Mico Patterned Substrates for Differentiating Mesenchymal Stem Cells into Insulin Producing Cells

Type 1 Diabetes is a global epidemic on the rise, effecting nearly 1.25 million Americans and rising. Currently the only therapeutic option for patients besides traditional insulin shots is transplantation of donor islet which carries insulin producing beta cells. However, this procedure requires lifelong immunosuppressant drugs and large quantity of donor cells. The lack of viable donor islets for patient transplantation makes alternative cell based therapy vital for future patients. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from patient?s bone marrow has been shown to be a potential therapeutic cell line for various diseases including Diabetes. Aggregating stem cells before differentiation plays a crucial role in increasing the secretion of a wide array of therapeutic factors and protecting its multipotent potential.