# Engineering a Multi-Therapeutic, 3D-Printed Scaffold for Local Immunoprotection and Favorable Engraftment of Pancreatic Islets for Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · 2024 · $43,902

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Type 1 diabetes mellitus is an autoimmune disorder in which the patient’s pancreatic islets are
destroyed by their own immune system, leaving them unable to produce insulin to manage their
blood glucose levels. Currently, this disease affects about 1.6 million people in the United States
and roughly 180 new patients are diagnosed each day. Clinical islet transplantation is a potential
solution that involves injecting donor islets into the patient’s liver to secrete insulin and regain
blood glucose control. A challenge of this therapy, however, is decreased islet viability due to
mechanical stress and adverse inflammation at the infusion site. The utilization of islet
encapsulation or islet-loaded porous scaffolds can provide a means to protect islets from these
stresses; however, encapsulation can result in insufficient engraftment and incomplete
immunosuppression, while traditional scaffold fabrication methods generate inconsistent pores
and rough surfaces that can lead to unfavorable and unpredictable host responses to the implant.
To address these challenges, this proposal seeks to develop a multi-functional biomaterial
scaffold that improves the vascularization, engraftment, and immunoprotection of transplanted
pancreatic islets for the treatment of Type 1 diabetes mellitus. In Aim 1, we will alter scaffold
porosity and rung thickness to identify the specific geometric features that will result in robust host
engraftment with minimal fibrosis. For Aim 2, we will incorporate depots of synergistic
immunosuppressants into the 3D-printed scaffold material for controlled local drug delivery. We
will characterize the kinetic release curves of the drug eluting scaffold in vitro and optimize the
drug loading parameters necessary for sufficient local immune protection. Islet-loaded,
therapeutic scaffolds should provide local drug release resulting in the suppression of adverse
immune reactions in an allograft rat transplant model, preventing rejection of the cell cargo.
Broadly, results from this work will provide a better understanding of the roles that scaffold
geometry and local therapeutic release play in cell-based therapies, while improving experimental
outcomes in islet transplantation.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10997826
- **Project number:** 1F31DK138744-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** Taylor Rose Lansberry
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $43,902
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-01 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10997826

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10997826, Engineering a Multi-Therapeutic, 3D-Printed Scaffold for Local Immunoprotection and Favorable Engraftment of Pancreatic Islets for Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes (1F31DK138744-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10997826. Licensed CC0.

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