Type 1 Diabetes Reversed in Mice Using Engineered Blood Vessels
2025-02-27
A preclinical study shows that transplanting insulin-producing cells alongside engineered blood vessel-forming cells successfully reversed type 1 diabetes in mice. The innovative approach involved co-implanting human islets and reprogrammed vascular endothelial cells (R-VECs) under the skin, creating a vascularized network that produced insulin and normalized blood glucose for over 20 weeks. This breakthrough offers hope for a cure, though challenges remain in scaling up production and avoiding immunosuppression before clinical trials in humans.