Could Stem Cell Therapy Successfully Treat Type 2 Diabetes?¹

Human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (BM-MSCs) administration has been an emerging type 2 diabetes (T2D) treatment because of its immunomodulatory properties and regenerative ability to stimulate pancreas recovery. To evaluate the efficacy of autologous administration of BM-MSCs, 30 patients with T2D were randomised to perform either intravenous or dorsal pancreatic artery infusion in an investigation. The results confirmed that both administrations had no significant difference in efficacy in patients.  Patients with T2D duration <10 years and a body mass index <23 kg/m² demonstrated a short-term reduction in haemoglobin A1c and fasting blood glucose levels. Duration of T2D is also found to be associated with BM-MSCs phenotype alteration. These findings suggested that human BM-MSCs could represent a promising stem cell therapy for the treatment in T2D patients with a duration <10 years and without obesity whereas earlier stem cell intervention after diagnosis is needed.

References

1. Nguyen LT, et al. Stem Cells Transl Med. 2021;10.1002/sctm.20-0506.