A parasitic worm is providing a breakthrough in the development of a diabetes cure.
Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body’s immune cells in the pancreas, an organ about the size of a hand that is located behind the lower part of the stomach. These cells — called beta cells– are contained, along with other types of cells, within small islands of endocrine cells called the pancreatic islets. Beta cells normally produce insulin, a hormone that helps the body move the glucose contained in food into cells throughout the body, which use it for energy. But when the beta cells are destroyed, no insulin can be produced, and the glucose stays in the blood instead, where it can cause serious damage to all the organ systems of the body. For this reason, people with Type 1 diabetes must take insulin in order to stay alive.
But recent research in Australia is showing that molecules secreted by a flat worm can regulate the immune system and could also help stop rejection in solid organ transplants. Fasciola hepatica regulates the immune response of its host by manipulating a specific immune cell, called the macrophage. The molecules secreted by the flatworm were found to switch off the macrophage, returning beta cells to normal insulin production.
