PROMISING LEADS OBTAINED IN DIABETES, HIV AND ANTI-OSTEOPOROSIS

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Highly promising leads have been obtained in research activities concerning diabetes, HIV and identification of anti-osteoporosis compounds. These may lead to the development of drugs and/or vaccines for tackling these diseases. The work on stem cells is also progressing well. This information was given by the Minister for Human Resource Development and Science & Technology, Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi here yesterday while chairing a meeting of the Society of the Pune based National Centre for Cell Sciences (NCCS). Dr. Joshi urged the Centre to concentrate more on some major medical problems facing the country.

Commending the Centre for developing unique technologies for bone-marrow transplant and burn-healing, Dr. Joshi urged the Centre to continue large-scale training programmes for universities, colleges and research institutions. He also called for a focus on the North-Eastern region, which has a great potential with rich bio-diversity particularly in medicinal plants and herbs. Dr. Joshi also underscored the need to identify the positive and negative stress factors.

The Centre’s ongoing programme to address mechanisms as well as treatment alternatives for both the types of diabetes,has made considerable progress. The identification and characterisation of auto-antigens in a rat auto-immune diabetes model is underway. In case of HIV, the Centre has initiated screening of anti-HIV activity from marine sources as well as plants and trees of medicinal importance. This year, the NCCS has started a programme of developing a transgenic mice and the first transgenic mice is expected to be ready by next year. The centre which also serves as a National Cell Repository supplied 625 cell lines to about 120 research institutions across the countryand continued its bid towards the establishment and characterisation of new cell lines.