(Press-News.org)
Dual Breakthroughs in Diabetes Cure and Organ Regeneration Redefine Medical Frontiers
NANJING, China – In a revolutionary one-two punch, Chinese research teams have successfully engineered the human spleen into a living bioreactor capable of curing diabetes and growing functional organs – achievements published back-to-back in Science Translational Medicine and Diabetes this month. This convergence of discoveries positions the long-underestimated spleen as a game-changing platform for regenerative medicine.
The Spleen Solution: From Biological Filter to Life-Saving Factory
Once considered expendable, the spleen now emerges as the body’s ideal regenerative site thanks to three innate advantages:
Ample Real Estate: Porous structure hosts billions of transplanted cells
Nutrient Superhighway: Direct blood supply mimics natural organ development
Low-Risk Adaptability: Can be reprogrammed without disrupting vital functions
Breakthrough #1: The "Living Shield" Diabetes Cure
(Published in Diabetes, Nanjing University-led)
Facing the 60% failure rate of conventional liver islet transplants, Prof. Dong Lei’s team developed a bio-hybrid defense system:
"Invisibility Cloak": Coats insulin-producing islets with liver cells that evade blood’s destructive response
"Survival Scaffold": Fibroblasts create instant infrastructure for cell growth
Results:
Diabetic mice maintained normal blood sugar for > 1 year – longest ever achieved
Required 40% fewer donor cells – critical amid global organ shortages
"We’ve turned the spleen into a nurturing home for islets," said Prof. Dong.
Breakthrough #2: The Universal Bioreactor
(Published in Science Translational Medicine, multi-institutional team)
Taking the concept further, Profs. Dong Lei and Jian Xiao engineered nanoparticles to convert the spleen into a plug-and-play organ nursery:
Reprogramming Kit: Nanoparticles remodel spleen environment by:
Building extracellular matrix scaffolding
Accelerating blood vessel growth
Suppressing immune attacks
Landmark Achievement:
Human islets successfully matured in reprogrammed monkey spleens – a crucial step toward cross-species organ solutions.
Proven Versatility: The Spleen’s Regeneration Portfolio
This platform has now regenerated multiple organs:
Liver functions in mice (Science Advances 2020)
Thyroid tissues in animal models (Advanced Science 2024)
Human insulin production in primates (2025 breakthrough)
Why This Changes Everything
"This isn’t just about diabetes," emphasizes Prof. Jian Xiao. "We’ve created a minimally invasive platform where patients could one day grow custom organs from their own cells." The approach’s advantages are transformative:
On-Demand Organs: Potential to grow patient-specific organs via iPSCs
No Major Surgery: B-ultrasound-guided delivery replaces invasive transplants
Solve Donor Shortages: Cross-species compatibility demonstrated
The Road Ahead
As 537 million diabetes patients await cure, this radical spleen-based strategy proves a profound truth: "In discarded ground, grand purpose is found." – Redefining the overlooked organ into medicine's newest frontier.
END
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