A revolutionary new antibody drug could cure type 1 diabetes in a breakthrough experiment. Experimental drug brings science one step closer to curing type 1 diabetes Scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine report that an experimental monoclonal antibody drug prevents and cures diabetes in mice. In some cases, it even extended the lifespan of the animals.
mAb43, single drug
The drug is called mAb43 and is quite unique, according to the research team. If you have type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune condition, your pancreas produces little or no insulin. This drug works by directly targeting the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas and protecting them from attack by the body’s errant immune cells.
Such a level of specificity could allow long-term use in people with few side effects, according to the study published in the Diabetes Journal. Monoclonal antibodies are produced by cloning an animal cell line.
The findings help pave the way for a new drug for type 1 diabetes, which could change the lives of the nearly two million American children and adults who have the currently incurable condition. This differs from type 2 diabetes, in which the pancreas produces some insulin, but not enough to meet the body’s needs.
“People with type 1 diabetes face lifelong insulin injections and many complications, including stroke and vision problems if the condition is not managed properly,” says Dax Fu, Ph.D., associate professor of physiology at the School of Johns Hopkins University Medicine and research team leader.
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How the medicine works
Person with diabetes – PHOTO: Freepik@syda_productions
Fu adds that mAb43 binds to a small protein on the surface of beta cells to act as a shield to “hide” these cells from immune system attacks. Because a mouse version of the monoclonal antibody was used in this study, a humanized version is still needed before this drug can reach patients.
The study involved 64 non-obese mice engineered to develop type 1 diabetes. They were given a weekly dose of mAb43 intravenously starting at 10 weeks of age. After 35 weeks, none of the mice were diabetic. One of the mice developed diabetes for a short time but eventually recovered at 35 weeks.
Even before the antibody was administered, this mouse showed early signs of the disease. In five of the same diabetes-prone mice, the researchers delayed weekly doses of mAb43 until they were 14 weeks old, then continued the treatment until week 75. One of the five developed diabetes, but they did not observed adverse events.
When mAb43 was administered early, mice lived throughout the 75-week follow-up period. The control group that received no doses lived shorter lives, between 18 and 40 weeks.
“mAb43 in combination with insulin therapy may have the potential to gradually reduce insulin use while beta cells regenerate, ultimately eliminating the need for additional insulin use for glycemic control,” says postdoctoral fellow Devi Kasinathan.
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Other FDA-approved drug
Another monoclonal antibody drug called teplizumab was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2022. Teplizumab works by binding to T-type white blood cells, making them less harmful to insulin-producing beta cells . It has been shown to delay the onset of clinical type 1 diabetes by nearly two years. This gives young children, who are the main group who develop the disease, time to learn how to manage their condition with diet and insulin regimens.
“It is possible that mAb43 can be used for a longer period than teplizumab and delay the onset of diabetes for a much longer period, potentially for the rest of life, as long as it is given,” says Fu.
“In an ongoing effort, we aim to develop a humanized version of the antibody and conduct clinical trials to test its ability to prevent type 1 diabetes and find out whether it has unwanted side effects,” concludes researcher Zheng Guo.
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