How The Cure Will Look
Unlimited Source of Islets | Minimizing the Risk of Immunosuppressive Medications
Replacing pancreatic islets is the only way to restore normal blood glucose levels and insulin independence.
-David Sutherland, MD, PhD
Insulin-producing islet cells, located in the pancreas, sense blood sugar levels and release the appropriate amount of insulin to achieve tight blood glucose control. In patients with Type 1 diabetes, all islets are destroyed and patients need to inject insulin to control their glucose levels. Replacing pancreatic islets is the only way to restore normal blood glucose levels and insulin independence.
Islet replacement can be achieved by whole pancreas transplantation, or by the much less invasive transplantation of isolated islets. However, as promising as islet cell transplantation is, the limited number of donors remains a stubborn obstacle. Additionally, patients must take immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of their lives, with associated potential adverse side effects.
In order to turn transplantation into a widely available and applicable cure for diabetes, an unlimited source of islets has to become available and the acceptability of immunosuppressive medications to prevent rejection needs to be optimized.
Dr. Bernhard Hering and the team at the University of Minnesota�s Diabetes Institute for Immunology and Transplantation hypothesized that islet cells from pigs could be developed into a widely available cell replacement therapy.
To test this idea, a suitable source of pigs is needed. Additionally, source pigs must be designated pathogen-free (medical-grade) animals in compliance with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements for stringent biosecure breeding and maintenance conditions that minimize risks and the potential exposure to diseases for animal-to-human tissue transplantation.
Also, pig donors should give high islet yields. Abraham, the founding boar of our genetic program, was selected as the originator of source pigs because of superior genetics, health and breeding performance. His offspring are under the management of Spring Point Project in our facilities.
Pig islet cells were harvested and transplanted into twelve diabetic monkeys, monkeys have immune systems remarkably similar to humans at the University of Minnesota labs. And it worked with long-term survival and diabetes reversal!
Using immunosuppression to prevent rejection, the monkeys accepted the islet cells and began producing sufficient insulin to reverse their disease. This landmark research in a relevant preclinical trial suggests that islets isolated from pigs can serve as an unlimited source of donor tissue to reverse diabetes.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed safe and effective protocols to prevent graft rejection. However, there is an ongoing need to improve immunosuppression and increase the therapeutic window between efficacy and adverse side effects, especially as some promising drugs are no longer available as their development was halted by the pharmaceutical industry.
