Researching cell structural differentiation of an adult organism (e.g. skin cells) and discovering that mature cells can be converted to stem cells (Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells – iPSC) brought Shinya Yamanaka the Nobel Prize in 2012. iPSC are currently used in many different laboratories around the world to study disease mechanisms and medicine testing, and may possible be used in regenerative treatments in the future.

In Poland, iPSC are researched by several teams, including a group of scientists form the JU Department of Medical Biotechnology.

On 26 February 2015, the Scientific Reports magazine has published a paper by the JU research team, supervised by Prof. Józef Dulak and Prof. Alicja Józkowicz. The paper is entitled Induced pluripotent cells as a model for diabetes investigation. Click here for the full list of authors and abstract.

Acquiring human iPSC from subjects suffering from one of the types of diabetes was possible thanks to close cooperation with the Chair of Metabolic Diseases, the head of which is Prof. Maciej Małecki.

As the first article on experiments concerning Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells in Poland, it may lead to better understanding of the mechanisms of different types of diabetes.

The research is funded by the National Science Centre and the Foundation for Polish Science.