LANGERHANS ISLET PREPARATION IN CELL TRANSPLANTATION

Islet cell transplantation is potentially one of the best techniques f or the almost perfect symptomatic treatment of Type 1 diabetes mellitu s. Thanks to the considerable progress achieved in isolating and purif ying human islet cells, highly encouraging results have recently been reported. However, due to the need for immunosuppression treatment, th e indications are presently as limited as those for transplantation of the vascularized pancreas, namely co-transplantation. The ultimate go al of transplantation is to allow long-term function of the grafted ti ssues using no or transitory host immunosuppression. When compared to solid organ grafts, cellular transplants are more amenable to creative strategies to accomplish this goal. We review the current status of i slet transplantation in man and then the major steps before islet tran splantation and their prospects. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.