Author: Dana Bolysbek
Editor: Kigbaeva Kamila
The Jonas Salk Institute for Biological Research (California) has found a way to combat type 1 diabetes. Recall that type 1 diabetes appears due to the massive death of cells in the islets of the pancreas that produce insulin. These cells die due to the constant attack of the immune system.
At the moment, type 1 diabetes is treated by implantation of a miniature pancreas analogue grown from donor islet cells into the patient's body. In order to prevent the immune system from destroying these cells, it is suppressed with special drugs (immunosuppressants).
Downs and colleagues found the most effective ways to protect artificial islet analogs from rejection without using drugs that suppress immunity. So, the study carried out by scientists has shown that for this purpose it is enough to process the culture of stem cells with a large amount of interferon gamma, which is one of the proteins of the immune system that plays an important role in the `` management '' of the inflammatory process and the fight against cancer cells.
Scientists have found that interferon gamma causes the islet cells to produce large amounts of the PD-L1 protein. This protein is a kind of "stop signal" that helps the immune system to separate its cells from foreign ones.
Studies in mice implanted with gamma-interferon-treated pancreatic analogs have shown that the grafts successfully engrafted without being attacked by the immune system. Moreover, this effect persisted throughout the life of the rodents. According to scientists, this study will be a breakthrough in the field of transplantation.
Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-08/si-fic081720.php
