Engineering challenges in the development of an encapsulated cell system for treatment of type 1 diabetes.
Implantation of glucose-responsive, insulin-secreting cells is promising in providing a treatment for type I diabetes, which is more effective, less invasive, and potentially less costly than conventional insulin injections. However, in spite of promising results with animal studies, a clinical product or therapeutic procedure based on encapsulated cells does not yet exist. This is because a number of barriers remain to be addressed, which include a source of functional cells, a stable, biocompatible membrane offering immune protection to the implant, a construct architecture ensuring cell viability and construct function, and the engineering of immune acceptance of the construct post-implantation. This article reviews these barriers and the current state-of-the-art, with special emphasis on the engineering challenges involved, and discusses possible ways to tackle the complex problems currently preventing this approach from reaching clinical practice.
Sambanis
A
A
School of Chemical Engineering and Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta 30332-0100, USA. athanassios.sambanis@che.gatech.edu
D000464:Alginates; D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D001698:Biomedical Engineering; D002214:Capsules; D017690:Cell Transplantation; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000601:surgery*; D020723:Glucuronic Acid; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; D006801:Humans; D007267:Injections; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism*; D000078790:Insulin Secretion; D016381:Islets of Langerhans Transplantation; D011107:Polylysine; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous
D000464:Alginates; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002214:Capsules; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; D007328:Insulin; D011107:Polylysine; D020723:Glucuronic Acid