Researchers in China have successfully reversed type 1 diabetes in a female patient by reprogramming her adipose cells to transform them into insulin-producing pancreatic cells, marking a significant breakthrough as reported in the journal Cell. Following the procedure, the cells were implanted into the patient’s abdomen, and notably, she had not required insulin injections for a year, highlighting the promising nature of this innovative therapeutic approach. The patient had previously struggled with difficult-to-manage diabetes despite rigorous insulin therapy and had undergone a pancreas transplant in 2017, which was later removed due to thrombotic issues. Prior to the transplantation, she experienced long-standing, poorly controlled diabetes accompanied by severe hypoglycemic episodes.
Remarkably, after receiving islet cells, she attained insulin independence within three months and maintained over 98 percent time in range for blood glucose levels without the need for external insulin, as indicated by the study’s results.The scientists accomplished this remarkable feat by extracting fat cells from the patient and employing chemical methods to revert them to a “pluripotent” stem cell state, allowing them to differentiate into various cell types. Once the cells were successfully reverted, the researchers transformed them into islet cells, which were then implanted into the patient’s abdomen.The cells transplanted into the abdominal region exhibited superior performance compared to those introduced into the liver. Furthermore, these cells could be regularly monitored through ultrasound and MRI, facilitating the timely identification of any morphological alterations at the transplant site. The study emphasized that the ability to conduct routine safety assessments at this transplantation location represents a significant advancement, which is essential for the development of experimental stem-cell-based therapies. Following the successful treatment of the initial patient and the publication of the findings, two additional patients have also been enrolled in the study. Ongoing follow-up assessments are being conducted with these individuals.
