Encapsulation of pancreatic islets for transplantation in diabetes: the untouchable islets.
The aim of encapsulation of pancreatic islets is to transplant in the absence of immunosuppression. It is based on the principle that transplanted tissue is protected from the host immune system by an artificial membrane. Encapsulation allows for application of insulin-secreting cells of animal or other surrogate sources, to overcome human islet shortage. The advantages and pitfalls of the approaches developed so far are discussed and compared, together with some recent progress, in view of applicability in clinical islet transplantation.
Immunoendocrinology, Dept of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Section of Medical Biology, University of Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands. P.DE.VOS@MED.RUG.NL
Paul
P
de Vos
Piero
P
Marchetti
D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000378:metabolism*; D016381:Islets of Langerhans Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D008954:Models, Biological
D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D007328:Insulin; D008567:Membranes, Artificial