A team of medical researchers from various institutions in China has successfully treated a female patient with type 1 diabetes using programmed stem cells. The breakthrough was detailed in their study published in the journal Cell.
The researchers began by extracting cells from the patient and reverting them to a pluripotent state, meaning they could develop into any type of cell. They then programmed these cells to grow into pancreatic islets, which produce insulin, and injected them back into the patient’s abdomen.
Over the past decade, stem cell research has made significant strides, allowing scientists to grow organoids, organs, and biological tissues, as well as treat conditions such as muscle damage and sickle cell disease. In this case, the researchers used stem cells to regenerate pancreatic islets, which are destroyed in people with type 1 diabetes due to an autoimmune response.
Type 1 diabetes, often called juvenile diabetes, occurs when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the insulin-producing islets in the pancreas. To cure the disease, new islets must be introduced, either from a donor or, as in this study, by generating new ones from the patient’s own cells.
The researchers collected cells from three patients with type 1 diabetes, reverted them to pluripotent stem cells, and programmed them to grow into pancreatic islets. They also modified the process by exposing the cells to specific molecules instead of using proteins. The treatment was applied in stages to learn from each case and improve the process.
In the first case, a 25-year-old woman received an injection of 1.5 million newly grown islets into her abdomen during a 30-minute procedure. The abdomen was chosen for its ease of access for monitoring and potential removal. After two and a half months, tests showed the patient was producing enough insulin to stop her daily injections. A year later, she continued to produce her own insulin.
It’s important to note that the patient was already on immunosuppressant drugs due to a prior liver transplant, so it remains unclear whether her immune system might attack the new islets as it did before. However, this study marks a significant step toward a potential functional cure for type 1 diabetes.
