PITTSBURGH -- New cell research from the University of Pittsburgh is opening up new possibilities for treating diabetes.

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh announced they have replicated insulin producing cells.

The discovery could improve ways of studying diabetes as well as explore new ways to treat the disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin.

Insulin producing cells known as beta cells are the object of focus.

Researcher Nathalie Fiaschi-Taesch has been able to get them to replicate.

"What Natalie has been able to is to take pancreatic tissue culture and transplant them into diabetic animals. She's been able to show that you can completely reverse diabetes in these animals," said Dr. Andrew Stewart, chief of endocrinology.

A diabetic mouse was cured and the focus has turned toward human trials.

"We can think later on about drugs, small molecules, how we can manipulate it safely so that we can apply that later on to humans," said Fiaschi-Taesch.

Stewart cautioned that with many challenges still ahead, it could be another five years before their findings impact patients.

"To see if we can turn this into large amounts of beta cells that we could basically use to give to patients to correct their diabetes. There are lots of hurdles down the road. I don't want to make it sound like it's too easy, but I think this is an important early step and we're excited about it," Stewart said.

The findings were published in an online version of one of the journals of the American Diabetes Association.