Diabetes (Type 1 & 2) and Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSC): what the trial registry contains
The ClinicalTrials.gov registry holds 29 records for MSC in Diabetes (Type 1 & 2): 1 recruiting now, 3 labelled Phase 3 or 4, across 11 countries. Snapshot 2026-08-29.
Why this is studied in Diabetes (Type 1 & 2)
The registry entries here are dominated by type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune destruction of beta cells. Two distinct strategies appear: immune reset around new-onset disease, and beta-cell replacement from stem-cell-derived islets. The second is the most genuinely transformative line of work in the whole field, and it is also the one most often invoked by clinics offering something entirely different.
What MSC means in this table
Mesenchymal stromal cells are the workhorse of commercial cell therapy: easy to source from fat, cord or marrow, easy to expand, and rarely characterised in the same way twice. Their proposed action is paracrine — signalling molecules that damp inflammation — rather than replacement of lost tissue. That matters when reading counts like these, because two studies filed under the same label can test materially different products at different doses by different routes.
The numbers
Every figure below comes from one reproducible query (type 1 diabetes x mesenchymal stem cell) run against ClinicalTrials.gov API v2 on 2026-08-29.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Registered studies (all statuses) | 29 |
| Interventional studies in the sample | 29 |
| Recruiting right now | 1 |
| Completed | 7 |
| Terminated, withdrawn or suspended | 3 |
| Phase 3 or Phase 4 records | 3 |
| Countries with at least one site | 11 |
| Median planned enrolment | 20 participants |
| Largest single planned enrolment | 80 participants |
| First / most recent start year | 2008 — 2025 |
How mature is this evidence?
The ladder is partly climbed: 3 confirmatory-phase records against 29 in total, with the remainder concentrated in dose-finding and safety territory.
3 of these records (10%) were terminated, withdrawn or suspended, against 7 marked completed; unfinished studies rarely appear in marketing summaries.
| Phase label | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | 19 | 46% |
| Phase 2 | 16 | 39% |
| Phase 3 | 3 | 7% |
| Not applicable | 3 | 7% |
Median planned enrolment is 20 participants (largest single study: 80). Trials of this size can describe safety and generate hypotheses; detecting a modest clinical benefit reliably usually needs substantially larger numbers with a control group.
Where the studies are
Across 11 countries with registered sites, China dominates at roughly 37% — a concentration driven by funding and regulation rather than by clinical outcome.
| Country | Studies with a site there |
|---|---|
| China | 10 |
| United States | 4 |
| Sweden | 3 |
| Egypt | 2 |
| Vietnam | 2 |
| Brazil | 2 |
| Iran | 1 |
| Jordan | 1 |
| Israel | 1 |
| Belarus | 1 |
Legal pathway differs by country — see where cell therapy is legal, by country.
Who runs them
Sponsorship leans academic: 7 of the most frequent lead sponsors read as academic or hospital entities and 1 as companies. Who pays shapes what gets measured and what gets published.
- Uppsala University Hospital — 2 records
- Fuzhou General Hospital — 2 records
- Ain Shams University — 1 record
- Central Hospital, Nancy, France — 1 record
- Shanghai Changzheng Hospital — 1 record
- Lu Debin — 1 record
Representative registered studies
Recruiting studies first, then the most advanced phases. Each identifier links to the registry record, where eligibility criteria, outcome measures and contacts are published.
| Study | Phase | Status | Planned n | Lead sponsor | Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT06951074 — Insulin Producing Stem Cell Transplantation Clinical Trial in Type 1 Diabetes | Phase 2, Phase 3 | Recruiting | 20 | Ain Shams University | 2025-04-01 |
| NCT04061746 — Cellular Therapy for Type 1 Diabetes Using Mesenchymal Stem Cells | Phase 1 | Active Not Recruiting | 60 | Medical University of South Carolina | 2020-02-27 |
| NCT02138331 — Effect of Microvesicles and Exosomes Therapy on β-cell Mass in Type I Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) | Phase 2, Phase 3 | Unknown | 20 | General Committee of Teaching Hospitals and Institutes, Egyp | 2014-04 |
| NCT01157403 — Autologous Transplantation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Treatment of Patients With Onset of Type 1 Diabetes | Phase 2, Phase 3 | Unknown | 80 | Lu Debin | 2010-07 |
| NCT05207995 — The Treatment of Patients With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus With Autologous Tolerogenic Dendritic Cells | Phase 1, Phase 2 | Completed | 32 | Institute of Biophysics and Cell Engineering of National Aca | 2022-03-01 |
| NCT03973827 — Wharton´s Jelly Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Repeated Treatment of Adult Patients Diagnosed with Type I Diabetes | Phase 1, Phase 2 | Completed | 15 | NextCell Pharma Ab | 2019-05-17 |
| NCT03484741 — Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy for Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Patients | Phase 1, Phase 2 | Unknown | 15 | Van Hanh General Hospital | 2017-04-01 |
| NCT04078308 — Mesenchymal Stem Cells Transplantation in Newly Diagnosed Type-1 Diabetes Patients | Phase 1, Phase 2 | Unknown | 20 | Royan Institute | 2015-07-06 |
| NCT02057211 — Mesenchymal Stem Cells to Intervene in the Development of Type 1 Diabetes: a Blinded Randomized Study | Phase 2 | Terminated | 10 | Uppsala University Hospital | 2014-04 |
| NCT01496339 — Human Menstrual Blood-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Transplantation in Treating Type 1 Diabetic Patients | Phase 1, Phase 2 | Unknown | 50 | S-Evans Biosciences Co., Ltd. | 2012-01 |
What this page does and does not tell you
A registry is a plan repository. Counting entries tells you what people intended to study, which is a weaker thing than what they found.
If a clinic offers you this today, the useful question is not "is there research?" but "which of these registered studies is mine part of, and if none, what evidence applies to the exact product I am being sold?" The Provider Question Builder turns that into a scored checklist.
Frequently asked
How many MSC studies for Diabetes (Type 1 & 2) are recruiting right now?
1 of 29 registered records were listed as recruiting in the 2026-08-29 snapshot. Recruitment status changes frequently; the registry record is authoritative.
Is MSC an approved treatment for Diabetes (Type 1 & 2)?
Registration on ClinicalTrials.gov is not approval. Approval is granted by a regulator for a specific product and indication after review of submitted evidence. 29 registered studies tell you research exists, not that a product cleared review.
How advanced is the research on MSC for Diabetes (Type 1 & 2)?
3 of 29 records carry a Phase 3 or Phase 4 label and 7 are marked completed. Registrations run from 2008 to 2025.
Registry and literature counts retrieved 2026-08-29 (ClinicalTrials.gov API v2; PubMed E-utilities). Registration or publication volume measures research activity, not effectiveness or approval. Educational information — not medical advice; verify product, indication, legal pathway and evidence with an independent qualified physician. Page generated 2026-08-29. See our editorial standards.
More on this condition
- Diabetes (Type 1 & 2): cell-therapy evidence and registered trials
- How much does stem cell therapy for Diabetes (Type 1 & 2) cost? (2026)
- Diabetes (Type 1 & 2) stem cell therapy — your questions answered (2026)
- Diabetes (Type 1 & 2): cell-therapy evidence by therapy class
- MSC vs HSCT for Diabetes (Type 1 & 2): what the registries show
Download the query data
Query totals are full API matches; status, phase and country counts describe the first up to 400 returned records per query. Query classes overlap and must not be summed as unique trials. Counts are not treatment outcomes. Snapshot: 2026-08-29. Methods and field definitions.