Scientists reverse type 1 diabetes by reprogramming patients’ fat cells

The cells grafted into the abdomen performed better than the cells implanted into the liver

Scientists in China have managed to reverse type 1 diabetes in a female patient by reprogramming fat cells to convert them into insulin-producing pancreatic cells for the first time, according to findings published in the journal Cell. The cells were seeded into the abdomen of the patient who had not injected herself with insulin a year after the procedure, demonstrating the remarkable potential of the therapeutic strategy. The patient suffered from difficult-to-control diabetes despite intensive insulin treatment and had undergone a pancreas transplant in 2017, which had to be removed a year later due to thrombotic complications.

“Prior to transplantation, the patient suffered from long-standing, difficult-to-control diabetes complicated by episodes of severe hypoglycemia. After islet transplantation, the patient achieved insulin independence within three months of transplantation, eventually achieving a blood glucose TIR of greater than 98 percent was achieved without exogenous insulin use,” the study results showed.

How did scientists achieve this feat?

The scientists took fat cells from the patient and used chemicals to convert them into ‘pluripotent’ stem cells, meaning they could turn into any type of cell. After the cells returned to this state, the scientists turned them into islet cells and implanted them in the patient’s stomach.

The cells grafted into the abdomen performed better than the cells implanted into the liver. In addition, they can be routinely imaged by ultrasound and MRI if necessary for regular detection of morphological changes at the site.

“The opportunity for routine safety monitoring at this transplant site is an important step forward that is critical for exploratory stem cell-based cellular therapies,” the study said.

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

Also read | Chinese scientists unveil potential cure for diabetes with innovative cell therapy

What is insulin?

Insulin is an important chemical that allows sugar molecules to leave the bloodstream and enter cells, where they can be used as a fuel source. However, in a diabetic patient, the immune system destroys the body’s insulin-producing cells, which are located in the pancreas, called islets.

Although islet cell transplantation is not a new approach, stem cells provide a potentially unlimited source of new islets rather than relying on harvested islets from donated bodies that are then transplanted into the cells in the patient’s liver.