title: Membranes to achieve immunoprotection of transplanted islets.
abstract: Transplantation of islet or beta cells is seen as the cure for type 1 diabetes since it allows physiological regulation of blood glucose levels without requiring any compliance from the patients. In order to circumvent the use of immunosuppressive drugs (and their side effects), semipermeable membranes have been developed to encapsulate and immunoprotect transplanted cells. This review presents the historical developments of immunoisolation and provides an update on the current research in this field. A particular emphasis is laid on the fabrication, characterization and performance of membranes developed for immunoisolation applications.
authors.affiliation: Therapeutic Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), 1700 4th Street, Box 2520, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA.
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schweicher
authors.affiliation: Therapeutic Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), 1700 4th Street, Box 2520, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA.
authors.forename: Crystal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nyitray
authors.affiliation: Therapeutic Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), 1700 4th Street, Box 2520, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA.
authors.forename: Tejal A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Desai
mesh_terms: D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000276:immunology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D016381:Islets of Langerhans Transplantation; D008567:Membranes, Artificial
chemical_list: D008567:Membranes, Artificial