Clinical Benefit of Islet Xenotransplantation for the Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes

• Published in: EBioMedicine Vol. 12; no. C; pp. 255 - 262
• Main Authors: Matsumoto, Shinichi, Abalovich, Adrian, Wechsler, Carlos, Wynyard, Shaun, Elliott, Robert B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.10.2016; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Animals; Animals, Newborn; Biomarkers; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - metabolism; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - therapy; Encapsulation; Female; Glucose Tolerance Test; Humans; Hypoglycemia - etiology; Islet transplantation; Islets of Langerhans Transplantation - adverse effects; Islets of Langerhans Transplantation - methods; Male; Middle Aged; PERV; Porcine islet; Research Paper; Swine; Transplantation, Heterologous; Treatment Outcome; Type 1 diabetes; Xenotransplantation; Young Adult; Encapsulation; Islet transplantation; PERV; Type 1 diabetes; Xenotransplantation; Porcine islet
• ISSN: 2352-3964; 2352-3964
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2016.08.034

Allogeneic islet transplantation has become a viable option for the treatment of unstable type 1 diabetes. However, the donor shortage and the necessity of the immunosuppressive drugs are two major issues. To solve these issues, we performed islet xenotransplantation using encapsulated neonatal porcine islets without immunosuppressive drugs. Two different doses (approximately 5000IEQ/kg and 10,000IEQ/kg) of encapsulated neonatal porcine islets were transplanted twice (total approximately 10,000IEQ/kg and 20,000IEQ/kg) into four type 1 diabetic patients in each group (total 8 patients). In the higher dose group, all four patients improved HbA1c. This was maintained at a level of <7% for >600days with significant reduction of the frequency of unaware hypoglycemic events. The clinical benefit of islet xenotransplantation with microencapsulation has been shown. •Encapsulated porcine neonatal islets were transplanted into 8 type 1 diabetic patients.•Patients with high dose group could maintain HbA1c<7% >600days with reduced hypoglycemic events.•There is no PERV infection in all patients Insulin dependent diabetes mellitus can be successfully treated by human islet cell transplantation. However the shortage of donated human pancreas is the major issue. Islet transplantation using clinical grade porcine pancreas is a promising treatment to alleviate the shortage of donated human pancreas. In this study, we transplanted encapsulated neonatal porcine islets into 8 insulin dependent diabetic patients. There was no porcine endogenous retrovirus infection. All patients reduced HbA1c levels which indicated glycemic controls were improved. Encapsulated neonatal porcine islet transplantation appears safe and efficacious to improve glycemic control for insulin dependent diabetic patients.