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Implanting insulin-producing cells into the eye could help treat diabetes
Diabetes is one of the most pressing health concerns of our time, and now Swedish scientists have demonstrated a new potential way to manage the disease. It turns out the eye might be a useful place to implant insulin-producing cells to control blood sugar levels.
In patients with type 1 diabetes, the immune system mistakenly attacks the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, leaving the body unable to regulate blood sugar levels and leading to a host of health problems.
A promising emerging therapy involves growing new pancreatic cells from a patient’s stem cells, loading them into a device and implanting it into the body. Human clinical trials have shown success with this, but there’s a major catch – the immune system recognizes the device as foreign and rejects it. Immunosuppressant medications can counter that, but also leave the patient vulnerable to infections and other diseases.
Now, scientists at KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Karolinska Institutet have demonstrated a way to avoid rejection of the implant. While previous studies have implanted the device under the skin, for the new study the team placed it in the eye. As unpleasant as that sounds, the main advantage is that the eye doesn’t contain the kinds of immune cells that respond badly to the implant. Plus, it’s close to vasculature that allows the insulin to quickly reach the bloodstream, and scientists can easily monitor its function just by looking into the eye.
In their tests, the researchers developed a wedge-shaped device, measuring 240 micrometers long, and implanted it into the anterior chamber of the eye – the space between the cornea and the iris – in mice. The device contained micro-organs in the form of pancreatic islets, which produce insulin.
“We designed the medical device to hold living mini-organs in a micro-cage and introduced the use of a flap door technique to avoid the need for additional fixation,” said Wouter van der Wijngaart, co-corresponding author of the study.
In mouse tests, the team showed that the device was able to stay in place for the several-month duration of the experiments. The cells quickly integrated with the blood vessels in the eye and were able to function normally for the duration as well.
This proof-of-concept study shows that the eye is a promising location for cell-based therapies to treat diabetes, as well as other diseases.
“Ours is a first step towards advanced medical microdevices that can both localize and monitor the function of cell grafts,” said Anna Herland, lead author of the study. “Our design will enable future integration and use of more advanced device functions such as integrated electronics or drug release.”
注释：
pancrea: n
表示"胰, 胰腺"，如：Chewing gum is regarded as a sham feeding.It can stimulate the nerve of digestive system, promote intestine and stomach hormone to release and increase saliva and pancrea to secrete。嚼口香糖认为是一种假饲法,刺激消化系统的神经,触动肠胃激素的释放,增加唾液和胰腺分泌物的产量。
Immunosuppressant: n
表示" 免疫抑制剂"，means "a drug that lowers the body's normal immune response"，如：The prognosis may be improved after cot-tin and immunosuppressant therapy. 激素及免疫抑制剂治疗可明显改善部分患者的预后。
vasculature: n
表示" [解]脉管系统"，如：Preservation of the vasculature ensures tissue viability and more rapid resolution of the tissue edema that occurs postoperatively. 脉管系统的保留可确保组织存活和术后组织水肿尽快消退。
anterior: n
表示" 前面的；前部的；较早的"，means "of or near the head end or toward the front plane of a body"，如：Then inspect the anterior shoulders and shoulder girdles for symmetry, noting any atrophy, swelling, or deformity.
然后检查前面的肩膀和与之相对的另一边看是否有萎缩，肿胀或变形。
cornea: n
表示" 角膜"，如：Light enters the eye through the cornea. 光通过角膜进入眼睛。
iris: n
表示" 虹膜"，如：The opening of the iris is called the pupil. 虹膜的开口处叫做瞳孔。
islet: n
表示" 小岛"，means "a small island"，如：You can find whole regiments of birds on the islet. 在那个小岛上你可以看到成群的鸟。
中文简要说明：
糖尿病是我们这个时代最迫切的健康问题之一，其中的第一型糖尿病是一种免疫系统疾病，患者的免疫系统会错误地攻击胰脏中的胰岛素生成细胞，导致胰岛素不足。如何回避免疫系统的错误攻击呢?瑞典科学家提出一种非常另类的新办法，将胰岛素生成细胞植入眼睛里，由眼睛担任胰脏的功能。
新阿特拉斯(New Altas)报导，瑞典皇家理工学院(Kungliga Tekniska högskolan ,KTH)和卡罗林斯卡学院(Karolinska Institutet)的科学团队持续在研究，如何让胰岛素细胞不被免疫细胞发现的方法，他们先发明一种人工研究植入物(也可称人工器官)，里头含有胰岛细胞可产生胰岛素。
之后，他们将这个人工器官植入皮下，但是容易出现排斥问题，身体会抗拒这个外来物。而在新的研究中，团队设计出更小的人工器官，小到只有240微米(1微米=0.0001公分)，这使得它可以植入眼睛中，严格来说，是植入在小鼠的眼前房(角膜和虹膜之间的空间)。
选择眼睛的主要优点，是眼睛内部不容易出现发炎反应，也就不会惊动免疫细胞。另外，它靠近血管系统，使胰岛素可以更快速到达血液，而且科学家只需观察眼睛，就可以轻松监测其功能。
研究论文作者范-德-维恩加特(Wouter van der Wijngaart) 表示：「在小鼠测试中，人工器官都安稳的在固定位置，器官里的细胞很快就与眼睛的血管融合，并且持续正常发挥作用。」
另一个作者安娜•哈兰（Anna Herland）的重点，则放在眼内植入技术，她说：「我们的技术是迈向先进医疗微型设备的第一步，设备既可以定位，又可以监测细胞植入物的功能。未来还有更多的发挥空间。」
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