Scientists in Japan have found a way to improve on a promising diabetes treatment. In the October 3 issue of The Journal of Experimental Medicine, Masaru Taniguchi and colleagues report that transplanted insulin-producing cells survive better when the activation of a specific type of immune cell is blocked. Insulin-dependent diabetes is caused by the destruction of the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas (called islet cells) by auto-reactive T cells. The loss of insulin results in an inability to control blood sugar levels. Transplantation of islet cells is an effective way to restore insulin production, but this therapy requires life-long immunosuppression of the patient. Even with immunosuppression, up to half of the transplanted cells are rapidly destroyed by the patient’s own T cells.
