Encapsulated hESC Derived Islets as a Transplantation Therapy for Diabetes without Immunosuppression

Islet loss or dysfunction is the hallmark of diabetes. All patients with Type I autoimmune diabetes and 25% of patients with Type II diabetes require insulin treatment. Because insulin therapy is not sufficient to stave off the serious medical consequences of diabetes, islet transplantation has been has been evaluated as a therapy. There are major obstacles to widespread application of a cell based therapy for diabetes however; the scarcity of human islets and the need for chronic immunosuppression following transplantation. We have investigated cellular encapsulation as a means of concealing transplanted cells from the immune system, thereby alleviating the need for immunosuppression. Previously we determined that a durable encapsulation device protected murine islets from both allograft rejection and autoimmune disease in the NOD model of Type I diabetes. In the present study encapsulated hESC derived pancreatic epithelium was transplanted subcutaneously into mice. The data establish encapsulation of hESC derived pancreatic epithelium as a promising strategy for providing a widely available, non-immunosuppressive, and minimally invasive transplantation therapy for diabetes.