Shanghai, March 19, 2026 (Xinhua) – Chinese researchers have achieved medical progress by using pancreatic islet-like tissue extracted from endoderm stem cells (E-islet) to restore the function of pancreatic islets in patients with diabetes, which may provide a new treatment option for millions of people around the world.
A study published in the journal “Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology” showed that a team based in Shanghai successfully treated three patients with type 1 diabetes using “E-islet.” This innovative treatment shows the potential effectiveness of such approaches in treating this severe chronic disease, which traditionally requires lifelong insulin injections.
“Our approach is like replacing a ‘part’ of a patient’s body,” said Cheng Xin, corresponding co-author of the paper from the Center of Excellence in Molecular Cell Sciences at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Traditional methods use pluripotent stem cells, the developmental “root” capable of turning into any type of cell. However, the process of extracting pancreatic islets involves a time-consuming and often inefficient in vitro “branching” process, often resulting in the generation of off-target cells.
The new process reconstructed pancreatic islet-like tissue using endodermal stem cells, bypassing the long differentiation process required for traditional pluripotent stem cells. This approach reduces the duration of transplantation from 40 days to only 14 days and reduces the risk of tumor formation, as the endoderm stem cells themselves do not reproduce in vivo.
The three cases detailed in the study include a 30-year-old woman with an 18-year history of diabetes, a 45-year-old man with severe type 1 diabetes, and a 15-year-old girl – the first case of a minor to receive such treatment.
