2013 ? Scientists from the New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute and Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have used stem cells created from the skin of patients with a rare form of diabetes — Wolfram syndrome — to elucidate an important biochemical pathway for beta-cell failure in diabetes. The findings by Linshan Shang and colleagues were published today...

When given a glucose tolerance test three months later, mice with MODY beta cells had decreased sensitivity to glucose but a normal response to other molecules that stimulate insulin secretion. This is the hallmark of MODY. Mice with two faulty copies of the GCK gene secreted no additional insulin in response to glucose. When the researchers repaired the GCK mutation using molecular techniques, cells...