Safety and Viability of Microencapsulated Human Islets Transplanted Into Diabetic Humans
- Bernard E. Tuch, FRACP, PHD1,2,
- Gregory W. Keogh, FRACS3,
- Lindy J. Williams, BSC2,
- Wei Wu, PHD2,
- Jayne L. Foster, PHD2,
- Vijayganapathy Vaithilingam, MSC2 and
- Robert Philips, FRANZCR4
- 1Australian Foundation for Diabetes Research, Sydney, Australia;
- 2Diabetes Transplant Unit, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, Australia;
- 3Department of Surgery, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney Australia;
- 4Department of Medical Imaging, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
- Corresponding author: Bernard Tuch, btuch{at}alumni.sydney.edu.au.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Transplantation of insulin-producing cells placed inside microcapsules is being trialled to overcome the need for immunosuppressive therapy.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Four type 1 diabetic patients with no detectable C-peptide received an intraperitoneal infusion of islets inside microcapsules of barium alginate (mean 178,200 islet equivalents on each of eight occasions).
RESULTS C-peptide was detected on day 1 post-transplantation, and blood glucose levels and insulin requirements decreased. C-peptide was undetectable by 1–4 weeks. In a multi-islet recipient, C-peptide was detected at 6 weeks after the third infusion and remains detectable at 2.5 years. Neither insulin requirements nor glycemic control was affected. Capsules recovered at 16 months were surrounded by fibrous tissue and contained necrotic islets. No major side effects or infection occurred.
CONCLUSIONS While allografting of encapsulated human islets is safe, efficacy of the cells needs to improve for the therapy to make an impact on the clinical scene.
Footnotes
-
Clinical trial reg. no. ACTRN12609000192280clinicaltrials.gov (Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry).
-
The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked “advertisement” in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
-
- Received April 20, 2009.
- Accepted June 15, 2009.
- © 2009 by the American Diabetes Association.
