Biomanufacturing stem cell-derived islets to treat diabetes in custom cell culture vessels

加拿大在胰岛移植治疗1型糖尿病方面处于世界领先地位。该疗法包括更换胰腺的胰岛素产生细胞，而不是依赖于胰岛素注射来控制血糖。尽管可以达到精致的血糖，但大多数1型糖尿病患者无法获得这种治疗。主要的挑战是供体胰岛供应不足和移植后需要终身免疫抑制。在其他项目中，我们正在开发封装设备，以避免免疫抑制的需要。在目前的项目中，我们的目标是通过与圣戈班生命科学公司合作，大规模生产干细胞衍生的胰岛，以改善治疗性细胞的供应。圣戈班生产的含氟聚合物袋具有高透氧性，与其他培养系统相比具有多项优势。使用袋作为生物反应器有利于放大和自动化。通过闭合回路处理细胞可以降低将细菌或病毒引入培养物的风险。我们将共同开发适合具有挑战性的干细胞培养和胰腺分化的袋。最终，这些定制的袋子可以在加拿大的诊所或生物制造基地实施，以可靠地从干细胞中生产胰岛和其他治疗性类器官。

Canada is a worldwide leader in islet transplantation for the treatment of type 1 diabetes. The therapy consists in replacing the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas, rather than relying on insulin injections for blood glucose control. Despite the exquisite blood glucose that can be achieved, the therapy is not accessible to most people with type 1 diabetes. The main challenges are insufficient donor islet supply and the need for lifelong immune suppression after transplantation. In other projects, we are developing encapsulation devices to avoid the need for immunosuppression. In the current project, we aim to improve therapeutic cell supply by partnering with Saint-Gobain Life Sciences to mass produce stem cell-derived islets. Saint-Gobain manufactures fluoropolymer bags with high oxygen permeability which offer several advantages over other culture systems. The use of bags as bioreactor facilitates scale-up and automation. Handling of cells through closed circuits can reduce the risks of introducing bacteria or viruses into cultures. Together, we will develop bags that are tailored to challenging stem cell cultures and pancreatic differentiation. Ultimately, these tailored bags could be implemented at clinics or biomanufacturing sites in Canada to reliably produce islets and other therapeutic organoids from stem cells.