It may be possible to ‘retrain’ the immune system to slow the progression of type 1 diabetes, according to a study by Cardiff University and King’s College London.

Researchers leading the MonoPepT1De trial observed noticeable changes in the behaviour of the immune systems of type 1 diabetes patients that had been injected with peptides – small fragments of the protein molecules found in the beta cells of the pancreas.

Professor Mark Peakman, whose work is supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London, said: “When someone is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes they still typically have between 15% and 20% of their beta cells. We wanted to see if we could protect these remaining cells by retraining the immune system to stop attacking them.”

“We still have a long way to go, but these early results suggest we are heading in the right direction. The peptide technology used in our trial is not only safe for patients, but it also has a noticeable effect on the immune system.”

“It was encouraging to see that people who receive the treatment needed less insulin to control their blood glucose levels, suggesting that their pancreas was working better,” commented, Professor Colin Dayan from Cardiff University, the clinical Chief Investigator for the study.

Following the success of the MonoPepT1De trial, which was supported by the NIHR BRC at Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College London, King’s and UCB Biopharma are collaborating on a next generation product – MultipepT1De – in a Phase 1b safety study.

UCB has acquired exclusive licenses from King’s College London to MonopepT1De and MultipepT1De worldwide and plans to further develop MultipepT1De.

The study titled, “Metabolic and immune effects of immunotherapy with proinsulin peptide in new–onset type 1 diabetes,” was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.