In a groundbreaking study, a 25-year-old woman with type 1 diabetes has started producing her own insulin less than three months after receiving a transplant of reprogrammed stem cells derived from her own body.
Nature reports that in a world first, a 25-year-old woman from Tianjing, China, has achieved insulin independence after undergoing a transplant of reprogrammed stem cells, according to a study published in Cell Today. The woman, who has type 1 diabetes, started producing her own insulin less than three months after the transplant, making her the first person with the disease to be treated using cells extracted from her own body.
The study, led by cell biologist Deng Hongkui and his colleagues at Peking University in Beijing, involved extracting cells from three people with type 1 diabetes and reverting them into a pluripotent state, allowing them to be molded into any cell type in the body. The researchers modified the reprogramming technique originally developed by scientist Shinya Yamanaka, using small molecules instead of proteins to trigger gene expression, offering more control over the process.
Using these chemically induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, the researchers generated 3D clusters of islets, which they tested for safety and efficacy in mice and non-human primates. In June 2023, they injected roughly 1.5 million islets into the woman’s abdominal muscles during a half-hour operation. This new transplant site allowed the researchers to monitor the cells using MRI scans and to potentially remove them if needed.
About three months after the transplant, the woman was producing enough insulin to live without needing additional injections. She has sustained this level of production for more than a year, and her blood glucose levels have remained within the target range for over 98 percent of the day. “I can eat sugar now,” the woman told Nature, adding that she enjoys eating everything.
Transplant surgeon and researcher James Shapiro from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, described the results as “stunning,” noting that the researchers have “completely reversed diabetes in the patient, who was requiring substantial amounts of insulin beforehand.”
The study follows results from a separate group in Shanghai, who reported in April that they had successfully transplanted insulin-producing islets derived from reprogrammed stem cells into the liver of a 59-year-old man with type 2 diabetes. The man has since stopped taking insulin.
While the results are promising, experts caution that they need to be replicated in more people and observed over a longer period before considering the treatment a cure. Additionally, because the woman was already receiving immunosuppressants for a previous liver transplant, the researchers could not assess whether the iPS cells reduced the risk of graft rejection.
Several groups have started trials using islet cells created from donor stem cells, which may be easier to scale up and commercialize compared to using a recipient’s own cells. Vertex Pharmaceuticals in Boston has reported preliminary results from a trial involving islets derived from donated embryonic stem cells, with participants producing insulin and some becoming insulin independent three months after transplantation.
Read more at Nature here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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