CRISPR'd stem cells show promise in treating diabetes in mice

The results of a new mouse study suggest that the gene editing technique known as CRISPR could one day be combined with stem cell technology to help treat diabetes. Researchers derived a specific type of stem cell from a patient with a rare form of type 1 diabetes. The stem cells were then edited to remove the faulty gene that caused the disorder. The edited stem cells then grew into insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells, and were transplanted into mice that were engineered to have diabetes. Compared to diabetic mice who were injected with unedited beta cells, the mice that received the CRISPR'd cells were able to control their blood sugar levels for longer and even reversed their diabetes due to more efficient insulin production from the transplanted beta cells. The therapy only used stem cells from one patient, and will still need to be studied in humans to test its viability.