Stem Cell Therapy for Diabetes

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Stem Cell Therapy for Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes Technology #016-050-sen Categories Biotechnology Medical Therapeutic Researchers Sabyasachi Sen Descriptions Patients with type 2 diabetes have high blood sugar levels due to inadequate insulin production. This could be coupled with insulin resistance and inflammation. High blood sugar levels over a long term can lead to blindness, kidney failure, heart disease and nerve disease which commonly lead to amputations. Overweight and obese people have a much higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those with a healthy body weight. One component of the chronic impact from both diabetes and obesity is an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) leading to chronic oxidative stress. Usually, antioxidant enzymes called superoxide dismutase (SOD) work to decrease ROS inside a cell which may be lacking in a chronic high glucose state of diabetes and obesity. Our treatment increases anti-oxidant inside the cell, where needed. Our therapy uses genetically engineered fat-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to increase anti-oxidant inside a stem cell and deliver that stem cell containing an extra pair of anti-oxidant enzyme, SOD2, to the inflamed fat depots. This suppresses fat cell -mediated inflammation and improves insulin resistance as evidenced by improved glucose tolerance. The treatment is validated in an obese diabetic mouse model.  SOD2-treated mice had improved glucose tolerance and reduced body weight. Patent Protection Provisional Patent Application Filed Publications Genetic modification of human mesenchymal stem cells helps to reduce adiposity and improve glucose tolerance in an obese diabetic mouse model Stem Cell Research and Therapy, 2015; 6: 242. Applications Diabetes  and obesity therapeutics Advantages Avoids the multiple co-morbidities of a bariatric surgery. Directly targets insufficiency of antioxidants, intra-cellularly. Reduces inflammation Improves glucose tolerance test Reduces body weight