First islet cell transplant without immunosuppression

Type 1 & LADA T1 Research
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A very interesting study by a Swedish-American collaboration of researchers was published recently. The focus of this study was islet transplantation without immunosuppression. This is supposedly the first time ever a type 1 diabetes patient successfully received an islet cell transplant without the need for immunosuppression. Instead the donor cells were genetically modified using CRISPR to evade the immune system.
This is not a cure yet. The title of this Scientific American article is a bit misleading, because the patient still needed insulin injections as only 7% of his insulin production was restored. However, I do like that they’re trying to crack this part of the code, whereas many others focus on solving the shortage of available donor islet cells with stem cells and the like. This may be a great start to solve the problems with immune rejection of islet transplants.

Original research article (behind paywall unfortunately):
https://www.nejm.org/doi/abs/10.1056/NEJMoa2503822

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Immunosuppression makes it a non starter for most so I’m glad they are researching ways to get around that.

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Yeah, definitely. Solve one disease, be vulnerable to many more doesn’t sound like a great trade-off to most of us.

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So is this just the Beta cell or is it all 4 cell typss in a newly created Islet of Langerhans? This is important because the glucose regulatory cells interact within the Islets with each other.

I think that using insulin secreting Beta cells would be more appropriate reporting.

I am curious as to where the cells end up. They are injected in the forearm muscle, but do they stay in the musclle or migrate elsewhere.

As a person with T2DM i take issue with, "Unlike type 2 diabetes, in which people have poorly functioning beta cells,” It is true that as T2DM progresses Beta cells become dysfunctional, but in the beginning they are fully functional. The secrete more insulin in response to rising glucose levels because the skeletal muscle, liver and fat cells resist insulin. I expect better from”Scientific American.”

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