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What is type 1 diabetes?
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease, meaning that it is the immune system that is responsible for this pathology. Most of the time, T1D starts during childhood.
In healthy people, insulin, produced by β cells in the pancreas, regulates blood sugar (glycemia). Insulin is a hormone the body uses to allow sugar (glucose) to enter cells to produce energy. In T1D, there is an important insulin reduction leading to high blood sugar concentration (hyperglycaemia). This reduction in insulin levels is caused by immune cells that destroy pancreatic β cell leading to the loss of insulin production. Chronic hyperglycaemia can lead to complications such as heart and blood vessel disease, neuropathy, nephropathy, eye damage, etc. If not treated, T1D is a life-threatening disease. Until now, the exact cause of T1D is unknown but viruses, environmental factors and genetics are known risk factors.
What is the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes?
T1D is an autoimmune disease whereas type 2 diabetes (T2D) is not, being instead a metabolic disorder. T2D is very frequent in adult with metabolic disorders such as overweight and obesity.
T1D and T2D both result in chronic hyperglycaemia.
Can ARTiDe have an impact on Type 2 Diabetes?
ARTiDe is mainly focused on immunity and immune cells such as regulatory T cells. This immunological target is not known to be involved in Type 2 Diabetes pathophysiology. For now, ARTiDe will be mainly focused on T1D targets.
What is the treatment available today for T1D patient?
Today, T1D treatment is insulin injection with either pen or pump in order to regulate the glycemia. Insulin is a symptomatic treatment but not a cure for this disease.
Is there a cure for T1D?
Until now, no cure is available for T1D.
What is ARTiDe?
ARTiDe is a collaborative research project funded by the Horizon Europe programme. It aims to deliver a novel immunotherapy for T1D patient via the genetic engineering of patients’ Treg. This Treg product will be GMP compliant allowing to launch a phase 1 clinical trial at the end of the project.
Will ARTiDe provide a cure for type 1 diabetes at the end of the program research?
No, but it will bring new important knowledge regarding this disease. At the end of this research program, a phase 1 clinical trial could be launched.
Why is this research project innovative?
By the end of the research project, ARTiDe should provide an engineered Treg product that will be ready to be tested in a clinical trial. This product will potentially cure T1D patient or will slow down T1D developed for the newly diagnosed patients.
Why ARTiDe targets immune cells?
Immune cells are the main target in T1D because they are responsible for the β pancreatic cells destruction and thus the disease. Targeting immune cells could prevent and even cure T1D development.
What is a regulatory T cell?
Regulatory T cells (Treg) are a subpopulation of lymphocytes (white blood cells) that modulate the immune system, having a chief role in the maintenance of immune tolerance (namely to prevent the attack of self-tissues by the immune system) and homeostasis. They are essential to prevent autoimmune disease, and patients with genetic diseases affecting Tregs often develop T1D. In T1D, those cells have been described as not fully functional and not as protective as they should be, that is why ARTiDe project is focused on Treg.
What is a GMP product?
Good manufacturing practice (GMP) describes the minimum standard that a medicines manufacturer must meet in their production processes. In ARTiDe, the final Treg product will respect those standards in order to be used in a clinical trial.
For more information, please consult the European Medicine Agency website.
Can I join the research as a patient?
ARTiDe is not a clinical trial, therefore the patients cannot be included in this research program.
When will the clinical trial start?
At the end of ARTiDe a GMP product should be ready for a phase 1 clinical trial. Regarding the research calendar, this trial will not start before 2028.
Where can I get more information about T1D?
For more information about T1D, clinical trials, events …. please consult T1D association websites
Information about ARTiDe is also available on the LinkedIn page:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/artide-he