Chapter 20 - Endothelialized collagen modules for islet tissue engineering

Abstract

The transplantation of pancreatic islets into the portal vein is a promising therapy for the treatment of type I diabetes. However, multiple donors are required due to the substantial loss of islets upon transplantation. Hence, alternative transplant sites are being explored. Regardless of the transplant site, pancreatic islets must be well vascularized and integrated with the host’s vasculature to achieve glucose homeostasis. The Sefton lab has developed a “bottom-up” approach to tissue engineering using submillimeter rods coated with endothelial cells to form a vascularized bed. This vascular bed has been shown to support transplanted pancreatic islets in both the omental pouch and the subcutaneous space in different animal models. Successful revascularization and integration with the host was achieved in the subcutaneous model, which was critical for achieving a return to normoglycemia in streptozotocin-induced diabetic SCID/bg mice. This chapter also highlights proposed modifications to endothelialized modules to further increase the efficacy for islet tissue engineering in the future.