Tea for type 1 and type 2 diabetes

Cell Engineering Cell therapy is a promising approach for treating diabetes. Yin et al. developed an elegant control system by engineering cells to respond to protocatechuic acid, a metabolite in green tea. Orally ingested protocatechuic acid regulated blood glucose by triggering secretion of insulin or a short variant of human glucagon–like peptide 1 from engineered cells implanted in mouse and nonhuman primate models of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. This study demonstrates the versatility of synthetic biology for developing remotely controlled cell-based therapies for diabetes. Sci. Transl. Med. 11 , eaav8826 (2019).