Transplantation sites for porcine islets

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Xenotransplantation has great potential to provide beta cell replacement and thereby provide a cure for large numbers of people with type 1 diabetes. Crucial to the success of xenotransplantation is establishment of the most viable sites for transplantation. METHODS: We compared porcine islet tissue transplanted into kidney, liver and spleen in pig recipients as assessed by blood glucose levels and IVGTT. RESULTS: Kidney was the superior site for porcine islet tissue transplantation, followed by liver then spleen. This was demonstrated by IVGTTs showing significant difference between the peak glucose levels: 22.8 ± 2.9 mmol/l for kidney compared with 26.8 ± 1.3 mmol/l for spleen and 24.7 ± 1.7 mmol/l for liver. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Kidney grafts are not as feasible in humans and liver results were relatively poorer than spleen. For islet transplantation to be viable and successful in the longer term, there remains a need for future investigation of alternative sites.