Human stem cells may be the key to treating and curing diabetes, a study appeared Thursday in the journal Nature Biotechnology revealed.

Researchers at the stem cell engineering company Novocell, Inc. in San Diego, California were able to transform human stem cells into nearly normal insulin-producing cells when implanted into mice.

Type 1 and some forms of type 2 diabetes involve the loss of pancreatic beta cells, which regulate blood glucose (sugar) levels by releasing insulin.

The researchers transplanted immature beta cells derived from human embryonic stem cells into mice whose beta cells had been destroyed by chemical treatment. The transplanted cells developed into glucose-responsive, insulin secreting cells and helped control blood glucose in the mice one to three months later.

“They are producing all the right enzymes and release insulin in response to glucose. Our data provide the first compelling evidence that human embryonic stem cells can serve as a renewable source of functional insulin-producing cells for diabetes cell replacement therapies. Development of a cell therapy for diabetes would be greatly aided by a renewable supply of human beta-cells,” Emmanuel Baetge, chief scientific officer of California-based Novocell Inc. said in the study.

If the research shows promise for people too, patients could use donations of stem cells from other people without taking immune-suppressing drugs. “It won’t get to the underlying cause of the autoimmune disease. It is only going to allow us to transplant the cells without giving immunosuppression,” Baetge noted.

Novocell is looking for a partner in the form of a large pharmaceutical company so they can continue their efforts towards better treatment and an eventual cure to diabetes.