Our Work
Replacing the defective islets in diabetes patients has been a long-standing goal of David Sutherland and Bernhard Hering at the Diabetes Institute for Immunology and Transplantation at the University of Minnesota.
David Sutherland pioneered pancreas transplantation at the University of Minnesota more than three decades ago. Today, it’s a well accepted procedure, often conducted in combination with kidney transplantation in diabetes patients with end-stage kidney disease. In fact, more than 20,000 patients have received a pancreas transplant.
In 1974, David was the first to perform islet cell transplantation. Since new immunosuppressive drugs became available in the mid-90s, islet cell transplantation has substantially expanded. Currently, many clinical trials are ongoing. Diabetes patients who have difficulty managing their glucose levels, and those who suffer from complications of low glucose levels like diabetic coma (so-called “brittle” diabetics, or patients with hypoglycemia unawareness) have shown substantial benefit from an islet cell transplant. The longest survivor in more recent clinical trials at the Diabetes Institute is now more than seven years after transplantation, and is no longer on insulin
Because islet cell transplantation has proven successful, the issue of islet cell supply has come forward. The number of donors available will never meet the growing demand in diabetes patients. Therefore, the search for another source was initiated—and discovered—in pigs. Among other reasons, the pig has been selected because they are easy to breed (generation time is about a year) and produce large litters. Pig insulin was also the first source of insulin used by diabetes patients, in the 1920s. Many studies have been initiated to find the best immunosuppressive regimen to prevent rejection of a pig islet transplant by the recipient, the diabetic patient. A solution came out of the Diabetes Institute at the University of Minnesota.
The group, led by Dr. Bernhard Hering, transplanted pig islets in diabetic monkeys, the animal model closest to the human situation in a diabetic patient. Using an innovative new immunosuppressive protocols they achieved prolonged reversal of diabetes without the need of additional insulin, for more than six months—an unprecedented result. This result opened a new way, namely to proceed to a trial in patients with diabetes, which proved to be a turning point in pig islet replacement therapy.
To take this finding from research to reality for diabetes patients, pig donors need to be raised under ultra-clean conditions, in accordance with the guidelines of regulatory authorities. This need led to the creation of Spring Point Project, which has built and currently operates a biosecure facility to raise high health pigs in compliance with governmental regulations.
The first pigs should be ready for clinical trials by 2009, when the preclinical research is completed. The Phase I/II clinical trials are expected to last for a minimum of two years, and demonstrate how well pig islet cells work in humans to reduce dependence on insulin.
Spring Point Project fully depends on philanthropic gifts as the primary source of funding to operate the facility and raise high health pigs. A total of $26 million is necessary to bring us through the first clinical trials. Please Give
