Abstract

     Type I diabetes mellitus (T1DM) affects more than 17 million people worldwide, and current treatments for T1DM, known as insulin therapy , require continued insulin injection, diet control, and constant monitoring of blood sugar. Gene therapy methods that restore insulin production in non-pancreatic cells might provide a one-shot cure for T1DB. We propose a gene therapy for T1DM using an adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector that transfects somatic cells with an insulin gene controlled by a glucose-sensitive promoter, thus potentially restoring glucose-regulated insulin production in diabetic patients. Preliminary tests are conducted on cell lines to assess the efficiency of the therapy.

Background