Researchers at MIT are working on developing an implantable device that could change the lives of type 1 diabetics, providing an alternative to daily insulin injections.
The device contains insulin-producing cells, encapsulates them to protect them from rejection by the immune system, and includes an internal oxygen generator to maintain the health of these cells.
The researchers explain that the pancreatic islets of Langerhans encapsulated in this device can survive inside the body for at least 90 days and produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugar levels, according to experiments conducted on mice. (Pancreatic islets of Langerhans are small clusters of cells within the pancreas responsible for producing and regulating hormones important for blood sugar, most notably insulin.)
Daniel Anderson, professor of chemical engineering and member of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, says: "Islet cell therapy could be revolutionary for patients. Current methods require immunosuppression, which is burdensome for some. Our goal is to find a way to enable patients to benefit from cell therapy without this burden."
Typically, islet cells are harvested from human cadavers or created from stem cells. In both cases, patients require immunosuppressant drugs to prevent their immune system from rejecting the transplanted cells.
The new device solves this problem by encapsulating the cells in a protective chamber, while supplying them with oxygen via an internal generator. This generator breaks down the body's water vapor into hydrogen and oxygen, with the hydrogen diffused safely and the oxygen nourishing the cells.
Previous experiments showed that these cells were able to produce insulin for a month after implantation, but the researchers developed the device to be more resistant to water and cracking, while improving its electrical circuits to generate more power for the generator, which allowed for the production of more oxygen and continued cell function at a higher efficiency.
Studies on mice and rats have shown that the device can operate for 90 days under the skin, with the islet cells of Langerhans producing enough insulin to maintain blood sugar levels within the normal range.
The results also demonstrated the potential for using stem cell-derived cells to provide a potentially unlimited future supply, making the treatment available to any patient who needs it. While the device does not cure diabetes completely, it does provide significant control over blood sugar levels.
Matthew Bochenek adds: "If we give the cells more time to settle and mature, they can secrete more insulin, which improves disease control."
The team plans to study the possibility of extending the devices' lifespan to two years or more. Researchers are also exploring the potential of using the same technology to produce other beneficial proteins, such as antibodies, enzymes, and clotting factors, within the body rather than externally.
