A bacterial protein called BefA disrupts cell membranes -- and this disruption makes vital insulin-producing cells in the pancreas reproduce early in development. The finding points to a possible way ...

The results of in vitro and in vivo studies carried out by researchers at the University of Oregon (UO) and at the University of Utah suggest a potential mechanism by which a microbiome-derived ...

The ability of the BefA protein to stimulate beta cell proliferation was mediated by increasing cell membrane permeability. This study provides a mechanism through which gut microbes could influence ...

Almost a decade ago, UO graduate student Jennifer Hampton Hill made a fortuitous find: A protein made by gut bacteria that triggered insulin-producing cells to replicate. The protein was an important ...

For her work showing that restoring lost bacterial cues in the gut can stimulate development of insulin-producing cells, potentially protecting against the autoimmune destruction associated with type ...