Scientists in Sweden have made a big step toward a possible cure for type 1 diabetes. They found a more reliable way to create insulin-producing cells from human stem cells. These lab-grown cells work well with glucose and helped control blood sugar when put into diabetic mice.
Type 1 diabetes happens when the body's immune system attacks and destroys cells in the pancreas that make insulin. Without insulin, the body cannot properly use sugar from food, leading to high blood sugar. Replacing these lost cells has been a goal for a long time, but past attempts to grow them from stem cells haven't always worked consistently.
Per-Olof Berggren, a professor at Karolinska Institutet, said their new method reliably makes high-quality insulin-producing cells. This could lead to future treatments tailored for each patient, which might reduce the chance of the body rejecting the new cells.
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The new method creates insulin cells that are more developed and work better than those made before. In lab tests, these cells released insulin and reacted strongly to glucose levels.
When these cells were put into diabetic mice, the mice slowly regained their ability to control blood sugar. Researchers placed the cells in the front part of the eye. This allowed them to watch how the cells grew and worked without much disturbance.
Berggren explained that this technique helps them track the cells' development and function over time. He noted that the cells matured after being transplanted and kept controlling blood sugar for several months. This shows their potential for future treatments.
Overcoming Challenges
Stem cell treatments for type 1 diabetes are already being tested, but they face problems. One issue is that stem cells often turn into a mix of useful and unwanted cell types. Another challenge is that lab-grown insulin cells are often not mature enough to respond well to glucose.
To fix these issues, the researchers improved how they grew the cells. They let the cells form natural three-dimensional groups. This reduced the number of unwanted cells and made the insulin cells respond better to glucose.
Fredrik Lanner, a professor at Karolinska Institutet, believes this could solve many problems that have slowed down stem cell treatments for type 1 diabetes. He added that they will now work to bring this treatment to patients.
Deep Dive & References
An optimized protocol for efficient derivation of pancreatic islets from multiple human pluripotent stem cell lines - Stem Cell Reports, 2026
