Transcript of Interview with Per-Olof Berggren, Ph.D.
Narrator:
The Diabetes Research Institute presents a series of reports on the latest progress in cure-focused research – promising discoveries aimed at restoring natural insulin production in those living with diabetes.
Reporter:
The Diabetes Research Institute is located in Miami, Florida. But it collaborates with scientists around the world.
It’s the hub of the global DRI Federation – a group of 12 leading diabetes centers in 10 countries, working together on cure-focused research.
One of those centers is the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. Leading the effort there is Per-Olof Berggren, Ph.D.
Berggren:
"It takes an open mind from the leadership at an institution like DRI to welcome and start this and I think that is what we have found."
Reporter:
Berggren visits Miami monthly. Between trips, he and his team in Sweden routinely use videoconferencing and other technologies to stay in close contact. Such collaboration, he says, is critical.
Berggren:
"We are doing this to cure a disease that is tremendously serious and that is growing tremendously throughout the world and I think that the only way we can actually cope with this is to work together."
Reporter:
He says the collaboration is leading to important findings. Example: the structure of the endocrine pancreas – the islets of Langerhans – in humans is dramatically different from that in rodents.
For more than three decades, researchers assumed human and rodent islets had a similar make up.
Berggren:
"What we found out here at the DRI was that the human islets and the monkey islets are very much different from the rodent islets, that is, mouse and rat islets.
"So that means that if we are going to learn more about islet function, human islet function, we really need to focus on the human islet, human pancreas and not solely rely on studies done in mouse and rat."
Reporter:
Berggren’s research focuses on how islets function.
Berggren:
"What is very exciting at the moment is that we are living in an era of a lot of technical know-how, a lot of fascinating instruments where we can study in detail various steps in the complex machinery regulating insulin release. And by applying these tools to the pancreatic islet cells, it has been possible to arrive at completely novel and very important knowledge."
Reporter:
Knowledge about how cells within the islets communicate with each other – the signals they send to make sure each part does its job.
One cell type within the islets is the beta cell. These specialized cells produce insulin in response to the glucose – or, sugar – in the blood.
Berggren:
"How is the beta cell in this case understanding signals that are coming from the outside. So how is the beta cell recognize changes in blood glucose concentration and translate that into signals that eventually will tell the cell to release more insulin, and also to activate the formations of new insulin."
Reporter:
Berggren says this information could be used in many ways.
By understanding the chain of signals, and where there are defects in that chain in the case of diabetes, scientists could determine where to intervene.
Berggren:
"And hopefully then intervene in such a way that we can make beta cells functioning better, survive better and thereby, of course, hopefully find out and define novel therapeutic ways to treat diabetes."
Reporter:
He says this will also teach us more about the fate of islets after they are transplanted into patients with type 1 diabetes.
Berggren:
"We can follow in detail how islets are getting new vessels once they are transplanted, how islets are getting new nerves once they are transplanted. All of which would have enormous impact on the survival and the well-being of the islets."
Reporter:
And, understanding the signaling system could aid in stem cell research – how to guide a very young, undifferentiated, cell into becoming a pancreatic cell.
He says the collaboration with the DRI is making this potential possible.
Berggren:
"What is very exciting is that we can now take technical know-how in both places combined and really push the field forwards which, at the end of the day, of course, will be beneficial for patients that are suffering from type 1 diabetes."
Narrator:
This has been a production of the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation.
For more information, or to show your support for the Diabetes Research Institute, call 1-800-321-3437.
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