AbbVie’s cancer drug Venclexta blocks diabetes in mice by targeting beta cell ‘senescence’

Diabetes researchers have long believed that the disease starts when the immune system attacks insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. But that theory never made much sense to Anil Bhushan, Ph.D., a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, Diabetes Center. So he and a team of researchers in his lab probed the intricate biology of beta cells and made a discovery that he believes could be used to prevent the onset of the disease in people who are at high risk. By studying nonobese diabetic mice, Bhushan’s team found that beta cells experience "secretory senescence," a process whereby DNA damage causes them to stop working properly. When that happens, they harm neighboring cells, which in turn causes the immune system to take notice and start attacking the entire insulin-producing system, namely beta cells. What’s more, they found that an FDA-approved drug that eradicates senescent cells AbbVie’s leukemia treatment Venclexta can prevent the onset of diabetes in mouse models. They published their findings in the journal Cell Metabolism.