| Two major barriers to islet transplantation are the need for an unlimited source of donor tissue and a safer method of immunosuppression. These may be overcome by xenotransplantation of neonatal porcine islets (NPI) along with combined co-transplantation of neonatal porcine Sertoli cells (SC) and transient use of anti-LFA-1 monoclonal antibody (mAb). In this study we aimed to identify potential mechanisms responsible for prolonged NPI islet xenograft survival with our combination therapy.;Our data demonstrates that the combination of anti-LFA-1 mAb therapy along with the co-transplantation of SC is indeed highly efficacious in preventing NPI xenograft rejection as 20/27 treated mice achieved and maintained long-term graft survival. Although it appears that T regulatory cells are not solely responsible for maintaining long-term xenograft protection, they are likely important in establishing a TH2 cell phenotype and sharing a role with secreted SC products, such as serpina3n, in prolonging NPI xenograft protection. |
