GABA and the antimalarial drug artemether, which acts on GABAergic pathways, can drive pancreatic cells with an α-cell phenotype toward a β-cell-like phenotype. As reported in two papers (Ben-Othman et al. and Li et al.), these drugs can stimulate the production of sufficient numbers of new β-like cells to reverse severe diabetes in mice.
Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.