Advances in the transplant of cells into the spleen could transform one of the body’s “expendable” organs into a hub for treating diabetes, two Chinese studies have found.
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Research published last month by scientists at Nanjing University and other institutes found that “shielding” islet cells could improve their survival after being transplanted into the spleen to treat type 1 diabetes.
They also found that the spleen – a more promising long-term survival site than the conventionally used liver – could be engineered into a transplant hub with the help of nanoparticles.
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“If the safety and effectiveness of the spleen as a host organ for islet transplantation are fully demonstrated through systematic clinical studies in the future, the spleen can be used as an ideal organ for islet transplantation,” said Dong Lei, professor and vice-dean of the Nanjing University school of life sciences, who contributed to both studies.
An estimated 589 million adults worldwide have diabetes, with this number expected to rise to 853 million by 2050, according to the International Diabetes Federation. China has the highest number of adults with diabetes in the world, at more than 140 million people.
Type 1 diabetes is a genetic autoimmune disorder characterised by the body’s immune system attacking islet cells in the pancreas that make insulin, the hormone needed to store and convert blood sugar into energy.
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While symptoms of type 1 diabetes, which accounts for about 5 per cent of cases, can be managed using medication, such as insulin injections, there is no cure for the condition.