Page 8 - ME Fall Newsetter 22

Community-Focused
Major Breakthrough in the Search for a Diabetes Cure
Mechanical Engineering Distinguished McKnight University Professor and Carl and Janet Kuhrmeyer Chair John Bichof led a study that created a new process for successfully storing pancreatic cells, enabling the potential for on- demand transplantation. This is a breakthrough discovery in cryopreservation, and a major step forward in curing diabetes.
Pancreatic islet cell transplantation involves taking cells from a healthy pancreas and transferring them to a diabetic recipient, where the cells begin to make and release insulin on their own. This approach has been limited, however, by the number of transplants needed — often two or three, each of which comes with risks associated with repeated surgical interventions and strong immunosuppression. But if
scientists were able to pool islets from multiple donors and safely store them for long periods of time, a single infusion could result in a successful treatment and, effectively, a cure for diabetes. So far, cryopreservation techniques have not been able to store islets effectively for more than 72 hours.
Bischof’s team, along with Dr. Erik Finger from the University of Minnesota Medical School, found a way to store these cells for up to nine months, thus revolutionizing the ability to provide pancreatic islet cell transplants without being on an extremely tight timeline.
By using a specialized cryomesh system, excess cryoprotective fluid was removed, which allowed rapid cooling and rewarming without ice formation or toxicity. The new method demonstrated high cell survival
rates even after nine months of storage. This suggests a powerful means of improving the islet supply chain, allowing pooling of islets from multiple donors over time and improving transplantation outcomes.
“Our work provides the first
islet cryopreservation protocol that simultaneously achieves
high viability and function in
a clinically scalable protocol,” Bischof said. “This method could revolutionize the supply chain
for islet isolation, allocation, and storage before transplant. Through pooling cryopreserved islets
prior to transplant from multiple pancreases, the method will not only cure more patients, but also make better use of the precious gift of donor pancreases.”
Photo: Lasers rapidly rewarm crypreserved droplets of islets. Credit: Zhan, L., Rao, J.S., Sethia, N. et al.
8 ME News Fall 2022