A groundbreaking study published in the New England Journal of Medicine reports that gene-edited islet cells have survived for 12 weeks inside a man with type 1 diabetes without any immunosuppressive medication. The trial, led by investigators at Uppsala University Hospital, tested whether hypoimmune-engineered islet cells could evade rejection and avoid the need for toxic immune suppression.
The study involved a single 42-year-old man with a 37-year history of type 1 diabetes. Islets from a deceased donor pancreas were isolated and edited using CRISPR-Cas12b to knock out genes that trigger an immune response. The cells were then transplanted into the patient’s muscle without any immunosuppressants.
The results showed strong immune attacks against the residual wild-type cells, but surprisingly, the hypoimmune cells triggered no T-cell activation or antibody production. The patient continued to require daily insulin therapy, but with a significant reduction in blood glucose levels and improved quality of life.
The study’s findings are promising for type 1 diabetes treatment and may eventually lead to a curative beta-cell replacement without systemic immune suppression.
Source: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-08-gene-islet-transplant-human-functional.html