3.03 - Cell Separation, Perfusion from Tissue, Organelle Fractionation: A Comparison of the Methods Used for Porcine Islet Isolation for Transplantation as a Treatment for Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic condition of disordered glucose metabolism characterized by high blood glucose levels. Its prevalence has rapidly increased in recent years and has been predicted to continue to increase in the years to come. Type 1 diabetes mellitus is commonly treated by insulin therapy; however, secondary complications of diabetes still develop. The replacement of damaged beta cells in the islets could be accomplished by whole pancreas or islet transplantation. However, transplantation is currently challenged by the increasing demand for organs. The transplantation of porcine islets could potentially overcome the shortage of human organ donors and is being considered as one of the most feasible alternative treatments for type 1 diabetes mellitus. The methods for adult porcine islet isolation have dramatically improved since the 1970s and have lead to the enhancement of the quality of adult porcine islet preparations. Neonatal porcine islets with simpler isolation technique and differentiation capacity are becoming more attractive for preclinical large animal studies. The optimization of enzymatic digestion methods, culture conditions, quality control, and improvement of immunosuppressive therapies to overcome rejection are among the challenges that need to be met before porcine islet xenotransplantation can be applied to patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus.