ISLET TRANSPLANTATION TO CREATE A BIOARTIFICIAL PANCREAS - MINI REVIEW

Donor scarcity precludes the use of pancreatic transplantation to trea t type I diabetes. Xenogeneic islet transplantation offers the possibi lity of overcoming this problem; however, it entails the use of immuno isolation devices to prevent immune rejection of the transplanted isle ts. These devices consist of a semipermeable membrane, which surrounds the islets and isolates them from the host's immune system, while all owing the passage of insulin and essential nutrients, including glucos e. Problems associated with proposed device designs include diffusion limitations, biocompatibility, device retrieval in the event of failur e, and mechanical integrity. Microencapsulation appears to be the most promising system of immunoisolation, however, the design of a device suitable for human clinical use remains a challenge. (C) 1994 John Wil ey and Sons, Inc.