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DIABETES

Islet encapsulation therapy — racing towards the finish line?

Nature Reviews Endocrinology volume 14, pages 630–632 (2018)Cite this article

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Transplanting pancreatic islets in immune-isolating capsules might cure type 1 diabetes mellitus while avoiding the immunosuppression that is normally needed to protect transplanted islets from rejection. A recent study demonstrates that allogeneic islets can survive in capsules with improved biocompatibility without immunosuppression in non-human primates, bringing us one step closer to applying this therapy in humans.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Tejal A. Desai

  2. Department of Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Qizhi Tang

Authors
  1. Tejal A. Desai
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  2. Qizhi Tang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tejal A. Desai.

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Competing interests

T.A.D. is a founder and serves on the scientific advisory board for Encellin Inc. Q.T. is on the scientific advisory board for Encellin Inc.

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Desai, T.A., Tang, Q. Islet encapsulation therapy — racing towards the finish line?. Nat Rev Endocrinol 14, 630–632 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-018-0100-7

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