Type 1 Diabetes Fact Sheet

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Diabetes

  Human pancreatic islet cell (Novocell, Inc.)

CIRM funds many research projects investigating the causes of type 1 (juvenile) and type 2 (adult onset) diabetes, and developing new stem cell-based therapies for the disease.

If you want to learn more about CIRM funding decisions or make a comment directly to our board, join us at a public meeting. You can find agendas for upcoming public meetings on our meetings page.

Learn more about stem cell research:
Stem Cell Basics Primer | Stem Cell Videos | What We Fund

Find clinical trials:
CIRM does not track stem cell clinical trials. If you or a family member is interested in participating in a clinical trial, please see the national trial database to find a trial near you: clinicaltrials.gov

The role of stem cells in diabetes

Diabetes could be among the earliest diseases to benefit from stem cell research. In this disease, cells of the immune system destroy the beta cells in the pancreas that make insulin after a meal. The insulin circulates in the bloodstream and allows cells of the body to take up sugar and use it for food. Without insulin, cells starve and the sugar builds up in the bloodstream where it can damage the kidneys, blood vessels and retina.

CIRM funds several projects that aim to understand and develop therapies for diabetes. The most significant of these was a $20 million Disease Team award to a team of scientists led by the San Diego biotech company Viacyte (here is a summary of that award). According to Professor Alan Trounson, President of CIRM, juvenile diabetes has ‘”always been one of the diseases that we have felt could be treated with stem cell therapies. Our Disease Team is on track to be in human trials by 2013 and we are making sure that this disease remains a focus of our funding,” he said.

Any potential cure for Type 1 Diabetes needs to replace the lost beta cells of the pancreas. However, the only source of islet cells for transplantation come from organ donation. Those cells are in short supply and will be rejected by the recipient’s body if they don’t receive immune suppressing drugs.

To solve the first problem, the CIRM-funded researchers have developed methods to make replacement pre- beta cells from human embryonic stem cells, which can be grown in large amounts. The pre-beta cells derived from embryonic stem cells can mature ino beta cells and also cure experimental diabetes in mice and rats.

To avoid the problem of rejection, Viacyte scientists place pre-beta cell clusters in a device that implants under the skin. The device protects the foreign cells from rejection by the immune system, but is somewhat permeable and allows cells inside to detect sugar in the blood and respond by producing insulin. The insulin moves back through the membrane into the blood system. Having the process take place in the envelope keeps any potential unwanted growth trapped and easily removed, as cells cannot get through the membrane.

CIRM has funded ViaCyte scientists a further $6 million to for work that will help ensure the safety of their encapsulated stem cell product (here is a summary of that award).

Alan Lewis, past president of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation,
discusses bringing stem cell-based therapies to the clinic

CIRM Grants Targeting Diabetes

Grant Title Funding
Cell Therapy for Diabetes $19,999,937
Endodermal differentiation of human ES cells $635,242
Development of the [REDACTED] Cellular Encapsulation System for Delivery of human ES Cell-derived Pancreatic Islets and Progenitors. $827,072
Methods for detection and elimination of residual human embryonic stem cells in a differentiated cell product $5,405,397
Developing induced pluripotent stem cells into human therapeutics and disease models $5,165,028
Biological relevance of microRNAs in hESC differentiation to endocrine pancreas $1,313,649

CIRM Diabetes Videos

Disease Team Award

One of the CIRM-funded diabetes research projects is a multidisciplinary disease team led by researchers at Novocell, Inc. All Disease Team Award recipients are expected to meet milestones along the path to reaching FDA clinical trial submission within four years. 

The Viacyte, Inc-led team has developed methods to make large-scale batches of replacement beta cells from human embryonic stem cells (hESC). The team has demonstrated that these hESC-derived beta cells cure experimental diabetes in mice and rats. Additionaly, they have devised strategies to reduce the risk that recipient's immune systems will see these implanted hESC-derived beta cells as foreign cells and subsequently reject them. The team now plans to complete the manufacturing, efficacy, safety testing required to generate the necessary data for FDA approval to test in Phase 1 clinical trials.

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