Active targeting of type 1 diabetes therapies to pancreatic beta cells using nanocarriers – published online 23/01/2025

Jillian Collins and Nikki L. Farnsworth

Nanocarrier technology holds enormous potential to provide targeted delivery of therapeutics designed to protect or proliferate beta cells in individuals with type 1 diabetes, improving therapeutic efficacy while reducing side effects. In this issue, Collins and Farnsworth (https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-024-06356-5) provide an overview of the use of nanocarriers for cell-targeted delivery and the current state of the field in beta cell targeting. The authors highlight that a lack of highly beta cell-specific targets has caused a bottleneck limiting further development of beta cell-targeted therapies. They describe how aptamer, antibody and peptide screening technologies may fast-track the discovery of beta cell targets and the development of targeted therapies. The authors conclude that, with the highly tailorable nature of nanocarriers, precision targeting of beta cells with this technology may lead to customised treatments for each stage of type 1 diabetes to either prevent or reverse the course of the disease. The figures from this review are available as a downloadable slideset.