Protective Effects of Stem Cell-Derived Peptides in Preventing Autoimmune Diabetes in the Non-Diabetic Mouse Model |Biomedgrid

Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) is an important autoimmune disease characterized by the destruction of insulin-secreting beta cells in pancreatic islets of Langerhans. A deficiency in insulin level results in hyperglycemia in diabetic patients. The management of T1DM requires lifelong daily injections of exogenous insulin to control blood sugar levels. The pathophysiology of Diabetes Mellitus (DM), including TIDM, is a foundational disease model for autoimmune diseases in humans and other mammals. This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of Mito Organelle (MO) Peptides, a mixture of organ-specific cellular extracts that are extracted from organ specific cells, homogenized, filtered, and sterilized, on the function and survival of peptides on pancreatic beta cells involved in T1DM. Non-Obese Diabetes (NOD) mice models were used to determine the therapeutic intervention effect of MO peptides as they develop spontaneous and accelerated diabetes. In our study, we analyzed the effects of twice-weekly injections of BioPep MO peptides over 17 weeks in NOD mice on the progression of autoimmune-mediated beta-cell destruction and the onset of hyperglycemia. It was found that NOD MO treated mice had a lower blood glucose concentration than NOD saline treated mice on average. In conjunction, at the end of week 17, there was a 33% larger non-diabetic population within the MO peptide treated group versus the saline treated group. These studies will help understand the mechanisms of immunological protection in T1DM and may serve as a model for other autoimmune disorders.