ArticleCell metabolism2018
Artemether Does Not Turn α Cells into β Cells.
Article in Cell metabolism, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 56 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
56 citing papers in PubMed, 103 citations in OpenAlex.
- Long-term gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) treatment fails to regain beta-cell function in longstanding type 1 diabetes in a randomized trial.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Resolving human α versus β cell fate allocation for the generation of stem cell-derived islets.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Research Progress on Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidant Mechanism of Artemether Based on MAPK/NF-κB Signaling Pathway.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- The SGLT2 Inhibitor Canagliflozin Promotes β-Cell Regeneration and Restores and Stabilises β-Cell Identity in a Polygenic Model of Severe Early-Onset Type 2 Diabetes.Journal of cellular and molecular medicine · 2026Article
- Integrative Approach to Elucidate the Antidiabetic Efficacy of Cipadessa baccifera (Roth) Miq.: A Study Based on Metabolomics, Network Pharmacology, and Animal Models.Chemistry & biodiversity · 2026Article
- Mosloflavone induces pancreatic α cells transdifferentiation into β cells through PDX1.Journal of natural medicines · 2026Article
- The contrasting effects of two antimalarial drugs on insulin secretion.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2025Article
- DYRK1A inhibition restores pancreatic functions and improves glucose metabolism in a preclinical model of type 2 diabetes.Molecular metabolism · 2025Article
- Cycling alpha cells in regenerative drug-treated human pancreatic islets may serve as key beta cell progenitors.Cell reports. Medicine · 2024Article
- Examining the liver-pancreas crosstalk reveals a role for the molybdenum cofactor in β-cell regeneration.Life science alliance · 2024Article
- Evaluation of the role of atherogenic index of plasma in the reversion from Prediabetes to normoglycemia or progression to Diabetes: a multi-center retrospective cohort study.Cardiovascular diabetology · 2024Article
- GABA treatment does not induce neogenesis of new endocrine cells from pancreatic ductal cells.Islets · 2023Article
- The β-cell primary cilium is an autonomous Ca2+ compartment for paracrine GABA signaling.The Journal of cell biology · 2023Article
- GABA signalling in human pancreatic islets.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2023Review
- Artemether treatment improves islet function and metabolic homeostasis in diabetic nonhuman primates.Journal of diabetes · 2023Article
- Therapeutic Strategies Targeting Pancreatic Islet β-Cell Proliferation, Regeneration, and Replacement.Endocrinology · 2022Article
- Review
- Pro-α-cell-derived β-cells contribute to β-cell neogenesis induced by antagonistic glucagon receptor antibody in type 2 diabetic mice.iScience · 2022Article
- MYCL-mediated reprogramming expands pancreatic insulin-producing cells.Nature metabolism · 2022Article
- The role of GABA in islet function.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Pancreatic α cells retain considerable plasticity and can, under the right circumstances, transdifferentiate into functionally mature β cells. In search of a targetable mechanistic basis, a recent paper suggested that the widely used anti-malaria drug artemether suppresses the α cell transcription factor Arx to promote transdifferentiation into β cells. However, key initial experiments in this paper were carried out in islet cell lines, and most subsequent validation experiments implied transdifferentiation without direct demonstration of α to β cell conversion. Indeed, we find no evidence that artemether promotes transdifferentiation of primary α cells into β cells. Moreover, artemether reduces Ins2 expression in primary β cells >100-fold, suppresses glucose uptake, and abrogates β cell calcium responses and insulin secretion in response to glucose. Our observations suggest that artemether induces general islet endocrine cell dedifferentiation and call into question the utility of artemisinins to promote α to β cell transdifferentiation in treating diabetes.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.