PET IMAGING OF VESICULAR TRANSPORTERS IN BETA CELLS OF THE ENDOCRINE PANCREAS

Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is a result of autoimmune destruction of the insulin-producing beta cells of the islets of Langerhans, the endocrine component of the pancreas. This disease has an insipid beginning and may take years to be recognized. This long process is due to the fact that the symptoms of T1D (a.k.a. Diabetes Mellitus, IDDM) only appear once most of the beta cells have been destroyed, an end point which leaves patients insulin-dependent for life and at risk for developing a variety of other medical complications. A variety of experimental treatments have been developed to treat T1D including immunotherapy, stem cell therapy and islet transplantation. However most of these approaches suffer from the lack of a method to non invasively measure beta cell destruction ( or regeneration). In this proposal we outline a series of studies designed to develop methods for non invasive measurements of beta cell mass using P.E.T technology. The methods developed will provide not only support for experimental therapies but possibly represent a diagonstic test for nascent diabetes in individuals at risk.