SCIENTISTS have reprogrammed human skin cells to grow tissue in the lab which can mimic diabetes wounds.

The research at Glasgow Caledonian University has enabled scientists to try out new drugs for diabetic ulcers without the need to test on animals.

The skin cells were harvested from the university's Skin Research Tissue Bank, which stores surplus human skin leftover from surgical procedures and donated by patients towards research.

They were used to create batches of human stem cells, which can be reprogrammed into many different types of cells, such as brain cells, nerve cells and blood vessel cells.

The three-year study, funded by Animal Free Research UK, used cells donated from patients with Type II diabetes to create ‘scratch’ wound models to compare the differences between diabetic and non-diabetic cells and to test potential new medicines.

Traditionally, strains of genetically modified mice and rats are bred specifically for diabetes research because they are thought to mimic diabetes in humans. However, human tissue provides a better understanding of how drugs interact with human cells.

Glasgow Caledonian University’s Professor Ann Graham, the lead researcher on the study, said: “Over 135 diabetes-related amputations are carried out each week in the UK. We know that this is a growing problem and we hope that our work can inform research and aid others who require access to human material for medical research.”

The next phase of research will see skin cells from diabetic patients reprogrammed to generate lines of brain cells, so that researchers can examine links between type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.

Ongoing projects are also investigating conditions affecting the skin such as diabetic wound healing and psoriasis.

Emma Wrafter, Co-CEO of Animal Free Research UK said: “By using human cells to facilitate high calibre diabetes research, this work really focuses on the best outcomes for human care and helps to replace animals being used in medical research.”