A groundbreaking method for treating diabetes has been discovered using lab-grown blood vessels.

American researchers have made a breakthrough in the treatment of type 1 diabetes. They have developed a new therapy method involving the transplantation of pancreatic islets, enhanced by the addition of cells that form blood vessels. This approach has successfully cured mice of diabetes.

2025-03-01 10:00:27https://naked-science.ru/article/medicine/diabeta-vyrashhennyh-sosu

The pancreatic islets (islets of Langerhans) are the only type of human tissue that produces insulin in response to elevated glucose levels, playing a crucial role in the prevention and treatment of all types of diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, which affects millions of people worldwide, the cells of the pancreatic islets are destroyed by the immune system.

There is a method for transplanting such tissues into the liver veins, but it has limitations: low cell survival and the need for long-term use of immunosuppressants. Additionally, the islets can spread through tissues without any control, and most importantly, this procedure usually becomes ineffective within a few years. Science is exploring ways to implant these cells in more controlled locations (to ensure the long-term viability of transplanted tissues), such as under the skin, but so far, this has not been achieved effectively.

Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical Center (USA) have found a way to avoid these issues by transplanting islets of Langerhans under the skin along with "reprogrammed" vascular endothelial cells (R-VEC). These cells create a network of blood vessels, supplying the islets with oxygen and nutrients. As a result, scientists were able to significantly enhance cell survival.

The experiment was conducted on mice, and its results were published in the journal Science Advances. The scientists transplanted human islets of Langerhans under the skin of immunocompromised rodents and found that they quickly connected to the host's circulatory system, providing immediate nourishment and oxygen, thereby increasing the survival and functionality of the vulnerable islets.

The key is that the researchers used R-VEC derived from the human umbilical vein as supportive cells. These cells are relatively resilient to transplantation, unlike the fragile endothelial cells of the islets. Furthermore, they are designed to easily adapt to any type of surrounding tissue. The scientists observed that R-VEC supported the viability of the islets through a dense network of newly formed blood vessels.

In 14 out of 20 diabetic mice that underwent this procedure, healthy body weight and normal blood glucose levels were completely restored. This was observed even after 20 weeks—a period that, for the mouse model of diabetes, indicates that the islets have established permanence. The rodents that received islets of Langerhans without R-VEC fared worse: their glucose levels remained elevated for a prolonged period.

While there is still a long way to go before testing the method on humans, the scientists hope that their approach will prove to be groundbreaking for the treatment of type 1 diabetes in the future.