A research team at Stanford School of Medicine has reported an experimental treatment that appears to stop type 1 diabetes in its tracks in mice. The method not only prevented the disease in animals on the verge of developing it, but also restored normal blood sugar levels in mice already living with full-blown diabetes.The approach stands out because it merges immune cells from the patient and a donor, creating a shared immune system that accepts the transplanted tissue without heavy immunosuppressive drugs. The mice remained stable for at least four months, which is considered significant in early-stage diabetes research.Scientists believe the strategy could eventually help humans living with type 1 diabetes and may also support safer organ transplantation, as per Science Direct.What Is Stem Cell Therapy For Diabetes?Stem cell therapy for diabetes aims to rebuild the body’s ability to make its own insulin by creating new, working beta cells in the pancreas. In this method, stem cells collected from sources such as bone marrow or umbilical cord blood are guided to develop into insulin-producing cells. These cells are then placed into the patient’s body to help regulate blood sugar more naturally. According to the National Institutes of Health, this approach may lessen a person’s dependence on insulin shots and other diabetes medicines.How the Hybrid Immune System Works?Type 1 diabetes develops when the body’s own defense system begins to destroy insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. Replacing these cells through islet transplantation is a known option, but the recipient’s immune system often attacks the donor cells as well.In this study, researchers first “soft-reset” the mouse immune system with a preparation process that included a targeted immune inhibitor, a small dose of radiation, and selected antibodies. Once the animals were conditioned, scientists infused a mix of donor blood stem cells and donor islet cells.This created a blended immune environment where the new islet cells were not treated as intruders. The mice regained the ability to regulate blood sugar, and the transplanted tissue stayed largely free from destructive inflammation.Why the Findings MatterLead researcher Seung Kim explained that the method addresses two challenges at once. It replaces the lost insulin-producing cells and calms the autoimmune process that caused the damage in the first place. None of the animals developed graft-versus-host disease, a serious complication that often appears in cross-donor cell therapies in humans.The results build on earlier studies suggesting that donor-recipient immune cell combinations can help prevent transplant rejection. The promising outcome raises hope for human trials, although several hurdles remain.What Still Needs to Be Solved?Islet cells for transplantation can only be collected after a donor’s death, and they must come from the same person who provides the blood stem cells. The number of cells required for a human-scale procedure is also unclear.Researchers are now exploring ways to improve the survival of donor cells and to grow replacement cells from pluripotent human stem cells in the lab. The team believes these steps could bring this treatment closer to clinical use.Kim called the possibility of adapting the findings for people “very encouraging,” noting that some of the immune-reset techniques used in the study already exist in clinical care for other conditions.