Scientists Reverse Type 1 Diabetes By Reprogramming Patient's Fat Cells

The patient had been suffering from hard-to-control diabetes despite intensive insulin treatment and had received pancreas transplantation in 2017.

Scientists in China have managed to reverse type 1 diabetes in a woman patient by reprogramming the fat cells to turn them into insulin-making pancreatic cells for the first time ever, according to findings published in the journal Cell. The cells were grafted into the abdomen of the patient who had not injected herself with insulin a year out from the procedure -- showing the remarkable potential of the therapeutic strategy. The patient had been suffering from hard-to-control diabetes despite intensive insulin treatment and had received a pancreas transplantation in 2017, which had to be removed a year later due to thrombotic complications.

"Before transplantation, the patient suffered from long-term, hard-to-control diabetes complicated by episodes of severe hypoglycemia. After islet transplantation, the patient achieved insulin independence within three months post-transplantation, ultimately achieving over 98 per cent blood glucose TIR without exogenous insulin use," the study findings showed.

How did scientists achieve the feat?

The scientists took fat cells from the patient and used chemicals to revert them into "pluripotent" stem cells, meaning they could turn into any type of cell. After the cells were reverted to this state, the scientists metamorphosed them into islet cells and implanted into the patient's stomach.

The cells grafted in the belly performed better than those implanted in the liver. Additionally, they could be routinely imaged by ultrasound and MRI as necessary for regular detection of morphological changes at the site.

"The possibility for routine safety monitoring at this transplant site is an important step forward that is critical to exploratory stem-cell-based cellular therapies," the study stated.

Notably, after success with the first patient and the subsequent publication of the results, a second and third patients have been enrolled as well. Follow-up with these patients is ongoing.

Also read | Chinese Scientists Reveal Potential Diabetes Cure With Innovative Cell Therapy

What is insulin?

Insulin is a key chemical that allows sugar molecules to exit the bloodstream and enter cells which they can be used as a source of fuel. However, in a diabetic patient, the immune system destroys the body's insulin-producing cells, located within the pancreas, called islets.

Although transplanting islet cells is not a new approach, stem cells offer a potentially unlimited source of new islets instead of relying on harvested islets from donated bodies that are then transplanted into the cells into the livers of the patient.