Nanotech Vaccine Successfully Cures Type-1 Diabetes in Mice

By Alessandra Calderin Posted 04.08.2010 at 5:04 pm 11 Comments

Laboratory Mouse Rama (CC licensed)

An innovative nanotech "vaccine" has been proven to cure type 1 diabetes in mice, and paves the way to do the same for humans. A dose of therapeutic nanoparticles given to diabetic mice restored healthy sugar levels in the rodents.

The nanoparticles making up the vaccine, thousands of times smaller than the cells they act on, are coated with protein fragments that suppress the autoimmune response that's characteristic of diabetes. Most importantly, unlike existing treatments for autoimmune disorders, the particles do all this without compromising the rest of the immune system.

In autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes, the body basically wages war on itself. "Essentially, there is an internal tug-of-war between aggressive T-cells that want to cause the disease [by destroying useful beta cells in the pancreas], and weaker T-cells that want to stop it from occurring," said Dr. Pere Santamaria, the leader of the project. The nanovaccine helps to suppress the immune attacks by blocking the stimulus that causes the aggressive T-cells to attack.

"The potential that nanoparticle vaccine therapy holds in reversing the immune attack without generally suppressing the immune system is significant," said Dr. Teodora Staeva of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, which funded the research. "Dr. Santamaria's research has provided both insight into pathways for developing new immunotherapies and proof-of-concept of a specific therapy that exploits these pathways for preventing and reversing type 1 diabetes."

The technology behind the nanovaccine, following further research, may prove widely applicable to treat other autoimmune diseases, like arthritis and multiple sclerosis, as well.

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11 Comments

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ScottieD

04/08/10 at 5:08 pm

Nice!!!

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amnite

04/08/10 at 8:07 pm

Hope They Hurry Up. I'd Like To See This Cured, My Dads Side Is All Cursed With It And Would Be Fabulous. Also Primary Ambliososis(I Butchered That Word)
*~amnite~*

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Calcen

04/08/10 at 8:11 pm

cool, we will probably have to wait a few years for this to get on the market though.

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Beeblebrox

04/08/10 at 10:36 pm

Great! Now, where do I go to volunteer for human testing? Preferably before I go blind and/or start losing bits...

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Shaolo

04/09/10 at 1:54 am

Are there any citations for this article? Newsletter, press release, any details regarding how the "vaccine" works to enter the cells or flip off the "molecular switches"?

Is this really a vaccine or is it a treatment?

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soylent

04/09/10 at 5:48 am

Awww, It's a tribble!

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randeg

04/09/10 at 7:16 am

This news item is giving much hope because if the new technology on the nanocaccine works for mice, then could the version for humans be far behind? I keep my fingers crossed because this will stem the increasing tide of this uninvited condition that could wreck havoc to one's body.

Evelyn Guzman
www.free-symptoms-of-diabetes-alert.com (If you want to visit, just click but if it doesn’t work, copy and paste it onto your browser.)

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denisengo

04/09/10 at 10:23 am

that is the fattest mouse I have ever seen.

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Shaolo

04/09/10 at 3:50 pm

If anyone is interested, BusinessWeek has the full article: www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/637852.html

You can also see the Drs. Page here:
medicine.ucalgary.ca/research/chairs/santamaria/cv
and here:
www.jmdrc.org/index.php?page=faculty/indmember.php&indid=1

And the Immunology paper here:
www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WSP-4YT72MJ-1&_user=10&_coverDate=04%2F08%2F2010&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=browse&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=e42fedc9cf3a506e45db11a31ad4c6fb

The paper is $31.50 w/o a sub to "Immunity".

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jbarth

04/13/10 at 10:16 am

If anyone gets any information about trial testing of this please let me know. I was in class when i read this n basically shouted out loud. Thanks everybody

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Davey

02/05/12 at 11:22 am

I have been coping with type 1 for 41 years. My sister as well has it. I am 51 now and have been successful in keeping my eyes,kidneys in good condition. I am having trouble with my legs and nuropathy has settled in. I would like to offer myself as a test subject.
I have a A1C of 7 which is where i feel the best but it would be so nice to live out the rest of my life with no needles (7 a day) or blood tests (10 times a day) and feel confident that I would not slide into a low ever again,
thank you for your amazing research:)