The finding both supports the existence of these splenic stem cells and also suggests they may be able to produce an even greater variety of tissues. The report appears in the January 19 issue of SAGE KE (http://sageke.sciencemag.org ), an online resource on the science of aging from the publishers of the journal Science.

Faustman's team in 2001 found that a treatment designed to address the autoimmune reaction underlying type 1 diabetes actually cured the disease in diabetic mice. Late in 2003, they reported the mechanism behind the earlier discovery: cells from the spleens of donor mice – intended to train the diabetic animals' immune systems not to attack islet cells – were actually producing new islets. The result suggested that the adult spleen – previously regarded as playing a fairly minor role in regenerative medicine – might contain a population of potential islet stem cells.

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