Transplantation of Pancreatic Islets

Gizo Nakagawara

First Department of Surgery, Fukui Medical School

Islet transplantation in Type I insulin-dependent diabetus mellitus (IDDM) has some advantages over vascularized pancreas organ transplantation, such as the easy and safe technique of transplantation, and the possibility of immunomodulation of the graft. But data from clinical studies have shown that some scrious problems still need to be overcome. One of the problems islet transplatation is the islet storage. There are some preservation methods, including culture, low temperature preservation, and cryopreserva tion, but cryopreservation may be the only possible method of long-term preservation. Islets can be cryopreserved without loss of their biological activity by using the cooling rate of 1°C/min and 25°C/min. And cryopreserved isolets can normalize the blood glucose level of diabetic hamsters in isogenic trnasplantation. To reduce the immunogenicity of the islets, isolated pancreatic islets were dissociated into islet cells and cryopreserved. There was a significant prolongation of survival of dissociated and cryopreserved islet cells in allogenic transplantation in rats. Irradiation of islets and encapsulation of islets were also examined and these methods were useful for controlling rejection in islet transplantation. We believe these approaches will permit application of these methods to the treatment of diabetes in human with allorgrafts xenografts.

Key words
insulin dependent deabetes mellitus, pancreatic islets, transplantation, cryopreservation, immunomodulation

Reprint requests
Gizo Nakagawara First Department of Surgery, Fukui Medical School
23 Shimoaizuki, Matsuokacho, Yoshidagun, Fukui, 910-11 JAPAN

Accepted
November 15, 1995

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