Stem cells-derived islet transplantation toward clinical translation: Divergent strategies and convergent objectives

Table 1 Studies on the transplantation of stem cells-induced islets

Ref.	Stem cell source	Differentiation strategy	Transplantation site	Immune method	Scalability & personalization	Advantages	Challenges
Wang et al[30], 2024	Autologous adipose-derived MSC - CiPSC	Chemical reprogramming + in vitro differentiation	Transplantation into the rectus abdominis muscle	Low/none	Limited scalability and high personalization potential, a patient-specific therapy	Avoid gene-editing risks, with low immunogenicity	Difficulty in large-scale production
Businesswire[33], 2021	Allogeneic iPSC	Standardized in vitro differentiation	Percutaneous transhepatic portal vein infusion	Long-term immunosuppression required	High scalability and low personalization, a one-size-fits-all therapy	Standardized production, with clear therapeutic efficacy	Immunosuppressive side effects, donor dependency
D'Amour[9], 2006	Allogeneic hESC	Gene editing + immunological isolation	Subcutaneous implantable device	Local immune modulation	High scalability and low personalization, a one-size-fits-all therapy	Immunological isolation, capable of avoiding systemic immunosuppression	Fibrotic reactions, with uneven cell differentiation
Wu et al[15], 2024	Autologous PBMC - iPSC	Differentiated in vitro to EnSC - E-islets	Percutaneous transhepatic portal vein infusion	None	Limited scalability and high personalization, a patient-specific therapy	No immune rejection, personalized treatment	Long production cycle, high costs

MSC: Mesenchymal stem cell; CiPSC: Chemically induced pluripotent stem cell; iPSC: Induced pluripotent stem cell; hESC: Human embryonic stem cell; PBMC: Peripheral blood mononuclear cell; EnSC: Endoderm stem cell; E-islet: Stem cell-derived islet; HLA: Human leukocyte antigen.