Posted by Al Gordon on May 01, 1998 at 21:47:25:
I had an opportunity to speak with Dick Haiduck, CEO of Desmos, Inc. last week. The work of Desmos is very relevant to our shared goal, and I thought it wold be worthwhile to bring it to the attention of TIFers (I think that's what we're called). So here's the story:
The first path is proliferated porcine islets, with which they have accomplished
cell expansion up to 1 million fold. Substantial progress has been made in
restoration of function at various stages of expansion. Desmos expanded porcine
cells have potential advantages compared to harvested cells from herds. The
cells are produced in a uniform manner and are more efficient to produce.
The technology associated with the development of porcine cells has also proven
highly useful in the second path being pursued by Desmos, the expansion of human
cells. If human islet proliferation can be developed to the point of creating
viable, productive islets, then the widening gap between supply and demand that
has traditionally doomed human islets as a treatment for diabetes could be overcome.
Desmos achieves its islet expansion by placing primary islets on a flat surface
that is coated with laminin-5, the proprietary protein of Desmos. The expansion
takes place in a monolayer. After expansion, the cells then undergo a
proprietarty process of reaggregation in which the cells are formed into islet like
clusters.
Further in vitro and in vivo experiments are currently underway at Desmos to
fully determine the characteristics and utility of expanded cells for both
porcine and human cells across a range of copy generations. Additional
technology is likely to be needed in order to deal with rejection of cells after transplantation.
Desmos plans to develop collaborative efforts with partners to solve the next
stage of development issues.
Please visit the Desmos web site for more information.