Stem cells may help improve implantable glucose monitors
by Kristina Goodnough - April 14, 2008
Ulrike Klueh is studying the use of adult stem cells to help make the
use of long-term implantable wireless glucose sensors a reality, with
a $413,000 grant from the American Diabetes Association.
The sensors already exist, but need to be improved, because they tend
to stop working fairly quickly.
"A long-term, implantable glucose sensor has remained elusive,
because of the rapid loss of sensor function after implantation,
says Klueh, who was a nurse in her native Germany and came to the
Storrs campus to pursue a master's degree in chemical engineering.
She went on to earn a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering.
"I like the interdisciplinary focus and the interrelationship of
technology, engineering, chemistry, and biological processes," says
Klueh, an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery.
"We believe the loss of sensor function is a result of sensor-induced
tissue reactions, including inflammation and fibrosis, which
ultimately causes the loss of blood vessels at the site of the
sensor," she adds.
The body reacts to current implantable sensors inserted into the skin
the same way it would react to a wood or metal splinter, mainly with
inflammation, loss of blood vessels, and fibrosis.
With the grant, Klueh is focusing on new ways to suppress
inflammation and fibrosis and promote new blood vessel formation
around the sensor, using adult human blood derived stem cells.
Ulrike Klueh, assistant professor of surgery, in her lab at the
Health Center.
Photo by Kristina Goodnough
If the principle stands up, then blood-derived stem cells from
patients with diabetes could be safely removed, remodeled into "gene
carrier cells," and injected back into the same patient at the site
of the sensor, to extend the lifespan of the glucose sensor.
The use of an individual's own stem cells would reduce worries about
potential rejection.
Currently, people who have diabetes monitor their blood glucose
levels using external monitors and "finger sticking" for blood
samples.
"If we can develop a reliable, workable, implantable glucose sensor
that can be linked to an insulin pump, together they would act as an
artificial pancreas, and that would revolutionize diabetes
management," says Klueh.
If successful, she adds, the same approach could be used to develop
implantable sensors that could detect and treat other diseases, such
as cancer and heart disease.
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StemCells subscribers may also be interested in these sites:
Children's Neurobiological Solutions
http://www.CNSfoundation.org/
Cord Blood Registry
http://www.CordBlood.com/at.cgi?a=150123
The CNS Healing Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CNS_Healing
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