Stem Cell-Based Implants Successfully Secrete Insulin in Patients with Type 1 Diabetes

Interim results from a multicenter clinical trial demonstrate insulin secretion from engrafted cells in patients with type 1 diabetes. The safety, tolerability, and efficacy of the implants, which consisted of pancreatic endoderm cells derived from human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) (representative image), were tested in 26 patients. While the insulin secreted by the implants did not have clinical effects in the patients, the data are the first reported evidence of meal-regulated insulin secretion by differentiated stem cells in human patients. The results were published online on December 2, 2021 in Cell Stem Cell and in Cell Reports Medicine. The Cell Stem Cell article is titled “Stem cell-Based Islet Replacement Therapy In Diabetes: A Road Trip That Reached the Clinic.” The Cell Reports Medicine article is titled “Insulin Expression and C-Peptide in Type 1 Diabetes Subjects Implanted with Stem Cell-Derived Pancreatic Endoderm Cells in an Encapsulation Device.”