Lesió i protecció de les cèl.lules beta en el trasplantament dillots pancreàtics

Abstract

Islet transplantation is limited by the insufficient supply of islet tissue, a problem that is further aggravated by the high number of islets required for successful transplantation. Islets are particularly vulnerable in the initial days after transplantation, when more than half of the islet tissue may be lost due to increased beta-cell apoptosis and necrosis. Non-specific inflammation at the grafted site could play a role in the initial fate of transplanted islets. The aims of the study were to determine the expression of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine genes in the initial days after syngeneic islet transplantation, whether blood glucose modulates their expression in islet grafts, and the effect of initial apoptosis inhibition in transplanted beta cells. The inflammatory response in islet grafts was maximal on day 1 after transplantation when cytokine genes of IL-1beta, TNF-alfa, IL-6 and IL-10 were detected. It was sustained, although at lower levels, on days 3 and 7, and it was partly enhanced by hyperglycemia. At this moment, IL-1beta and iNOS proteins were also detected in, mainly, macrophages of the graft. To study the effect of apoptosis inhibition, a subobtimal beta cell mass were transplanted to hyperglycemic animals. Islets were previously incubated with caspase inhibitor, z-VAD.fmk. The treatment of freshly isolated islets with the caspase inhibitor educed the subsequent apoptosis of the islets once they were transplanted and improved the outcome of the graft. "