Release date: 2018-06-12 In the field of type 1 diabetes treatment, scientists have long hoped to transplant functional islet cells into patients to achieve a cure. But the danger of immune system rejection has become a barrier to them. Recently, a team of researchers from Georgia Tech, the University of Louisville, and the University of Michigan transplanted islets and a hydrogel into a diabetic mouse model. This hydrogel can help immune cells receive foreign grafts. This achievement was published in the famous journal Nature Materials. Type 1 diabetes is caused by the destruction of islet cells by the immune system. Current standard treatments include frequent injections of insulin because the patient's own islets no longer produce insulin. Although patients with type 1 diabetes can be treated experimentally with islet cell transplantation, rejection will still occur after a few years, even if the patient uses a drug that suppresses the immune response. They urgently need a way to permanently cure the disease, thereby eliminating the lifetime dependence on insulin. The new method reported this time uses synthetic microgels that exhibit Fas ligand (FasL), a protein that "trains" T-effect cells to accept islets without rejection. The researchers mixed the hydrogel particles with the islets before the transplant. These cells were then placed in the kidney and abdominal fat pads of the mice. None of these mice developed rejection within at least 200 days after receiving the graft. If this method is applied to humans, patients will likely treat diabetes without the need for long-term immunosuppressive drugs. Another problem with islet transplantation is that they often lose blood vessels and are not properly implanted in patients. The laboratory of Dr. Andrés GarcÃa, professor of mechanical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, has shown that they can stimulate angiogenesis in cells transplanted into mouse fat pads. In humans, the graft can be placed into the omentum, a tissue similar to a mouse fat pad. "Drugs that help islet cell transplantation are harmful to patients. Clinical trials have shown that islet transplantation is effective, but after a few years, rejection still occurs," Dr. GarcÃa said. "(This new method) key technology advances It is possible to mix and induce the immunologically acceptable material with the islets. We can make this biological material in the laboratory and transport it to the place where it needs to be transplanted, making it a ready-to-use type. (off-the-shelf) therapeutic agent." Dr. Haval Shirwan of the University of Louisville said in a statement: "We have been able to demonstrate that we can create a biological material that breaks the body's willingness to refuse to transplant and does not require patients to continue to use standard immunosuppressive therapy. Further research is expected to demonstrate its potential applications in a variety of transplant types, including bone marrow transplants and solid organ transplants." Currently, the team is testing their hydrogel islet transplantation methods in non-human primates. They believe that if this method is effective, it will be widely used in diabetic patients in the future. We expect patients with type 1 diabetes to welcome more new methods to treat diseases, and hope that humans will one day overcome type 1 diabetes. Reference materials: [1] Hydrogel could enable pancreatic islet transplants for diabetes [2] Biomaterial particles educate immune system to accept transplanted islets Source: WuXi PharmaTech
DIAN Biotech provides comprehensive diagnositic solutions for cervical cancer screening to promote the elimination of cervical cancer.
·4th most common cancer among women globally, estimated 604,000 new cases and 342,000 deaths in 2020
·Cervical cancer (more than 95%) is due to the human papillomavirus (HPV)
·Two human papillomavirus (HPV) types (16 and 18) are responsible for nearly 50% of high grade cervical pre-cancers
HPV DNA test, Liquid-based cytology, digital pathology slide scanner, AI software Hangzhou DIAN Biotechnology Co., Ltd. , https://www.dianbiotech.com