How insulin-making beta cells are lost in type 1 diabetes
Studying the mechanisms of initiation and progression of Beta cell death in T1D
This project makes patient-derived, blood-vessel-lined mini-pancreases on a chip to see how immune cells from people with type 1 diabetes attack insulin-producing beta cells.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Scripps Research Institute, the NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (La Jolla, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11250020 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
From my perspective as a patient, researchers will turn blood cells from three people with type 1 diabetes and three healthy donors into stem cells and then grow the different parts of a tiny, vascularized pancreas on a microfluidic chip. They will make insulin-producing endocrine cells, blood vessels, tissue macrophages, and supporting fibroblasts so the mini-organ is matched to each donor. The team will also create clonal CD4 and CD8 T cells with known antigen specificity using CRISPR/Cas9 editing and TCR transfer to represent immune attackers. Each cell type and the assembled micro-organ will be tested for function (for example insulin release and vessel permeability) and then exposed to immune cells and inflammatory signals to watch how beta cells are injured.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are people with type 1 diabetes willing to donate blood or cells for research, plus healthy volunteers who can provide comparison samples.
Not a fit: People seeking immediate changes to their medical care or those unwilling to provide biological samples would not directly benefit from this lab-based project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could reveal how immune cells destroy beta cells and point to targets for treatments that prevent or slow type 1 diabetes.
How similar studies have performed: Previous organ-on-chip and iPSC-derived islet work has provided useful insights, but making fully patient-matched vascularized micro-pancreases combined with engineered patient T cells is largely novel.
Where this research is happening
La Jolla, United States
- Scripps Research Institute, the — La Jolla, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Teyton, Luc — Scripps Research Institute, the
- Study coordinator: Teyton, Luc
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.