Treating a type 2 diabetic patient with impaired pancreatic islet function by personalized endoderm stem cell-derived islet tissue

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) typically starts with insulin resistance in peripheral tissues and proceeds with gradual loss of islet function due to the reduction in β-cell mass or dedifferentiation of β cells 1 , 2 . More than 30% of T2D patients eventually rely on exogenous insulin treatment. Cadaveric islet transplantation is an effective treatment for insulin-dependent diabetes 3 , 4 . Notably, improved metabolic control after islet transplantation is associated with better kidney allograft function and long-term survival 5 , 6 . However, the application of islet transplantation is severely hampered due to the critical shortage of donor organs.