February 05, 2024 Is treating stressed beta cells the key to stopping type 1 diabetes?

Who:

Dr. Peter Thompson, assistant professor, Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg

Research highlights/discoveries:

• Studying beta cells that speed up the development of type 1 diabetes, to gain knowledge that could guide future therapies to slow or delay this process

Dr. Peter Thompson at a glance:

• Received End Diabetes 2022 Award from Diabetes Canada (2022-2025)

• Appointed assistant professor in physiology and pathophysiology, University of Manitoba; and principal investigator, Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (2020)

• Earned a postdoctoral fellowship, islet biology and diabetes, University of California San Francisco (2020)

• Received the Lawrence A. Smookler Distinguished Research Scientist in Diabetes Award (2019)

• Obtained his PhD (medical genetics), University of British Columbia (2016)

How did you get interested in diabetes research?

I was working in medical genetics—an area of biology that focuses on gene function and its impact on disease—and I wanted to find an area where my research could be translated into day-to-day life and have a real-world impact. I chose diabetes because I felt there was still a lot to do in terms of developing new treatments and prevention strategies, particularly for type 1 diabetes. I am excited by the fact that my research may play a part in making new agents available to treat patients.

Tell us about your current project, which is funded by Diabetes Canada.

I am looking to understand why type 1 diabetes happens and what we can do to slow its progression, and eventually prevent it altogether. Type 1 results when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys beta cells, which leads to the loss of these insulin-producing cells and therefore an insufficient amount of insulin for the body.

While most labs are studying the immune system in this disease, my research focuses on the beta cells. My team and I have already gathered evidence to show that in some patients with type 1 diabetes, their beta cells experience a unique stress process that accelerates the disease. These stressed beta cells arise well before diabetes symptoms appear, and can be detected at the earliest stages. In looking at these specific stress pathways and using medication to target these sick cells in animal models, we have been able to prevent type 1 diabetes.

With this grant from Diabetes Canada, we are transitioning to look at these pathways in human beta cells so we can determine if there is a similar response that we can target with drug therapies. We are also trying to determine if everybody who develops type 1 diabetes has these ‘sick’ beta cells in their pancreas to begin with. To that end, we are partnering with a large clinical trial network based in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. called TrialNet to obtain blood samples from donors both before and after the onset of their diabetes symptoms. We’ll use these samples to measure markers of sick beta cells and track them across a broad group of individuals over time to see how the cells change as the disease progresses.

What do you hope the outcome of this research will be?

People with type 1 diabetes who have a higher number of these stressed beta cells would be good candidates for specific drug therapy. There is already evidence from a few clinical trials showing that agents that alleviate other kinds of beta cell stress can also help people with type 1 diabetes stay in range on their blood sugars and reduce the amount of insulin they need to take. Recent studies support the notion that there are subtypes of type 1 diabetes involving different levels of beta cell stress. We know the disease doesn’t happen in the same way for every individual, so we shouldn’t be treating it the same way for everyone.

This research will help us move toward personalized approaches to diagnosing, treating and preventing type 1 diabetes.

As a person of colour, can you speak to being part of a minority group in diabetes research?

Things are certainly getting better in terms of Canada having a more diverse population of diabetes researchers now. I was fortunate to have some great mentors who advocated for me along the way. I think actively growing your network of mentors and allies is extremely important, as it’s a way to build bridges to others in your area of research. I’m really excited to be in a position now where I can be a role model who can inspire and empower others.

The last word

“Dr. Peter Thompson’s research into stressed beta cells is leading to new developments in the detection, care and management of type 1 diabetes that can have a direct impact on the lives of people living with the condition,” says Laura Syron, president and CEO of Diabetes Canada. “Diabetes Canada is proud to support research like Dr. Thompson’s that can lead to new treatment innovations.”

Did you know?

Canada is at the forefront of diabetes research and innovations, including those focused on type 1 and autoimmune therapies to slow its progression.Help us fund research like that of Dr. Thompson which has the power to improve future treatment and prevention strategies. Donate now.