A scientific advance developed in the Mayo Clinic has opened a new way for protect beta cells pancreaswhose destruction characterizes the type 1 diabetes. Inspired by mechanisms observed in cancer cells, researchers have managed, in preclinical models, to preserve these insulin-producing cells through an experimental technique that could transform the treatment of this chronic autoimmune disease, according to the institution itself.
Type 1 diabetes occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks beta cells, which are responsible for insulin production.. Until now, treatment is limited to the administration of synthetic insulin or, in some cases, pancreatic islet transplantation, procedures that require generalized immunosuppression and do not offer a definitive cure.
The discovery of the Mayo Clinicrecently published in the Journal of Clinical Investigationproposes an innovative strategy: protect beta cells by “coating” sialic acid, a sugar that cancer cells use to evade immune detection.
The research team, led by the immunologist Virginia Shapiro and the doctoral student Justin Choestarted from the observation that certain tumors use an enzyme called ST8Sia6 to increase the presence of sialic acid on its surface.
This “sugar coating” It allows malignant cells to go unnoticed by the immune system. The scientists of the Mayo Clinic They wondered if this same mechanism could be adapted to protect normal cells, such as pancreatic beta cells, from an autoimmune attack.
After demonstrating the viability of the idea in an artificial model of diabetes, they moved towards preclinical models that spontaneously reproduce the development of the disease, thus getting closer to the reality of the patients..
In these models, the researchers genetically modified the beta cells to produce the ST8Sia6 enzyme. The results were overwhelming: The treated cells managed to avoid immune destruction in 90% of cases, preserving their function and delaying or preventing the onset of type 1 diabetes..
According to Choe, the protection conferred by the sialic acid coating turned out to be highly specific. Although the beta cells remained intact, the rest of the immune system continued to function normally, including B and T lymphocyte activity and the ability to respond to other autoimmune processes.
“The enzyme generated specific tolerance against autoimmune rejection of the beta cell, providing local and very precise protection against type 1 diabetes”the researcher detailed in statements collected by the Mayo Clinic.
The relevance of this advance lies in its potential to change the paradigm of type 1 diabetes treatment. Currently, pancreatic islet transplants require systemic immunosuppression, exposing patients to considerable risks.
The possibility of transplanting protected beta cells through this mechanism could eliminate the need to suppress the entire immune system, improving the safety and effectiveness of the therapy. Dr. Shapiro, leader of the study, noted that the long-term goal is to develop transplantable cells that do not require immunosuppressionwhich would represent a significant step towards better care for those living with this disease.
Looking to the future, the team at Mayo Clinic plans to continue investigating the application of this method in clinical settings and explore its feasibility in humans. Although the research is in early stages, the preclinical results provide a solid foundation to move toward new therapeutic strategies that could benefit millions of people affected by type 1 diabetes.
The researchers’ goal is that, in the future, patients can access transplanted cells without immunosuppression, which would open the door to safer and more effective treatments for type 1 diabetes..
