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December 12, 2025<\/p>\n
Add Us On Google<\/span>Add SciAm<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Cell Transplant Therapy Offers New Hope for Type 1 Diabetes<\/p>\n Scientists have successfully transplanted gene-edited insulin-producing cells into a man with type 1 diabetes\u2014allowing him to make some of his own insulin without immunosuppressants.<\/p>\n By Carin Leong edited by Kelso Harper<\/span><\/p>\n This video is part of \u201cInnovations In: Type 1 Diabetes,\u201d an editorially independent special report that was produced with financial support from Vertex.<\/p>\n Carin Leong: What if people with type 1 diabetes could start making their own insulin?<\/p>\n If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.<\/p>\n Scientists have just taken a big step in that direction. They treated a patient with 80 million lab-made insulin-producing cells that are designed to hide from the immune system. This is the first time a cell transplant like this hasn\u2019t triggered a rejection in a human, and researchers say that this opens exciting possibilities for treating diabetes and other autoimmune diseases in the future.<\/p>\n About two million people in the U.S. currently live with type 1 diabetes. It\u2019s an autoimmune disease where the body mistakenly wipes out the cells in the pancreas that make insulin. Without this hormone, people have to rely on injections and pumps every single day to keep their blood sugar in check and avoid serious complications.<\/p>\n Scientists have tried replacing these insulin-producing cells before, but the body kept attacking them. And patients would need to take strong immune-suppressing drugs for life, which come with their own laundry list of side effects.<\/p>\n This time, researchers took donor cells and used the gene-editing technique CRISPR to deactivate two genes that normally flag the immune system to attack foreign cells while also boosting expression of a gene that discourages attacks by the body\u2019s immune cells.<\/p>\n So 12 weeks after injecting these cells into the patient, they were still alive and making insulin in his body. Granted, it wasn\u2019t a ton\u2014about 7 percent of what he’d need to ditch insulin injections entirely. But experts say it\u2019s a major milestone for his body to be producing even a little bit of insulin on its own and, most importantly, without the need for immunosuppressants. They\u2019ll continue monitoring him over the next year and test higher doses of these edited cells. And if all goes well, this could potentially lead us toward a cure for type 1 diabetes.<\/p>\n If you enjoyed this article, I\u2019d like to ask for your support. Scientific American<\/span> has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been a Scientific American<\/span> subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm <\/span>always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.<\/p>\n If you subscribe to Scientific American<\/span>, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.<\/p>\n In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can’t-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world’s best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.<\/p>\n There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you\u2019ll support us in that mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" December 12, 2025 Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm Cell Transplant Therapy Offers New Hope for Type 1 Diabetes Scientists have successfully transplanted gene-edited insulin-producing cells into a man with type 1 diabetes\u2014allowing him to make some of his own insulin without immunosuppressants. 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It\u2019s Time to Stand Up for Science<\/h2>\n