Scientists achieve breakthrough in diabetes treatment with gene-edited cell transplant
The goal of the procedure is to prevent the body from rejecting the transplanted cells. Before the cells were implanted, three genetic edits were made using the CRISPR tool. Two edits reduced the amount of particular antigens that adaptive T cells use to identify foreign objects. The third boosted production of a protein called CD47, which in turn blocks innate immune cell responses.
The patient, a 42-year-old man diagnosed with type 1 diabetes since childhood, received islet cells taken from a healthy donor, which were injected into his forearm muscle. Within 12 weeks, the modified cells began producing insulin in response to glucose after meals – without the use of immunosuppressant drugs.
According to the researchers, whose results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the study represents a pioneering step towards safer and more effective treatments for type 1 diabetes. They added that the approach could pave the way for similar applications in organ and cell transplantation for other diseases.
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