Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) have reached a significant advance in the fight against type 1 diabetes. Using an innovative hydrogel that supports insulin-producing cells once transplanted into the body, the team successfully regulated blood sugar levels in diabetic mice. This experimental success goes beyond conventional transplantation methods and opens the door to developing a bioartificial pancreas that could eliminate the need for insulin injections. The results, achieved within the European VANGUARD project, are published in the journal Trends in Biotechnology.
Type 1 diabetes happens when the immune system destroys the insulin-producing β cells in the pancreas, causing blood sugar levels to become chronically unbalanced. People with this condition must inject insulin every day for life. Transplanting pancreatic islets—small clusters of insulin- and other hormone-producing cells—can temporarily restore blood sugar control and eliminate the need for insulin injections.
However, this method is limited by the shortage of donors and a high risk of rejection. In addition, when islets are infused into the liver - the standard transplant site - they suffer from inflammation, loss of their natural support matrix, and poor blood supply, all of which compromise their survival.
A team from UNIGE and HUG, led by Ekaterine Berishvili, Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery and at the Diabetes Centre, Faculty of Medicine, UNIGE, and Head of the Cell Isolation and Transplantation Laboratory at the Transplantation Service, Geneva University Hospitals (HUG), has developed an innovative hydrogel called Amniogel, designed to overcome these obstacles.
Derived from the human amniotic membrane—the innermost layer of the membranes surrounding the fetus, easily obtained from the placenta after birth—it restores survival signals lost during islet isolation and allows a microvascular network to self-assemble inside the construct before transplantation. Once implanted, this pre-formed network connects with the host's blood supply, supporting durable graft function. In laboratory tests, the gel also slows the migration of cytotoxic immune cells, suggesting it may help shield the graft early after transplantation.
Normal blood sugar levels for at least 100 days
“This gel creates a protective, natural-like environment in which we embed pancreatic islets together with vessel-forming cells. Before transplantation, those cells self-organize into a network of microvessels surrounding the islets, so the graft arrives pre-vascularized,” explains Ekaterine Berishvili. Successfully transplanted into diabetic mice, this construct—thin, disc-shaped grafts approximately 9 mm in diameter—was able to maintain normal blood sugar levels for at least 100 days, the full duration of the follow-up, outperforming both islets transplanted alone and constructs without engineered vasculature. Amniogel is also produced through a GMP-compatible process, a key requirement for future clinical translation.
Approaching clinical application
"This experimental evidence represents a decisive step toward the development of a functional bioartificial pancreas," the researcher said with enthusiasm. "The next step, in order to consider a clinical application, will be to produce larger grafts—or a greater number of them—to meet the requirements for use in humans." Moreover, Amniogel could be used to house many other types of cells, thus paving the way for cell transplantation therapies beyond diabetes.
This bioartificial pancreas project, recognized by the European Commission’s Innovation Radar, was developed as part of the European VANGUARD project, led by UNIGE.