Impact of tissue volume and purification on clinical autologous islet transplantation for the treatment of chronic pancreatitis.
Autologous islet transplantation after total pancreatectomy is an excellent treatment for painful chronic pancreatitis. Traditionally, islets have been isolated without purification; however, purification is applied when the tissue volume is large. Nevertheless, the impact of tissue  volume and islet purification on clinical outcomes of autologous islet transplantation has not been well examined. We analyzed 27 cases of autologous islet transplantation performed from October 2006 to January 2011. After examining the relationship between tissue volume and portal pressure  at various time points, we compared islet characteristics and clinical outcomes between cases with complications (complication group) and without (noncomplication group), as well as cases with purification (purification group) and without (nonpurification group). Tissue volume significantly  correlated with maximum (R = 0.61), final (R = 0.53), and delta (i.e., difference between base and maximum; R = 0.71) portal pressure. The complication group had a significantly higher body mass index, tissue volume, islet yield, and portal pressure (maximum, final, delta),  suggesting that complications were associated with high tissue volume and high portal pressure. Only one of four patients (25%) in the complication group became insulin free, whereas 11 of 23 patients (49%) in the noncomplication group became insulin free with smaller islet yields. The purification  group had a higher islet yield and insulin independence rate but had similar final tissue volume, portal pressure, and complication rates compared with the nonpurification group. In conclusion, high tissue volume was associated with high portal pressure and complications in autologous islet  transplantation. Islet purification effectively reduced tissue volume and had no negative impact on islet characteristics. Therefore, islet purification can reduce the risk of complications and may improve clinical outcome for autologous islet transplantation when tissue volume is large.
Baylor All Saints Islet Cell Laboratory, Fort Worth, TX 76104, USA.
Shinichi
S
Matsumoto
Morihito
M
Takita
Masayuki
M
Shimoda
Koji
K
Sugimoto
Takeshi
T
Itoh
Daisuke
D
Chujo
Jeffery A
JA
SoRelle
Yoshiko
Y
Tamura
Ana M
AM
Rahman
Nicholas
N
Onaca
Bashoo
B
Naziruddin
Marlon F
MF
Levy
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016381:Islets of Langerhans Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size / Q000502:physiology; D050500:Pancreatitis, Chronic / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies