Possible cures routinely pop up only to fade from view, their benefits never quite surpassing the simple efficacy of an insulin injection.
Lev Dolgachov/Thinkstock
Type 1 diabetes is a discouraging disease. Despite the availability of synthetic insulin and increasingly sophisticated monitoring technology, its still a condition that requires incessant vigilance: Diabetics must constantly track their blood sugar levels and carefully use that information to calibrate drug doses. Even if you manage to do all of that well, bad days remain almost inevitable. Take too much insulin, and you can spiral into a hypoglycemic delirium. Take too little, and your glucose levels will rise, filling the body with dangerous levels of ketones.
Less immediately frustratingbut no less familiar for diabeticsis the state of diabetes research. Possible cures routinely pop up only to fade from view, their benefits never quite surpassing the simple efficacy of an insulin injection. More recently, though, the field of synthetic biologya hybrid discipline that aims to construct or redesign biological components and systemshas shown the potential to produce a novel set of treatments. The solutions remain speculative, but they do offer cautious reasons for hope.
Type 1 diabetes, in theory, should be relatively easy to solve. That has been the mantra of researchers for the last 30 years. And I still take insulin every day.
John Glass, a researcher working on one such new effort, knows how maddening false hope can be, having lived with the disease for decades. Type 1 diabetes, in theory, should be relatively easy to solve, he told me over the phone. That has been the mantra of type 1 diabetes researchers for the last 30 years. And I still take insulin every day.
I had originally called Glass, a synthetic biologist with the J. Craig Venter Institute, in the hopes of better understanding how his burgeoning field was contributing to the search for a cure. Id been drawn to the topic through a seemingly promising synthetic biology study led by researchers at ETH Zurich and East China Normal University. I came away from our call fascinated instead by the promise of new research that Glass himself has recently begun to pursue. He believes it might be possible to re-engineer the genomes of skin bacteria in ways that would allow them to perform some of the functions that diabetics bodies no longer can. Whether or not that ultimately works, it exemplifies the promise of synthetic biology to provide a way around problems that have long been insurmountable for researchers.
My own interest in this topic is far from academic. Im a type 1 diabetic, and I read the study I called Glass aboutdauntingly titled -CellMimetic Designer Cells Provide Closed-Loop Glycemic Controlfrom a hospital bed where Id regained consciousness after a sudden and unexpected seizure, likely brought on by a low blood sugar episode. Though my own condition is generally well-managed, I cant help but long for a better way.
To understand the promise of the Closed Loop paper, you first have to understand what Type 1 diabetes entails. At core, its an autoimmune disease, one that results from a biological glitch that leads the body to attack the insulin-producing beta cells of its own pancreas. Beta cellsthe -cells of the papers titleserve two primary functions in a healthy organism: First, they detect blood glucose levels within the body. Second, when those levels begin to rise, the cells secrete insulin. The diabetic autoimmune assault kills off the beta cells, leaving the body with no way to process the carbohydrates it consumes.
In essence, the researchers behind this paper sought to re-engineer human embryonic kidney cells to mimic the functions of the pancreatic beta cells (the mimetic of the papers title) that immune systems of those with diabetes destroy. They then implanted these designer cells into diabetic mice, where, according to the paper, they successfully and autonomously stabilized their hosts blood sugar levels.
Your Cheat-Sheet Guide to Synthetic Biology
What Exactly Is Synthetic Biology? Its Complicated.
Can You Patent an Organism? The Synthetic Biology Community Is Divided.
The U.S. Regulations for Biotechnology Are Woefully Out of Date
Synthetic Biology and Queer Theory Are Cutting Down the Tree of Life You Learned About in School
Being Skeptical About Biotechnology Doesnt Make You Anti-Science
Can Synthetic Biology Finally Cure Diabetes?
Its the autonomous, or closed loop, quality thats most exciting hereoffering the potential to stabilize the body without regular injections and blood sugar checks. True closed-loops recreate the healthy bodys natural processes, much as these modified kidney cells seem to do by automatically distributing insulin in response to blood sugar fluctuations. Such systems have long been the holy grail for diabetic researchers, since they would allow diabetics to go about their liveseating and exercising as they wantedwithout having to check glucose readings and juggle dosing regimens.
Medical technologists have long been at work on devices that would achieve similar results by more mechanical means: MedTronic recently received FDA approval for what it calls a closed loop combination of a digital glucose sensor and an insulin pump that it plans to roll out later this year. Its a potentially powerful device, but it still demands substantial involvement from the user, who must feed it information about carbohydrate intake, regularly recalibrate the sensor, and, of course, attach the sensors and insulin pump to their body. By comparison, synthetic biology promises a truly hands-off solution, one that wouldat least in theorysimply work.
I dont want to overstate things here. While projects working to synthesize replacements for beta cells are impressive (and have produced exciting results elsewhere), they still exhibit a fundamental problem: the diabetic bodys seemingly irreversible autoimmune response. Because the mimetic replacements resemble natural beta cells, the immune system still recognizes them as targets and eventually kills them off. Even if they work under experimental conditions for a few weeks, their effectiveness fades in time, as Glass and other researchers explained to me. Its not immediately obvious how or if the new research would overcome that hurdle, and the researchers did not respond to requests for comment.
Chad Cowan, director of the diabetes program at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, told me that the issue has been extremely difficult to resolve. Over the course of the last two years, weve tried to talk to every immunologist and every person who works on autoimmunity, particularly if they have any focus on type 1 diabetes, he said. Our overall assessment is that there isnt an easy solution, at least in terms of modulating the immune system. Various attempts to work around the immune systems response, he said, havent done more than slightly ameliorate the disease in experimental mice or clinical trials. A Californian company called ViaCyte thinks it has found a possible solution, sheathing cells in what it calls a retrievable and immune-protective encapsulation medical device. But the results of that approach remain uncertain.
Its here that the real promise of Glass proposal reveals itself: He thinks hes found a workaround for the autoimmune problem, one that would allow the body to autonomously produce insulin as needed and without risk of disruption.
Glass own professional involvement in the field began a few years ago when Alberto Hayek, a diabetes researcher and emeritus professor from University of CaliforniaSan Diego, reached out. Hayek was curious about a project Glass had worked on in 2010, in which JCVI had created a fully synthetic bacterial organism. Wondering if the same techniques might be applicable elsewhere, Hayek called Glass attention to the work of one of his UCSD colleagues, a dermatologist named Richard Gallo, who discovered a beneficial bacteria living deep in the layers of our skin that seem to be overlooked by the immune system. Would it be possibleGlass says Hayek wonderedto harvest and modify these microbes so that they function like beta cells. Instead of making new beta cells, which the body would simply reject, they would be taking something that the body still accepts and lead it to act like a beta cell.
It seemed feasible to Glass. The idea is that hed introduce new features to the bacteria, genetically re-engineering them so that theyd be able to perform the feats that diabetics bodies no longer can. He might, as he explained to me, be able to take those cells from any given person [and] put in the machinery that would allow those cells now to sense blood glucose, there in and amongst the capillaries that are in our skin. And since the immune system usually passes over these particular microbes, it might just let the newly engineered cells go about their business. Further, he said, We also know that if you put bacteria on your skin, they very quickly make it into the deep layers, meaning it could potentially be delivered via a nonintrusive application, such as personalized skin cream.
At present, Glass work is still in its earliest stages. He and his colleagues at JCVI are currently seeking funding to conduct experiments in mice. He also freely acknowledges that the re-engineered microbes might not work in practice. For one, bacteria arent great at building the structures that constitute insulin, which means Glass and his team would have to get them to produce an experimental variant. Then, of course, there are the safety concerns: They need to build a kill switch into the engineered bacteria, lest they start producing dangerously excessive amounts of the hormone. On top of that, its also unclear how many microbes they would need to apply and whether they can make enough to do the job. Its even possible, Cowan said, that the T-cells in some diabetics would attack the modified insulin.
As any longtime diabetic will tell you, the most likely outcome is that we simply wont see results soon, if ever. Even when you have a good, workable idea, the process of medical science tends to be slow: According to Cowan, it took 15 years just to get from the idea of making beta cells out of stem cells to actually producing them.
Nevertheless, Glass enthusiasmboth for synthetic biologys broader role in diabetes research and for his own work in the fieldis infectious. When I first got into science, I used to go to seminars about trying to solve diabetes. And I found them so depressing. I was convinced I was not going to live to be 30, he says. Hes survivedas have I and so many other diabeticsthanks to powerful, but largely incremental steps forward in medical technology. Now, he thinks, he may be ready to help us make a larger leap.
Im convinced that Ive reached the point in my career where I have just the right set of skills to take this completely different approach to the problem, he told me. And Im thrilled about it.
This article is part of the synthetic biology installment of Futurography, a series in which Future Tense introduces readers to the technologies that will define tomorrow. Each month, well choose a new technology and break it down. Future Tense is a collaboration among Arizona State University, New America, and Slate.
Read the original:
Can Synthetic Biology Finally Cure Diabetes? - Slate Magazine
- Howard H. Seliger, Hopkins biology professor [Last Updated On: January 1st, 2013] [Originally Added On: January 1st, 2013]
- General Biology-Concepts and Investigations - Video [Last Updated On: January 31st, 2013] [Originally Added On: January 31st, 2013]
- Biology Reproduction part 13 (Sexual reproduction: Flower Structure) CBSE class 10 X - Video [Last Updated On: January 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: January 9th, 2014]
- How far can a Buddhist approach to biology take us? [Last Updated On: January 14th, 2014] [Originally Added On: January 14th, 2014]
- Biology revision song on protein synthesis by Andrew Perkins - Video [Last Updated On: January 30th, 2014] [Originally Added On: January 30th, 2014]
- Scientific Evidence for Creation CSE BIBLE FORUM Origins 1212 Dr Seuss Biology - Video [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2014]
- Synthetic biology lab backed by 2 million award [Last Updated On: April 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 9th, 2014]
- Vanguard High teacher wins 2014 Shell Science Lab Challenge [Last Updated On: April 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 9th, 2014]
- Biohacking and the problem of bioterrorism [Last Updated On: April 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 9th, 2014]
- Synthetic genetic clock keeps accurate time across a range of temperatures [Last Updated On: April 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 9th, 2014]
- Math modeling integral to synthetic biology research [Last Updated On: April 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 9th, 2014]
- Vacancies in biology dept. impact course options [Last Updated On: April 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 9th, 2014]
- Dr. Joshua Reece Earns Best Presentation Award At Conference [Last Updated On: April 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 9th, 2014]
- Life Science Reference - Biology Online [Last Updated On: April 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 9th, 2014]
- 9th Grade Biology: A Hectic Introduction to Mammals - Video [Last Updated On: April 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 9th, 2014]
- Theism vs Evolution, Biology, and History - Video [Last Updated On: April 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 9th, 2014]
- AP Biology Ch.49 Circulatory System Livestream - Video [Last Updated On: April 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 9th, 2014]
- AP Biology Review Cards - Video [Last Updated On: April 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 9th, 2014]
- AP Biology - Chapter 49 Circulatory System Part 1 - Video [Last Updated On: April 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 9th, 2014]
- MSc Biology and PhD Boreal Ecology - Video [Last Updated On: April 9th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 9th, 2014]
- Whale tales: Students set sail for biology class research [Last Updated On: April 10th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 10th, 2014]
- Barnard biology professor honored with Emily Gregory award for teaching [Last Updated On: April 10th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 10th, 2014]
- biology: Definition from Answers.com - Answers - The Most ... [Last Updated On: April 10th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 10th, 2014]
- Biology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: April 10th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 10th, 2014]
- Bridging the Brain Disease Knowledge Gap through Computational Modeling and Systems Biology: An O... - Video [Last Updated On: April 10th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 10th, 2014]
- Sharpening microscope images: New technique takes cues from astronomy, ophthalmology [Last Updated On: April 15th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 15th, 2014]
- COLLEGE NEWS: April 13 [Last Updated On: April 15th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 15th, 2014]
- Eureka Once, Eureka Twice [Last Updated On: April 15th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 15th, 2014]
- Biology [Last Updated On: April 15th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 15th, 2014]
- The Art of Nutrients - Biology Song - 'Counting Stars' Remake - Video [Last Updated On: April 15th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 15th, 2014]
- Biology - The Nervous System - Video [Last Updated On: April 15th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 15th, 2014]
- OCR AS BIOLOGY: - Cell Structures - Video [Last Updated On: April 15th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 15th, 2014]
- Evolutionary Biology Research / F. Robin O'Keefe and Julie Meachen / Page Museum - Video [Last Updated On: April 15th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 15th, 2014]
- What Is a Thyroid In Biology? : Let's Get Medical - Video [Last Updated On: April 15th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 15th, 2014]
- Red Ice Radio - Sofia Smallstorm - Hour 1 - Chemtrails to Pseudo-Life & Synthetic Biology - Video [Last Updated On: April 15th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 15th, 2014]
- STARNES: Did professor advocate censorship of conservative student newspaper? [Last Updated On: April 15th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 15th, 2014]
- German Research Foundation approves new priority program in the life sciences [Last Updated On: April 15th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 15th, 2014]
- Announcing BioCoder issue 3 [Last Updated On: April 15th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 15th, 2014]
- Poetry by Linda Bierds, Buddhism and biology [Last Updated On: April 15th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 15th, 2014]
- Digestion - Biology Music Video - Video [Last Updated On: April 15th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 15th, 2014]
- AS Level Biology- Edexcel/SNAB- Unit 1 Revision Notes - Video [Last Updated On: April 15th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 15th, 2014]
- The Anatomy Of The Heart - Video [Last Updated On: April 15th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 15th, 2014]
- #OilerNation Biology Program Q & A Hangout - Video [Last Updated On: April 15th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 15th, 2014]
- Northwestern University researchers on synthetic biology - Video [Last Updated On: April 15th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 15th, 2014]
- Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology (Vienna) - Video [Last Updated On: April 16th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 16th, 2014]
- Biology 1B - 2014-04-14 - Video [Last Updated On: April 16th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 16th, 2014]
- AP Biology Review 3/7: Cell Energy - Video [Last Updated On: April 16th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 16th, 2014]
- MCB 410: Developmental Biology - Video [Last Updated On: April 16th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 16th, 2014]
- Dyslexic Advantage - UCSF Symposium - Dr Fumiko Hoeft - Biology of Stealth Dyslexia - Video [Last Updated On: April 16th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 16th, 2014]
- Life cycle of Silkworm- Insect Molecular Biology Lab, Dr.M.Krishnan, Bharathithasan University. - Video [Last Updated On: April 16th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 16th, 2014]
- Tracking flu levels with Wikipedia [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2014]
- Biology major Katharine Leigh '15 wins Udall scholarship [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2014]
- First in the nation: UW-Madison establishes post-doc in feminist biology [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2014]
- Biology Project: Predation - Video [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2014]
- Report Focussing On Biology Underlining - Video [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2014]
- edX | MITx: Quantitative Biology Workshop: 7QBWx About Video - Video [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2014]
- Cell Mediated Response (Erdmann's 2B-3 AP Biology) - Video [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2014]
- Biology Plantae part 13 (Mosses: structure, life cycle, mosses vs leafy liverwots) CBSE class 11 XI - Video [Last Updated On: April 17th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 17th, 2014]
- Biology - Photosynthesis - Video [Last Updated On: April 19th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 19th, 2014]
- The Genie in Your Genes: Epigenetics and Biology of Intention - Video [Last Updated On: April 19th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 19th, 2014]
- Introduction to Synthetic Biology Andrew Hessel - Video [Last Updated On: April 19th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 19th, 2014]
- Teacher of Biology [Last Updated On: April 21st, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 21st, 2014]
- Biology - Osmosis - Video [Last Updated On: April 21st, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 21st, 2014]
- UW to host first feminist biology post-doc program in nation [Last Updated On: April 22nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 22nd, 2014]
- The Biology Project: Cell Biology - University of Arizona [Last Updated On: April 22nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 22nd, 2014]
- The Biology Corner [Last Updated On: April 22nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 22nd, 2014]
- Rader's BIOLOGY 4 KIDS.COM - Biology basics for everyone! [Last Updated On: April 22nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 22nd, 2014]
- Stanford CF Education Day 2014 Understanding the Biology - Video [Last Updated On: April 22nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 22nd, 2014]
- 9th Grade Biology: Hectic Introduction to the Human Organ Systems pt.1 - Video [Last Updated On: April 22nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 22nd, 2014]
- Honors Biology and Biology Mrs. Ellis - Video [Last Updated On: April 22nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 22nd, 2014]
- Biology professor researches parasites [Last Updated On: April 22nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 22nd, 2014]
- TRANSCRIPTION-Biology - Video [Last Updated On: April 22nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 22nd, 2014]
- 2014 Interdisciplinary Innovation Forum: "Mathematical Biology" - Video [Last Updated On: April 22nd, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 22nd, 2014]
- This Week in Genome Biology [Last Updated On: April 24th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 24th, 2014]
- Biology - Calvin Cycle - Video [Last Updated On: April 24th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 24th, 2014]
- Systems biology course 2014 Uri Alon - lecture 3: FFL and more - Video [Last Updated On: April 24th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 24th, 2014]
- Systems biology course 2014 Uri Alon - lecture 2: Auto regulation - Video [Last Updated On: April 24th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 24th, 2014]
- Systems biology course 2014 Uri Alon - lecture 1: Basic concepts - Video [Last Updated On: April 24th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 24th, 2014]
- 9th Grade Biology: Hectic Introduction to the Human Organ Systems pt.2 - Video [Last Updated On: April 24th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 24th, 2014]
- Have Atheists Hijacked Biology? - Video [Last Updated On: April 24th, 2014] [Originally Added On: April 24th, 2014]