DIABETIC MAN WITH GENE-EDITED CELLS PRODUCES HIS OWN INSULIN—NO TRANSPLANT DRUGS REQUIRED

Summary from the TLDR newsletter

Scientists in Sweden and the US have helped a 42-year-old man with long-standing diabetes make his own insulin using gene-edited pancreatic cells. The patient was given donated islet cells that were genetically modified using CRISPR to prevent immune rejection. Donated islet cell transplants seem to be able to provide a self-sustained replacement supply of insulin for type 1 diabetics, but these transplants require lifelong immunosuppressive therapy to ensure the host's body doesn't attack the donated cells. The study, while preliminary, suggests that it is possible to avoid provoking an immune response.