Towards drug-free cell transplants for diabetics

Representing Edmonton region at this year’s national Sanofi-Aventis Biotalent Challenge (SABC) by no means marks the end of research into a cure for diabetes by Victoria Tian, Connie Le and Kathryn Chevalier.

The three friends from Old Scona Academic High School are determined to see where their project leads and will continue to work on it with their mentor, Dr. Gina Rayat, of the Alberta Diabetes Institute, after they all graduate later this year.

They are investigating the use of transplanted islet cells from newborn pigs in the treatment of type 1 diabetes. The insulin-producing cells show enormous promise as a long-term diabetics treatment but the need to complement the cell transplant with strong immunosuppressive drugs excludes many sufferers, particularly children.

The Old Scona trio set out to prove that combining the pig islet cells with bone marrow cells and immunoprotective sertoli cells would improve survival of the islet cells by protecting them from an immune response.

The idea was tested on mice.

“If you transplant just the islet cells with no immunosuppressive drugs, the mice die immediately because of the immune response,” said 18-year-oldVictoria. “The mice we injected with the bone marrow-sertoli co-culture were able to survive and function for 68 days, which is a very promising indication that the co-culture has a protective and nurturing effect on the islets.”

The next step is to find a method of encapsulating the bone marrow and sertoli with the islet cells so that there is a constant presence producing a prolonged beneficial effect.

“Dr. Rayat invited us to continue working with her on the project and we were all really excited to take her up on the offer,” said Connie, 17.

“The SABC has been a life-changing experience for all of us,” added Victoria. “It really opens your eyes to learn first-hand what research is all about – how interesting and enjoyable it is and the miracles that researchers can perform.”

“If I wasn’t sure before, this experience has really helped me to make up my mind about pursuing a career in medical research,” said 17-year-old Kathryn. Her two friends agree and, like Kate, plan to continue their studies at the University of Alberta.