Grant: Doctoral: Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships

Diabetes is a chronic disease causing long-term problems in patients' kidneys, eyes, nerves and almost all other organs. Studies have shown that about 2.2 million people are suffering from diabetes in Canada. Unfortunately, 3.8 million people in the world die annually as a result of diabetes or its related complications. The conventional treatment for type 1 diabetic patients is repeated daily injections of insulin which is practically difficult and yet not efficient enough. Transplantation of insulin-producing islet cells of pancreas, requiring only a minor surgery, is a promising way to replace the lost insulin secretion in these patients. However, the success of this procedure depends on lifelong use of immunosuppressive drugs; the side effects of which are a major concern not only for transplant recipients, but also for physicians, caregivers and researchers. The aim of this study is to overcome this problem by developing a novel local shield for transplanted insulin producing cells to protect them from host's immune system. The efficacy of this graft will be investigated on an animal model of type 1 diabetes (T1D) which shows all the characteristics of a typical human T1D. The main idea of this study is adapted from natural mechanism by which the fetus is protected within mother's body against rejection by her immune system during pregnancy. Considering that T1D is a serious disease with many medical, social and economic challenges, this project will demonstrate the benefits of a local immunosuppressive factor on improving the islet transplantation outcome. The findings of the proposed research would most likely lead to a new therapeutic option through which diabetic patients, particularly children, could receive islet grafts from donors without being concerned about the side effects of toxic systemic immunosuppressive drugs routinely used after transplantation.