Seeing inside: Beta cell transplants to treat diabetes

Type 1 diabetes afflicts more than 300 million people worldwide. Researchers have long sought a way to replace the insulin-producing beta cells lost in the disease, but transplanted cells are susceptible to immune attack. In this image, beta cells generated from human embryonic stem cells are encapsulated in microspheres made from a material called alginate, which help cloak the cells from the immune system. However, the reddish, blue and green markers on the spheres’ surfaces indicate that immune cells have discovered spheres and their cargo, and begun to block them off from the rest of the body.

In simultaneous papers in Nature Medicine and Nature Biotechnology, Daniel Anderson, PhD — a professor of applied biology at MIT and a researcher in Boston Children’s Hospital’s Department of Anesthesia, Perioperative and Pain Medicine — and his collaborators reported on their search for effective cloaking materials They also announced that microsphere-encapsulated beta cells can reverse diabetes in a mouse model. With further work on the microspheres’ chemistry and geometry, the team hopes to improve their cloaking abilities and provide longer lasting protection for beta cells.

Read the full post on Vector: Science seen: Stealthy beta cell transplants for diabetes

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