Canned pancreas
Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.
More posts by Christiane Fux All content is checked by medical journalists.Transplanted islet cells could one day spare diabetics the daily injections. Clever packaging protects the tiny insulin factories from attacks by the immune system.
In some people, the immune system goes amok: Instead of rendering pathogens harmless, it suddenly attacks their own body cells. In the case of type 1 diabetes, the pancreatic islet cells are the victim. The consequences are well known: the body loses the ability to produce vital insulin, and the patient has to inject it for life.
Transplanted islet cells
"A possible alternative would be a transplantation of insulin-producing cells," says Prof. Stefan Bornstein in an interview with But there is a serious catch: Just like after a heart or liver transplant, the recipient has to take drugs for life that suppress the immune system so that it does not attack the foreign cells. And they have significant side effects. In the case of type 1 diabetes, the decision to take this measure has so far been difficult - unlike a failing heart, the disease itself is not immediately life-threatening.
Packaged insulin factories
The researchers from Dresden solved the problem with a nifty trick. They put insulin-producing pancreatic cells from human donors in a flat can the size of a pacemaker. This is equipped with a Teflon-coated membrane that works in a similar way to a breathable jacket: it does allow insulin to enter the body, but the antibodies, which are dangerous for the islet cells, do not get into it. In addition, the cells are embedded in a special algae gel that provides additional protection against attacks by the immune system.
Rubber tube under the skin
"The main problem, however, was supplying the cells with oxygen," says Bornstein. It was not possible to supply them via the bloodstream: "Then immune cells would also have had access," says the scientist. The researchers solved the problem with the help of thin rubber tubes under the skin, through which the patients can supply oxygen themselves once a day. “But we are working to ensure that this is only necessary once a week,” said Bornstein, who will present the method at the 57th symposium of the German Society for Endocrinology, which will take place from March 19 to 22 in Dresden.
So far, the bioreactor has only produced small amounts of insulin - that is, the patient still has to inject. However, this amount could be reduced by optimizing the technology. “It is also conceivable that diabetics will become completely independent of the syringe,” says the researcher.
Restored sensitivity
But the patients are already benefiting. "Many people who have had diabetes for many years no longer feel when they slip into hypoglycaemia," says Bornstein. These patients live in constant fear - because they are threatened with a life-threatening coma. "We have found that the artificial pancreas restores this sensitivity."
Pigs as donors
The encapsulated pancreas has another advantage: since it prevents rejection reactions, the technology is independent of human donors. Bornstein says: “In theory, we can also use islet cells from pigs.” This would also have solved the lack of donors in an elegant way.
