Autologous Cell Therapy for Diabetes Mellitus

This technology is the development of novel insulin-producing cells by using preadipocytes from the same animal, which can be autografted. Because the cells are isolated from a small amount of fat from the same organism, the chance of immune rejection is nonexistent. These preadipocytes undergo terminal differentiation into mature adipocytes, which are harmless. The inventors have also inserted an expressing cassette which prevents any further cell division. Furthermore, a suicide gene has been inserted which will kill the cell when exposed to a specific chemical compound. Thus, if any adverse effect occurs, the cells can be selectively ablated by giving a single dose of this chemical. This invention will be crucial in the next generation of diabetes treatment and management.

Background:
Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a group of common metabolic disorders associated with hyperglycemia. Based on the recent statistics from CDC, 37.3 million Americans (11.3% of the US population) have DM. Moreover, 96 million Americans are prediabetic. Unfortunately, there is no curative treatment for DM, and the chronic management cost for 2017 was $327 billion in direct medical costs and $90 billion in reduced productivity. The major cause of pathological manifestations of DM is hyperglycemia, and insulin therapy is required at some point for both Type 1 and Type 2 DM. Thus, there is a huge population of diabetics who are dependent on insulin to control their blood sugar. In recent years, there has been an astronomical increase in the cost of insulin and a significant outcry to reduce the cost of insulin.

Applications: 

• Diabetes treatment
• Replacement for traditional insulin

Advantages: 

• Non-immunogenic
• Non-proliferating
• Safe
• Inexpensive