A biomaterial has been developed that can solve the rejection of the immune system by transplanting with islet cells (Langerhans islet cells) from the donor pancreas (pancreas) to a patient with type 1 diabetes, which is difficult to treat.
The Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT) research team in the US announced that it has developed a technology that can use microgels (synthetic hydrogel particles), a biomaterial for islet cell transplantation in type 1 diabetes patients, in a mouse experimental model.
Microgel, a biomaterial implanted with islet cells, is expected to provide a powerful immunomodulatory protein (SA-FasL) that regulates the body’s immune response, allowing islet cells to safely control blood sugar levels and fight diabetes.
According to the research team, surgery to transplant insulin-producing islet cells is the best therapy for patients with intractable type 1 diabetes. However, the fact that the patient’s immune cells (T cells) showed a strong rejection response to foreign substances that came in from the outside acted as a major stumbling block.
“Islet cells from the donor’s pancreas provide a sustainable, tightly controlled source of insulin for patients with type 1 diabetes,” said GIT Professor André Garcia (mechanical engineer), corresponding author of the study.
“Immune suppression is a very important issue for patients,” he said. “We show that biomaterial microgels are potent immunomodulatory molecules and can induce permanent uptake of new cells.”
This study showed that transplantation of islet cells with microgels providing immunomodulatory protein (SA-FasL) can overcome the immune response of non-human primates and reverse the symptoms of diabetes.
Microgels essentially neutralize the body’s tendency to reject transplants and teach the immune system to accept grafts (grafted tissues and organs).
The researchers did not use immunosuppressants, which are toxic and can cause serious side effects. A major goal in the field of transplantation is to develop approaches that allow transplants to function properly without having to plant and suppress immunity.
The research team said that biomaterials can be made in a laboratory and sent anywhere, so they can be obtained directly without special order.
“It has already been shown to be effective in primates, so it might be a great hope for many people battling the ailment of type 1 diabetes,” Garcia said.
He is co-founder of the company that licensed the technology (iTolerance), and is discussing clinical trial plans with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The results of this study can be used for islet cell transplantation only if they succeed in clinical trials in humans.
The University of Missouri and Massachusetts General Hospital also participated in this study. The research team was funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
The results of this study were published in the journal Science Advances and introduced by the American health and medicine media ‘MedicalXpress’.
By Kim Young-seop, staff reporter edwdkim@kormedi.com
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