Did you
know that research is being done at CMC Vellore that may prove to be
a break through in the management of Diabetes Mellitus?
Professor S. Gunasekaran Ph.D.
I had the most interesting experience in meeting the person behind
this story and also attending the function where the Diabetes
Research Laboratory was declared open by the Apostolic Nuncio in
February 2005.
The story starts with a person named Dr. Gunasekaran Vas. He should
be classified as one of the “Hidden Gems of Vellore”.
Dr. Gunasekaran started life in a small island village named
Thangachimalai, off the coast of Rameswaram, in Tamilnadu. He told
me that his village was spared the devastation during the tsunami,
being protected by the northern tip of Sri Lanka.
He finished his basic education in his home town and his college in
Madurai and Trichy. He applied for Masters in Biochemistry at CMC
Vellore. He was not selected for Biochemistry, but was selected for
Physiology. He credits the decision to go into Physiology to Dr. K.G.
Koshi, who was the Principal at that time. He finished his Masters
in 1970 and his PhD in 1974 under the guidance of Dr. P. Zachariah.
Radioimmunoassay is a technique used to measure very small
quantities of a substance in the blood or other fluids. This
technique for insulin was first established in India, at CMC
Vellore, in 1974, under the leadership of Drs. Zachariah and
Gunasekaran. With this accomplished, the team in Physiology went
after bigger fish. The next step was to isolate the insulin
secreting cells in the primate pancreas. They used monkeys as the
donor animal, to isolate
the Islets of Langherhans from the pancreas. These cells form only
2% of the pancreas. In 1974, Drs. Gunasekaran and Zachariah were
able to isolate 100 insulin secreting cells in a living form. This
was reported in the American publication, Diabetes (28: 865, 1979)
Dr. Gunasekaran continued his passion and the next step was to
increase the yield of the Islets cells. Up to this point he was able
to extract only 100 cells from each pancreas. It was decided that he
would go abroad to seek further training. In 1984, he was able to
obtain a scholarship from the Educational Council for Foreign
Medical Graduates (ECFMG) and travel to Lubbock, Texas to study
under Dr. Alexander Kenny, Professor of Pharmacology. Dr.
Gunasekaran studied the techniques of culturing the Islets. He also
spent time at Washington University at St. Louis and studied under
Dr. Paul Lacy. There he learned the technique for transplanting
Islet cells from mouse to mouse.
Armed with this knowledge, Dr. Gunasekaran returned to CMC Vellore
in 1986, ready to undertake the next step. His dream was to
transplant living Islet cells from a primate to a diabetic mouse and
cure the diabetes.
By this time, the Department of Physiology at CMC was recognized as
doing cutting edge research in the field of diabetes. The Department
of Physiology was able to get grants from the Indian Council of
Medical Research (ICMR) and the Department of Science and Technology
(DST) to start the next phase of the studies. In 1993, the CMC
Alumni in the USA donated 5 lakh rupees to house the equipment for
culturing the islets. At this stage the Department of Atomic Energy
(DAE) stepped in and gave the money to set up a Level I Isotope
laboratory. Dr.
Gunasekaran was able to purchase and install a Gamma Counter.
The experiments at this stage consisted of isolating sufficient
quantities of primate (monkey) islets and to transplant these living
cells into the kidneys of diabetic mice. The mice were made diabetic
by injection of a chemical, streptozotocin. They were able to
transplant these living cells into the mice. Diabetes in the mice
disappeared!
By the mid 90’s Dr. Gunasekaran and his team of research fellows
were stepping into uncharted areas of diabetes research. By the late
90’s the Department of Science and Technolog gave the department a
grant of 50 lakh rupees for infrastructure development. This allowed
the researchers to setup an animal operating room, with all the
equipments. This included a cryopreservation unit, photo microscopy,
immunocytochemistry and advanced cytochemistry facilities. Most of
this equipment had to be imported from the US, UK and Germany. Since
the
Department has the backing of ICMR and DST, this part of the work
was relatively easy.
Dr. Gunasekaran takes pleasure in telling us that all the work in
the laboratory is done by himself and his fellows. This included
taking care of the animal house, ordering supplies, doing the actual
experiments and cleaning up after themselves. He also takes great
pleasure in telling us that many units in CMC use these facilities
at the Physiology Department. I am told that Surgery, Pediatric
Surgery, Orthopedics, Urology, Pathology, Hematology, Clinical
Hematology, Williams Research and Reproductive medicine departments
have used these facilities on
different occasions.
Three recent events have added luster to the man, the Department of
Physiology and to CMC Vellore.
First was the huge grant given to Dr. Gunasekaran and his team from
Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Department of
Biotechnology (DBT). They have given over 80 lakh rupees towards the
next phase of the studies. The team has a state of the art
laboratory to2222 do this.
The second was the dedication of this facility by the Apostolic
Nuncio to India, Archbishop, Most Rev. Pedro Lopez Quintana. He is
the representative of the Pope in India. It is almost unheard of
that someone of this stature will travel down to a small town like
Vellore or any other place, to open a medical laboratory. This is
truly a feather in the cap of Dr. Gunasekaran.
Dr. Gunasekaran with the Apostolic Nuncio and Bishop of Vellore.
The third is also hard to believe. There is a network in Tamilnadu
called Multi Organ Harvesting Aid Network (MOHAN). The team from
Vellore approached this organization to seek permission to harvest
viable human Islets of Langherhans. Legal and Ethical clearance has
been obtained from the State of Tamilnadu and the CMC Research
Committee (IRB) to conduct this phase of the study. Dr. Gunasekaran
and his team now have permission to harvest the pancreas from brain
dead donors and isolate the Islet cells from the pancreas. They also
have permission to culture these cells and to transplant these into
animals. Two separate experiments are in the plan. One is to
transplant human islet cells into diabetic mice. The second is to
transplant pig islet cells into diabetic mice.
The ultimate goal is to be able to isolate sufficient quantities of
viable human islet cells and transplant these into a Type I diabetic
patient. This is the future.
Dr. Gunasekaran is a humble man. He has many offers to join many
prestigious Universities and Research organizations. He tells me
that he is perfectly content to stay in Vellore, to teach and to do
research. He modestly told me that if one child with Type I diabetes
could be cured of the disease, he will be satisfied with his dream
and his life work .When he is done, he said, he wants to hear “well
done you faithful servant…..”
Dr. Gunasekaran is a “Gem of Vellore”.
Mani M. Mani
Member, Corporate Body
Photos by Mani M. Mani
Hidden Gems|Vellore Board|CMC Vellore
