NARILIS lunch seminar | Dr. Giulia Spennati, Leiden University

We are pleased to invite you to a seminar given by

Dr. Giulia Spennati

Her seminar is entitled:

"Using stem cells against diabetes: from disease modeling to therapeutic approaches"

Diabetes is a major medical challenge affecting over 60 million people in the European Union and imposing a substantial economic burden on healthcare systems, with annual costs exceeding €189 billion. Type 1 diabetes (T1D), which accounts for about 10% of diabetes cases, results from immune-mediated destruction of pancreatic insulin-producing β cells. In contrast, type 2 diabetes (T2D), which accounts for around 90% of cases, is characterised by insulin resistance and progressive β-cell dysfunction, leading to inadequate insulin secretion and  chronic  hyperglycemia.  Poorly  controlled  diabetes  can  result  in  severe  long-term complications, including diabetic kidney disease (DKD).

DKD is the leading cause of chronic kidney disease worldwide, affecting up to 40% of individuals with diabetes during their lifetime. Despite its prevalence, the molecular and cellular mechanisms  linking  diabetes to  progressive  kidney  dysfunction remain  unclear.  Human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived kidney organoids provide a powerful platform to model disease pathogenesis, investigate disease mechanisms, and identify novel therapeutic targets.

For  individuals  with  T1D,  pancreatic  islet  transplantation  has  demonstrated  that  β-cell replacement can restore endogenous insulin production and achieve near-normal glucose regulation. However, the widespread application of this therapy is severely limited by donor organ scarcity and is therefore restricted to a small subset of patients with severe glycemic instability. Human iPSCs offer a renewable source of insulin-producing cells, creating new opportunities for cell replacement therapies. Recent advances in differentiation protocols and bioprocess  engineering  have  enabled  the  scalable  production  of  functional  glucose- responsive β-like cells and have supported the translation of iPSC-derived islet products into clinical studies. Nevertheless, important challenges related to cell manufacturing, maturation, safety, and long-term function remain to be addressed before pluripotent stem cell-based therapies can become broadly accessible.

This presentation will highlight the use of iPSC technology in diabetes research, focusing on the scalable generation of β cells for cell replacement therapies and the development of kidney organoid models to advance our understanding of diabetic kidney disease.

Invited by postdoc Damien Detraux, UNamur, URBC