Scientists from MIT have created an insulin-containing intradermal implant that removes immune cells.

Engineers and doctors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, together with colleagues from the University of Washington and the National University of Ireland in Galway, have developed an intradermal device that releases insulin into the bloodstream and does not overgrow due to wounds and has tested it on mice. the body’s ability to fight off the immune response. The results of the study were published in the journal. Nature Communication.

Previously, researchers have tried to combat the body’s immune response to intradermal implants using a variety of immunosuppressants. But MIT scientists decided to take a mechanical approach. They created a two-chamber device, one of which contains insulin, and the other that can be inflated and retracted. This process was controlled by the scientists themselves with the help of an external drive.

The idea worked: Inflating the chamber for 5 minutes every 12 hours slowed the formation of scars and changed their structure—instead of a dense collagen network, the researchers found more scattered fibers. This effect is based on mechanical repulsion of neutrophils, which are specialized immune cells involved in the formation of a wound around the implant.

Patients with type 1 diabetes are forced to regularly inject themselves with insulin or constantly wear a special insulin pump. Insulin devices implanted under the skin can significantly improve the quality of life of diabetics and eliminate the possibility of injecting themselves with insulin because they forgot or lost consciousness. But their use is limited by the fact that the immune system attacks the implant and eventually turns it into scar tissue, which inhibits the release of insulin into the blood.

The implant developed by the authors removes immune cells, partially reducing scar formation, which allows insulin to be absorbed into the blood more efficiently. Scientists have already created a human version of the implant and have shown that it can be inserted under the skin, in the body of a deceased person. They plan to equip the device with a device to measure glucose so that insulin is released in response to the spike. The scientists also want to create a device modification for ovarian cancer immunotherapy and drug delivery to the heart to prevent heart failure in heart attack patients.