Our research group focuses on generating insulin-producing islets derived from stem cells. During a 1-month differentiation protocol, stem cells are subjected to specific cues that turn them into stem cell islets (SC islets). After this process, we test the cell clusters that were generated for safety and functionality.
Impact
Our aim is to develop a novel therapy with these SC islets, which will hopefully in the future help patients with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). The SC islets will be used to replace the patient’s islets that were lost due to the autoimmune reaction that occurs in T1D. This will greatly improve the patient’s lives.
reNEW research
We are already able to produce functional insulin-producing islets. Protocols are continuously being improved to increase efficiency. The next step will be to scale up the production, so sufficient numbers of SC-islets can be generated that are needed to translate our research into a clinically viable product.
Image description
This image shows stem cells after having been subjected to the differentiation protocol. This staining allows us to distinguish target cell clusters (islets, SYP+, green) from non-target cell clusters (CK19+, red).
Credits
Lizanne Daleman, Research Technician, Bahareh Rajaei, Postdoc, Islet lab (Eelco de Koning and Françoise Carlotti lab), reNEW Leiden.
