title: Recyclable islet isografts: a biological insulin pump to facilitate surgery in diabetic rats.
abstract: A method is described to facilitate extensive abdominal surgery in diabetic rats using temporary renal subcapsular islet isografts. The procedure is performed in three stages--each separated by 2 wk. After each rat is made diabetic (Step 1), an isogenic islet transplant is performed beneath the left renal capsule (Step 2). Step 3 is the operative procedure, followed by a left nephrectomy. Finally, it is shown how the islet isograft can be excised from the nephrectomy specimen and "recycled" into another diabetic rat (Step 2). Using this three step process, it is possible to decrease the mortality rate following orthotropic liver transplantation in diabetic rats from 100% to about 30%. This procedure can also be used to facilitate other extensive surgical procedures in diabetic rats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Izaak Walton Killam Children's Hospital, Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: al-Abdullah
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Wright
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery*; D007332:Insulin Infusion Systems; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000166:cytology*; D016381:Islets of Langerhans Transplantation / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D009392:Nephrectomy; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D014185:Transplantation, Isogeneic / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods