https://english.news.cn/20240926/bb883d524eb045fdbcf9698df35c8b44/c.html

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092867424010225

A clinical cure of a type 1 diabetes patient by transplanting islet cells derived from chemically induced pluripotent stem cells (CiPSC-islets) is reported from China.

The treatment was performed by Wang Shusen and colleagues from Tianjin First Central Hospital, Peking University, Changping Laboratory and Hangzhou Reprogenix Bioscience.

During the study, a female patient who had type 1 diabetes for 11 years was completely dependent on insulin treatment and suffered from poor blood sugar control. After the transplant of CiPSC-islets, she regained the capability to autonomously regulate her blood sugar. Seventy-five days after the transplant, she became insulin independent and has remained insulin injection-free for over a year. All her diabetes-related indicators have reached the levels of a healthy person, confirming the clinical cure of this type 1 diabetes patient.

According to Deng Hongkui, CiPSC-islets provide a new source for use in transplantation therapy for diabetes, while chemical reprogramming may become a universal core technology for efficiently preparing various types of functional cells, paving the new way for the widespread application of cell therapy in treatment of major diseases.