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Device Protects Transplanted Pancreatic Cells from the Immune System
April 10, 2009Scientists at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) and the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego) School of Medicine have demonstrated in mice that transplanted pancreatic precursor cells are protected from the immune system when encapsulated in polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE). The study, which suggests a new approach to treating Type 1 diabetes, was published online on April 8 in the journal Transplantation.
The team of scientists showed that after transplantation, the precursor cells mature into functional beta cells that are glucose-responsive and control blood sugar levels. Additionally, the study demonstrated that using precursor cells, instead of more committed beta cells, enhanced the cell transplant's chances of success.
"The results exceeded our expectations," said Pamela Itkin-Ansari, Ph.D., assistant adjunct professor at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and Burnham. "We thought that T-cells, although unable to penetrate the device, would cluster around it. But we found no evidence of an active immune response, suggesting that the cells in the device were invisible to the immune system."
The investigators used two different mouse models in the study. The team transplanted mouse islet cells into other mice to demonstrate that the cells were protected from the immune system when encapsulated in PTFE. Human cells encased in PTFE were then transplanted into immunodeficient mice to study the viability and function of both mature beta cells and precursor cells inside the device. Itkin-Ansari's team found that by using precursor cells that had not completely differentiated, the transplanted cells could regenerate into fully functional beta cells. This has important implications for how stem cell-derived tissue should be transplanted in the future.
Type 1 diabetes results from an autoimmune response wherein the body attacks and kills insulin producing beta cells in the pancreas. One of the challenges of cell transplantation therapy to treat diabetes is the need for long term immunosuppression, which carries health risks. Transplanting beta cells in a protective device could alleviate the need to use immunosuppressive drugs.
This study was funded by grants from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the JW Kieckhefer Foundation.
Burnham Institute for Medical Research
The investigators used two different mouse models in the study. The team transplanted mouse islet cells into other mice to demonstrate that the cells were protected from the immune system when encapsulated in PTFE. Human cells encased in PTFE were then transplanted into immunodeficient mice to study the viability and function of both mature beta cells and precursor cells inside the device. Itkin-Ansari's team found that by using precursor cells that had not completely differentiated, the transplanted cells could regenerate into fully functional beta cells. This has important implications for how stem cell-derived tissue should be transplanted in the future.
Type 1 diabetes results from an autoimmune response wherein the body attacks and kills insulin producing beta cells in the pancreas. One of the challenges of cell transplantation therapy to treat diabetes is the need for long term immunosuppression, which carries health risks. Transplanting beta cells in a protective device could alleviate the need to use immunosuppressive drugs.
This study was funded by grants from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the JW Kieckhefer Foundation.
Burnham Institute for Medical Research
Immune System Current Events and Immune System News RSSMultiple health concerns surface as winter, vitamin D deficiences arrive
A string of recent discoveries about the multiple health benefits of vitamin D has renewed interest in this multi-purpose nutrient, increased awareness of the huge numbers of people who are deficient in it, spurred research and even led to an appreciation of it as "nature's antibiotic."
Factors from common human bacteria may trigger multiple sclerosis
Current research suggests that a common oral bacterium may exacerbate autoimmune disease. The related report by Nichols et al, "Unique Lipids from a Common Human Bacterium Represent a New Class of TLR2 Ligands Capable of Enhancing Autoimmunity," appears in the December 2009 issue of The American Journal of Pathology.
Surface bacteria maintain skin's healthy balance
On the skin's surface, bacteria are abundant, diverse and constant, but inflammation is undesirable. Research at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine now shows that the normal bacteria living on the skin surface trigger a pathway that prevents excessive inflammation after injury.
Gene mismatch influences success of bone marrow transplants
A commonly inherited gene deletion can increase the likelihood of immune complications following bone marrow transplantation, an international team of researchers reports in the November 22 advance online issue of Nature Genetics.
Measuring and modeling blood flow in malaria
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New cancer target for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
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First reconstitution of an epidermis from human embryonic stem cells
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New findings suggest strategy to help generate HIV-neutralizing antibodies
New discoveries about anti-HIV antibodies may bring researchers a step closer to creating an effective HIV vaccine, according to a new paper co-authored by scientists at the Vaccine Research Center of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.
UAB Researchers Discover Antibody Receptor Identity, Propose Renaming Immune-System Gene
Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have uncovered the genetic identity of a cellular receptor for the immune system's first-response antibody, a discovery that sheds new light on infection control and immune disorders.
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