http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=3610

After successfully demonstrating that a groundbreaking treatment strategy
can reverse type 1 diabetes in animal studies, the FDA has given the
go-ahead for researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to
begin a phase I trial evaluating the treatment in humans.

The FDA approved the start of a clinical trial to evaluate the safety and
feasibility of the treatment. The trial is expected to begin sometime this
spring and will include at least 15 patients over the age of 18, with type 1
diabetes.

The treatment involves specific modification of dendritic cells. University
of Pittsburgh researcher Dr Massimo Trucco and his team found that by
removing dendritic cells from the blood during a two-to four-hour procedure,
some 20 million dendritic cells can be harvested.

Dendritic cells are cells found in the bloodstream and normally function as
one of nature's most efficient immune function cells. The cells identify
foreign substances such as cancer cells, process these foreign substances,
and then jumpstart the immune response by bringing these foreign substances
to the attention of T cells.

Once harvested, researchers then combine the dendritic cells with specific
blockers of molecules, known as CD40, CD80 and CD86, all of which can be
synthesized in a laboratory. This treatment strategy was found to inhibit
the interaction and destructive effect of T cells on the insulin-producing
beta cells of the pancreas, a process that is known to be a critical part of
how diabetes occurs.

Subcutaneous injection of dendritic cells into the abdominal/pelvic area
near the pancreas and lymph nodes, blocks the T cells as they travel to the
pancreas to destroy beta cells.

"We did this in mice, giving them six injections over the course of several
weeks. The injections interrupted the T cell and beta cell interaction,
allowing the beta cells in the pancreas to regenerate. This enabled the
pancreas of the mice to begin producing insulin again," said Dr Trucco. "The
injections proved capable of stopping this vicious cycle, and through this
process curing type 1 diabetes in a mouse."