Gene therapy Chinese scientists successfully reversed the process of type 1 diabetes using gene therapy

Gene therapy
Chinese scientists successfully reverse the process of type 1 diabetes using gene therapy

Chinese researchers reported 4th that they have successfully reversed the disease process by using gene therapy to produce a large number of omega 3 fatty acids in the type 1 diabetic mice. This brings new hope to the cure for patients suffering from type 1 diabetes. The study, which was led by two professors from Guangdong University of Technology Zhao Zijian and Li Fanghong, was published in a new issue of the Journal of Clinical Examination in the United States.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the patient's own immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys insulin-secreting islet cells, leading to loss of islet function and eventual development of type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is more of a teenager, so it is also known as adolescent diabetes.

According to Zhao Zijian, patients with type 1 diabetes cannot be reversed once they have a disease, and patients will be dependent on insulin injections for life and often monitor their blood sugar. Currently, there is no drug or technology in the world to control autoimmune and to regenerate islet cells to achieve the goal of reversing autoimmune processes and curing diabetes.

Zhao Zijian and Li Fang Red's team have been inspired by many years of clinical research abroad: Infants with a family history of type 1 diabetes who have long taken deep sea fish oil after weaning can significantly reduce the risk of type 1 diabetes. But they also found that if they wanted to reverse their immune imbalances and the progression of diabetes through the addition of fish oil, the dose needed would be significantly higher than the current dose of clinical approval, which was difficult to achieve in reality.

To this end, the researchers expressed a specific enzyme by means of gene therapy, allowing the mice to produce a large amount of omega 3 fatty acid EPA and DHA.

The results show that this new therapy corrects the imbalance of the immune system and reverses the progression of type 1 diabetes. Insulin returns to normal levels in the blood, blood sugar drops to normal range, and a large number of newborn insulin-secreting islet cells appear in the pancreas. This means that new therapies can help to stabilize long-term blood sugar and allow patients to get rid of their dependence on exogenous insulin completely.

Zhao Zijian says this is the first time that a single treatment technique has facilitated the regeneration of pancreatic islet cells while controlling and reversing the imbalance in the immune system, making it possible to cure type 1 diabetes. New therapies may also be used to treat type 2 diabetes and other autoimmune disorders, such as multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.

The researchers will begin a preclinical safety assessment of the technique, which is expected to enter clinical trials in the future three years.

——————-This article source: Cnbeta website Tri Yuanyuan

Gene therapy Chinese scientists successfully reversed the process of type 1 diabetes using gene therapy