title: Immunoprotection of pancreatic islet grafts within artificial microcapsules.
abstract: To circumvent pancreatic islet graft-directed immune destruction we enveloped porcine islets within highly biocompatible and selectively permeable algin/polyaminoacid microcapsules. These special microspheres were deposited between the inner (permeable) and the outer (impermeable) layers of an artificial, coaxial vascular prosthesis, directly anastomized to blood vessels. Five dogs with spontaneous, insulin-dependent diabetes received microencapsulated porcine islets in arterio-vein iliac prosthesis by-passes. One showed complete and the remainder partial, sustained reversal of hyperglycemia. Microencapsulation may be a potential solution to immunological problems related to islet transplantation.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Patologia Speciale Medica, Università di Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brunetti
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Basta
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Faloerni
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Calcinaro
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pietropaolo
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Calafiore
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D002214:Capsules; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000601:surgery*; D004285:Dogs; D006084:Graft Rejection; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000276:immunology; D016381:Islets of Langerhans Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D013552:Swine
chemical_list: D002214:Capsules