Cystic fibrosis disrupts pancreas two ways in CF-related diabetes

[Northerner]

A new University of Iowa study suggests there are two root causes of a type of diabetes associated with cystic fibrosis (CF). Using a ferret model of CF, the study shows that CF progressively damages the pancreas, disrupting insulin production. More surprisingly, the study also found that CF disrupts the pancreas' insulin-producing islet cells from birth, well before the physical damage occurs. The image shows a confocal 3D rendering of an isolated CF ferret islet stained for insulin (red), glucagon (green), and DAPI nuclear stain (blue), superimposed over a background ferret pancreas section similarly stained for the same antigens. Credit: University of Iowa

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