Type 1 Diabetes Treatment: Sugar Molecules Protect Beta Cells from Immune System

Scientific advances in one field don't always translate to treating other conditions. However, a Mayo Clinic research team found promising potential for dealing with type 1 diabetes by studying sugar molecules on cancer cells.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder where the immune system mistakenly attacks pancreatic beta cells that produce insulin. This affects around 1.3 million people in the U.S., and causes are both genetic and environmental.

The Mayo Clinic team re-purposed a cancer mechanism to develop a therapy for type 1 diabetes. Cancer cells coat themselves with sialic acid to evade immune detection. The researchers discovered that applying this sugar molecule to beta cells helps them avoid immune attacks in preclinical models of type 1 diabetes.

"Our research shows it's possible to modify beta cells so they don't trigger an immune response," says immunology investigator Virginia Shapiro, Ph.D., the principal researcher of the study published in Journal of Clinical Investigation.

A few years ago, Dr. Shapiro demonstrated that an enzyme called ST8Sia6 increases sialic acid on tumor cells' surfaces, making them appear harmless to the immune system. The team wondered if this approach could protect normal beta cells from immune attacks in type 1 diabetes.

The researchers tested their theory using a spontaneous autoimmune model of type 1 diabetes. They engineered beta cells to produce ST8Sia6 enzyme

In preclinical tests, these engineered cells prevented the development of type 1 diabetes by protecting beta cells from destruction and showed that the enzyme generates immune tolerance specifically without affecting overall immune function.

Current treatments for type 1 diabetes rely on synthetic insulin or pancreatic islet cell transplants, which require immunosuppressive drugs. Dr. Shapiro aims to use these modified beta cells in future transplant therapies to avoid systemic immunosuppression.

"Ultimately, we hope to create transplantable cells that wouldn't need immune suppression," says Dr. Shapiro. "While still early stages, this study is one step towards enhancing patient care."