Low-dose ATG/GCSF in Established Type 1 Diabetes: A Five-Year Follow-up Report

Previously, we demonstrated low-dose anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) and granulocyte colony stimulating factor (GCSF) immunotherapy preserved C-peptide for two years in a pilot study of subjects with established type 1 diabetes (n=25). Herein, we evaluated the long-term outcomes of ATG/GCSF in study participants with five years of available follow-up data (n=15). The primary endpoint was area under the curve (AUC) C-peptide during a two-hour mixed-meal tolerance test (MMTT). After five years, there were no statistically significant differences in AUC C-peptide when comparing subjects who received ATG/GCSF versus placebo (p = 0.41). A modeling framework based on mean trajectories in C-peptide AUC over five years, accounting for differing trends between groups, was applied to re-categorize responders (n=9) and non-responders (n=7). ATG/GCSF reponders demonstrated nearly unchanged HbA1c over five years [mean (95% CI) adjusted change = 0.29% (-0.69%, 1.27%)], but the study was not powered for comparisons against non-responders 1.75% (-0.57%, 4.06%) and placebo 1.44% (0.21%, 2.66%). These data underscore the importance of long-term follow up in previous and ongoing phase 2 trials of low-dose ATG in recent-onset type 1 diabetes.