Beta-cell regeneration

The research of the division of Endocrinology within the department of Internal Medicine is concentrated around the pathophysiology, prevention and treatment of metabolic disease, including regenerative strategies. The research focuses on three themes: 1) regulation of energy metabolism, 2) beta-cell regeneration, and 3) bone and mineral research, all of which are organized in a multidisciplinary way.

The most important activities around the ‘islet transplantation project’ are organized and financed within the division of Nephrology. This theme has two important lines: 1) improvement of islet transplantation and 2) research on stem/progenitor cells for beta-cell therapy in humans, with focus on human cells and applications. Both research lines are closely related to the clinical islet transplantation program that has recently been established at LUMC. The first phase of the construction of the research group consisted of the initiation of a structure in which human cell material (islets and stem/progenitor cells) become available for research on a regular basis. The islet transplantation team is now fully operational with regular availability of cell material for research since 2009. A close collaboration has been initiated with the Hubrecht Institute at which Prof. EJP de Koning is also group leader since 2010.