Developing artificial cells can help treat diabetes

The good news for diabetics is that scientists have developed artificial intelligence cells to help control the disease by automatically releasing insulin into the blood when glucose levels rise, no need for frequent injections and No pain.

Diabetes is one of lifestyle diseases. Mobility, an unhealthy diet and less exercise are some of the main causes of diabetes. Diagnosis, treatment and use of appropriate drugs help control the condition.

"Artificial beta cells" (ABCs) will mimic the function of cells that control glucose in the body - the beta cells that inhibit insulin of the pancreas. Loss or dysfunction of beta cells causes type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes.

ABCs cells can be injected into the patient's skin, and repeated after a few days, or with a disposable, painless skin patch. When injecting ABCs into diabetic rats due to lack of beta cells, blood sugar quickly normalized and remained for 5 days.

Diabetes is one of lifestyle diseases.

Zhen Gu, professor at North Carolina University (UNC), said: "Our current plan is to optimize and test these synthetic cells in larger sized animals, growing pieces. Artificial cell skin paste and finally tested on diabetics ".

Until now, insulin supplementation in tablet form remains a challenge because insulin is a large molecule that will be destroyed by digestive enzymes and acids before reaching the bloodstream. However, the main problem with current insulin treatment is that it is not possible to control blood sugar automatically and effectively as normal insulin-secreting pancreatic cells.

Pancreatic cell transplantation can solve that problem in some cases. However, the cost of cell transplants is very high, often the lack of donor cells, the use of immunosuppressive drugs, and often failure due to the destruction of transplanted cells.

Researchers, including University of North Carolina State University researchers (NC State), have come up with an ambitious approach: creating artificial cells that help pancreatic cells naturally activate dynamic . The ABCs are a simple version of a normal two-layer lipid membrane. The important change is that these cells are specially designed with insulin containers. Increasing the concentration of glucose in the blood leads to chemical changes in the coating, causing the capsule to contain the outer membrane of ABCs - thereby releasing insulin.

Zhaowei Chen said: "This is the first time to use a fusion process to supply insulin and restore insulin secretion cells to respond to glucose levels." ABCs cells respond quickly to Excess blood sugar in the test in mice with diabetes due to no beta cells in the laboratory.