Allograft survival in diabetic mice transplanted with Sil-1RI gene-modified islet cells

Abstract

Objective To discuss the effect of sIL-1RI on allograft survival after islet transplantation.Methods Islets were isolated and transfected with Ad-sIL-1RI-Ig.Mice were treated with STZ to induce insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus(IDDM) model.Islet transplantation was carried out to IDDM mice with sIL-1RI-Ig gene-modified islet cells.Then the survival time of grafts was tested by daily observing blood glucose and insulin levels.The expression of cytokines was detected in graft after transplantation by using RT-PCR. Pathological changes of the graft were also observed by chromoscopy with HE after transplantation.Results The survival time of the grafts in sIL-1RI-Ig-islet group (39±3 days) was prolonged significantly (P<0.01) as compared with controls.A down-regulation of cytokines expression was detected in grafts after transplantation.Less damage and infiltration of lymphocytes were found in sIL-1RI-Ig gene-transfected group.Conclusion The effects of islet cells modified with sIL-1RI-Ig before transplantation on the rejection of murine islet allograft were investigated.The results verified that sIL-1RI-Ig-modified islet allograft could prolong the survival of grafts significantly,and demonstrated it was possible that sIL-1RI-Ig preventedallograft rejection via reducing the expression of cytokines(TNF-α,IFN-γ,RANTES,etc.). Key words: sIL-1R; Islet transplantation; Allograft tolerance; Type 1 diabetes mellitus