Clinical Application of Stem Cell Educator Therapy in Type 1 Diabetes

October 28, 2026 updated by: Yong Zhao, MD, PhD

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a T cell-mediated autoimmune disease that causes a deficit of pancreatic islet beta cells. Millions of individuals worldwide have T1D, and incidence increases annually. Several recent clinical trials point to the need for an approach that produces comprehensive immune modulation at both the local pancreatic and systemic levels. Stem Cell Educator (SCE) therapy offers comprehensive immune modulation at both the local and systemic levels in T1D by using a patient's own immune cells (including platelets) that are "educated" by cord blood stem cells. Tested clinically in more than 300 patients, SCE therapy has shown lasting reversal in autoimmunity in T1D patients, including improved C-peptide levels, reduced median glycated hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) values, and decreased median daily usage of insulin. SCE therapy circulates a patient's blood through a blood cell separator, briefly cocultures the patient's immune cells with adherent Cord Blood Stem Cells (CB-SC) in vitro, and returns the "educated" autologous immune cells to the patient's circulation.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The SCE device is made of a hydrophobic material from FDA-approved (USP Class VI) dishes that tightly binds stem cells CB-SC without interfering with their immune modulating capability. During SCE therapy, a patient's peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) are collected by leukapheresis and co-cultured with adherent cord-blood-derived multipotent stem cells (CB-SC) in vitro, after which the "educated" PBMC are returned to the patient's circulation via infusion. Over the last 15 years, this technology has been evaluated through international multicenter clinical studies conducted in the United States, China, and Spain. These studies have demonstrated the clinical safety and efficacy of SCE therapy in treating type 1 diabetes (T1D), alopecia areata (AA), and other autoimmune conditions, including reversal of T1D-associated autoimmunity and treatment of other immune dysfunction-associated diseases, such as alopecia areata, type 2 diabetes (T2D), Crohn's disease and long-COVID.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
80

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New Jersey
      • Paramus, New Jersey, United States, 07652
        • Throne Biotechnologies

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

10 years and older (Child, Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Pediatric and adult patients (>10 years).
  2. Must have a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes mellitus based on the American Diabetes Association (ADA) Guidelines.
  3. Must have a blood test confirming the presence of at least one autoantibody to pancreatic islet beta Cells (IAA, IA2, GAD 65, ZnT8).
  4. Fasting C-peptide level > 0.3 ng/ml.
  5. Adequate venous access for apheresis.
  6. Ability to provide informed consent or assent.
  7. For female patients only, willingness to use FDA-recommended birth control (http://www.fda.gov/downloads/ForConsumers/ByAudience/ForWomen/FreePublications/UCM356451.pdf) until 6 months post treatment.
  8. Must agree to comply with all study requirements and be willing to complete all study visits.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. AST or ALT 2 > x upper limit of normal.
  2. Abnormal bilirubin (total bilirubin > 1.2 mg/dL, direct bilirubin > 0.4 mg/dL).
  3. Creatinine > 2.0 mg/dl.
  4. Known coronary artery disease or EKG suggestive of coronary artery disease unless cardiac clearance for apheresis is obtained from a cardiologist.
  5. Known active infection such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), HTLV (human T-cell leukemia-lymphoma virus cAB), or active tuberculosis.
  6. Pregnant or breastfeeding women.
  7. Use of immunosuppressive medication within one month of enrollment including but not limited to prednisone, cyclosporine, tacrolimus, sirolimus, and chemotherapy.
  8. Presence of any other autoimmune diseases (Hashimoto's thyroiditis, celiac disease, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, etc.).
  9. Anticoagulation other than ASA.
  10. Hemoglobin < 10 g/dl or platelets < 100 k/ml.
  11. Subjects with leukopenia, total white blood cells (WBC) count < 4000/uL.
  12. Patient or patient's surrogate is unable or unwilling to voluntarily sign an informed consent form.
  13. Presence of any other physical or psychological medical condition that, in the opinion of the investigator, would preclude participation.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Treatment of T1D with Stem Cell Educator therapy

Recruited T1D subjects will receive one treatment with SCE therapy.
Combination product: Stem Cell Educator therapy

Patients with T1D will be evaluated by the study principal investigator or sub-investigators. Informed consent will be obtained at the initial screen meeting. Subjects who meet all criteria will be scheduled for treatment. All enrolled subjects will receive treatment with the Stem Cell Educator (SCE) therapy consisting of a single session of mononuclear cells (MNC) collection by apheresis where peripheral blood will be processed on day 1. The MNC product will then be exposed overnight to the SCE and on day 2 the product Gleukocell will be infused intravenously back to the patient.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in fasting C-peptide levels
Time Frame: 3 month

Change in fasting C-peptide levels at Month 3
3 month

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in HbA1C levels
Time Frame: 3 months

Change in HbA1C levels at Month 1 and Month 3
3 months
Change daily insulin requirement
Time Frame: 3 months

Change daily insulin requirement at Month 1 and Month 3
3 months
Proportion of subjects achieving restoration of fasting C-peptide levels to the normal range
Time Frame: 3 months

Proportion of subjects achieving restoration of fasting C-peptide levels to the normal range at Month 1 and Month 3
3 months
Proportion of subjects achieving complete insulin independence
Time Frame: 3 month

Proportion of subjects achieving complete insulin independence at Month 1 and Month 3
3 month
Changes in immune markers
Time Frame: 3 month

Changes in regulatory T-cells and activated T-cells at Month 1 and Month 3
3 month
Changes in immune markers
Time Frame: 3 month

Changes in memory T-cells and naïve T-cells at Month 1 and Month 3
3 month
Changes in immune markers
Time Frame: 3 month

Changes in inflammatory chemokine CXCL16 at Month 1 and Month 3
3 month

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Yong Zhao, MD, PhD

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Study Chair: YONG ZHAO, MD,PhD, Throne Biotechnologies Inc.

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 20, 2022

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
October 20, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 20, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
July 4, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 4, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
July 8, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
October 30, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 28, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2019-TH-002

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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