SEAWEED and pigs could provide an alternative to human cell transplants for treating diabetes.
In type 1 diabetes, islet cells in the pancreas do not produce enough insulin to regulate blood glucose. Human islet cells can be transplanted, but there are too few donors, it costs around $300,000 a time, and patients have to take immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of their lives.
Now Living Cell Technologies of Auckland, New Zealand, is extracting neonatal islet cells from pigs. It coats the cells in alginate, a seaweed derivative that is permeable to glucose, insulin and oxygen, but blocks antibodies, so patients shouldn't need immunosuppressants. Human trials are due to begin in Russia in the next few months.
To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.