A reliable source of cells for insulin production has been created

For decades, doctors and biologists have been searching for a solution that would save people with type 1 diabetes from daily insulin injections. Now this chance is closer: experts from Leiden have presented an improved method of growing insulin cells that can be transplanted into patients without the need for donors.

Initially, attempts to transplant pancreatic islet cells began half a century ago. At that time, doctors took material from deceased people and extracted special cells responsible for insulin production. Today, this therapy is recognized in Canada and Europe, and is still undergoing clinical trials in the United States.

Recently, a group from the Netherlands took an important step forward: they managed not only to obtain islet cells from stem cells, but also to preserve their natural structure, which is critical for their full function. It was these architectural features that allowed the cells to remain viable under transplant conditions.

The essence of the approach is the use of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which are transformed into beta cells in the laboratory. These cells play a key role in lowering sugar levels by producing insulin. When they are deficient, diabetes develops, and in severe forms, it can be fatal.

Today, according to WHO data, almost 9 million people around the world live with type 1 diabetes, a significant proportion of whom are children and adolescents. The disease completely changes the way of life: patients need daily insulin therapy and strict control of nutrition. Therefore, a reliable and, most importantly, mass reproducible source of insulin cells can change the future of these people.

What makes the technology particularly promising is the ability to avoid destroying the cell structure during purification. Previously, it was at this stage that important connections between cells were destroyed, reducing the effectiveness of the therapy. Now these problems have been circumvented.

The authors of the method are confident that their approach can be used not only in the therapy of diabetes. It is potentially applicable to other diseases that require the replacement or restoration of certain types of cells, whether it is the liver, heart or nervous system.

Although the road to mass adoption is still to be traveled, the new technique has already been tested in preclinical animal trials. The transplanted cells continued to function and produce insulin, showing that this method does work.