Long-term effects of the implantation of human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells for type 1 diabetes mellitus / 中华内分泌代谢杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the long-term effect of the implantation of human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (HUC-MSCs) for type 1 diabetes mellitus.Methods:Fifteen patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus were treated with HUC-MSCs from September 2009 to December 2011 at Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, the Second People′s Hospital. Patients were followed-up for 10 years and the parameters were collected including fasting blood glucose, HbA 1C, mean amplitude of glycemic excursions (MAGE), fasting C-peptide, daily insulin doses and glutamic acid decarboxylase antibody (GADA). Results:Among 15 patients, 1 patient (6.67%) was found with breast cancer. All patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus decreased daily insulin doses due to frequent hypoglycemia one week later. Six months later, 4 patients (26.67%) stopped insulin injection. While among the 4 patients, 1 patient (6.67%) had not yet used insulin until today and GADA was negative, the other 3 patients (20.00%) restarted insulin within 3-5 years after implantation with significantly less daily insulin doses [(18.00±1.00)U vs (29.00±1.73)U, P<0.01]. The remaining 11 patients (73.33%) with type 1 diabetes mellitus who did not stop insulin also had significantly lower daily insulin doses [(18.09±0.83)U vs (29.64±0.89)U, P<0.01]. The level of MAGE was signicantly decreased compared to those of pre-implantation [(6.14±0.25)mmol/L vs (9.72±0.32)mmol/L, P <0.01], while fasting C-peptide level was significantly improved[(0.91±0.03)nmol/L vs (0.11±0.01)nmol/L, P <0.01]. There were no significant differences in fasting blood glucose and HbA 1C before and after implantation. Conclusions:The implantation of HUC-MSCs for the treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus can restore the function of islet β cells, decrease daily insulin doses and reduce blood glucose fluctuations in the long term. Although precise mechanisms are unknown, this therapy is expected to be an effective strategy for treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus.