Scientists at ViaCyte have demonstrated that insulin-producing cells created in vitro from human embryonic stem cells can successfully mature after being encapsulated and implanted into an animal model. The researchers also announced the addition of three patents to cover this new stem cell platform.
The beta-like cells have similar properties to pluripotent stem cell-derived insulin-producing cells that have been looked into by other research groups, except these cells have significantly higher cell endocrine contents. The research publication demonstrated for the first time that nearly pure in vitro-produced endocrine cells can function in vivo. An animal study also demonstrated for the first time that these mature cells can produce functional pancreatic beta cells when encapsulated into a device and implanted into an animal model. The further differentiated cells are able to function in vivo following the process of cryopreservation.
In addition to the current study, ViaCyte has an ongoing clinical trial that represents the first stem cell-based treatment for type 1 diabetes to enter clinical testing. ViaCyte's VC-01 product candidate, which is composed of human PEC-01 pancreatic progenitor cells macroencapsulated in the Encaptra drug delivery system, was shown to have the ability to regulate insulin production in animals.
"The tremendous progress in understanding pancreatic cell differentiation has enabled development of the first clinical-stage therapy with potential to effectively cure type 1 diabetes," said Paul Laikind, president and CEO of ViaCyte. "For a number of reasons we believe that the pancreatic progenitor cells that are the active component of the VC-01 product candidate are better suited for cell replacement therapy. However, the current work has expanded our fundamental knowledge of beta cell maturation and could lead to further advances for the field."
The findings were published in an article entitled "Insulin-Producing Endocrine Cells Differentiated In Vitro From Human Embryonic Stem Cells Function in Macroencapsulation Devices In Vivo," available in a recent edition of the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine.
