Precise Diagnosis of 'Dangnyobyeong' Without Surgery

Discovery of Fluorescent Substance for Precise Diabetes Diagnosis
Reducing Tissue Biopsy Time from One Day to Two Hours

Schematic diagram of beta cell measurement experiment in rats transplanted with pancreatic islets

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] A substance capable of rapidly and accurately diagnosing the progression stages of diabetes has been developed. Utilizing this substance can also quickly reveal the results of pancreatic islet transplantation surgery, which is expected to greatly aid diabetes treatment. On the 25th, the Korea Institute of Basic Science announced that the research team led by Deputy Director Youngtae Jang of the Complex Systems Self-Assembly Research Group developed a new fluorescent substance called PiF, which can be used for both precise diabetes diagnosis and tissue examination.

Diabetes Diagnosis Without Pancreatic Surgery

Ex vivo image taken after injecting PiF

The research team developed a substance that can directly measure the health status of pancreatic beta cells that secrete insulin. They selected compounds that emit fluorescence when binding to insulin secreted by pancreatic beta cells. Then, to be used as a positron emission tomography (PET) contrast agent, fluorine (F) atoms were pre-introduced into candidate compounds, and PiF, which specifically detects only pancreatic beta cells, was selected.

The team confirmed that PiF selectively detects only pancreatic beta cells by injecting PiF into the tail of a type 1 diabetes model mouse induced to destroy beta cells.

Using this substance, the state of pancreatic beta cells can be measured without removing the pancreas. To monitor the progression of diabetes, it is necessary to directly measure the health status of pancreatic beta cells. Until now, the only method was to surgically remove the pancreas for examination. However, this approach made it difficult to locate and measure all pancreatic islets, which are unevenly distributed in the pancreas, and to measure the amount of beta cells that vary depending on disease progression. Additionally, the examination process required several days, including attaching antibodies to pancreatic tissue.

Rapid Confirmation of Pancreatic Islet Transplantation Results

In vivo images of normal rats and diabetic rats

The research team stated that accurate diabetes diagnosis is possible within two hours using this substance. Furthermore, the intensity of fluorescence emitted by this substance can measure the amount of healthy pancreatic beta cells. It can also be used to observe the results of pancreatic islet transplantation surgery.

Deputy Director Youngtae Jang said, "PiF is the first fluorescent compound capable of detecting beta cells through a dual method of optical and PET imaging," adding, "It is expected to be utilized as a clinical tool for diagnosing diabetes onset and early detection."

The research results were published on the 10th in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.