IMMUNOMODULATION RESEARCH

immunomodulation (n): change in the body's immune system, caused by agents that activate or suppress its function (National Institutes of Health)

MAP SCAFFOLD AS A PLATFORM FOR BETA CELL DELIVERY TO TREAT TYPE I DIABETES

Type 1 diabetes is caused by the autoimmune loss of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. The only clinical approach to patient management of blood glucose that doesn’t require exogenous insulin is pancreas or islet transplantation. The delivery of stem cell-derived beta cells and dissociated islet cells hold promise as a treatment for T1D; however, these cells typically require re-aggregation in vitro prior to implantation.

Microporous scaffolds have shown high potential to serve as a vehicle for organization, survival, and function of insulin-producing cells. MAP-based cell delivery enables survival and function of dissociated islets cells both in vitro and in an in vivo mouse model of T1D.

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This project is funded by UVA Launchpad for Diabetes Grant and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF)