Cell Therapy for Diabetes

Abstract

Pancreatic islet cell transplantation offers hope for patients with Type 1 Diabetes by replacing the insulin producing cells and therefore controlling blood sugar levels. This exciting project,currently funded by the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGT Catapult) has formed the spinout company 'Islexa' to develop a novel cell based therpay for these patients. The Scottish islet transplantation service based in Edinburgh has a dedicated facility which is staffed 24/7 for human cadaveric islet isolation and processes over 40 pancreases each year. The clinical programme and isolation facility is fully funded by the Scottish Government and has been set up to provide both a clinical service and to act as a catalyst for islet related stem cell research through links with Edinburgh University, Aberdeen University and the Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine. The first transplant was performed in February 2011 with over 60 transplants to date. At present multiple donor pancreases are required to treat a single patient as only 50% of the required numbers of cells can be obtained by the isolation process. A small fraction of the pancreas has the ability to produce insulin, the remainder produces enzymes, substances which allow the gut to digest food. Using recent research the teams from Aberdeen, Edinburgh and CGT Catapult, as Islexa, aim to reprogramme the enzyme producing pancreatic tissue to produce insulin. Giving the potential to allow multiple transplants from a single pancreas reducing the requirement for more than one donor and offering treatment to an increased patient pool.