Skip to main content
  • Submit
  • About
    • Editorial Board
    • PNAS Staff
    • FAQ
    • Accessibility Statement
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Site Map
  • Contact
  • Journal Club
  • Subscribe
    • Subscription Rates
    • Subscriptions FAQ
    • Open Access
    • Recommend PNAS to Your Librarian
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Main menu

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current
    • Special Feature Articles - Most Recent
    • Special Features
    • Colloquia
    • Collected Articles
    • PNAS Classics
    • List of Issues
  • Front Matter
  • News
    • For the Press
    • This Week In PNAS
    • PNAS in the News
  • Podcasts
  • Authors
    • Information for Authors
    • Editorial and Journal Policies
    • Submission Procedures
    • Fees and Licenses
  • Submit
  • About
    • Editorial Board
    • PNAS Staff
    • FAQ
    • Accessibility Statement
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Site Map
  • Contact
  • Journal Club
  • Subscribe
    • Subscription Rates
    • Subscriptions FAQ
    • Open Access
    • Recommend PNAS to Your Librarian

User menu

  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Home
Home

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current
    • Special Feature Articles - Most Recent
    • Special Features
    • Colloquia
    • Collected Articles
    • PNAS Classics
    • List of Issues
  • Front Matter
  • News
    • For the Press
    • This Week In PNAS
    • PNAS in the News
  • Podcasts
  • Authors
    • Information for Authors
    • Editorial and Journal Policies
    • Submission Procedures
    • Fees and Licenses

New Research In

Physical Sciences

Featured Portals

  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Sustainability Science

Articles by Topic

  • Applied Mathematics
  • Applied Physical Sciences
  • Astronomy
  • Computer Sciences
  • Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
  • Engineering
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Mathematics
  • Statistics

Social Sciences

Featured Portals

  • Anthropology
  • Sustainability Science

Articles by Topic

  • Economic Sciences
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Political Sciences
  • Psychological and Cognitive Sciences
  • Social Sciences

Biological Sciences

Featured Portals

  • Sustainability Science

Articles by Topic

  • Agricultural Sciences
  • Anthropology
  • Applied Biological Sciences
  • Biochemistry
  • Biophysics and Computational Biology
  • Cell Biology
  • Developmental Biology
  • Ecology
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Evolution
  • Genetics
  • Immunology and Inflammation
  • Medical Sciences
  • Microbiology
  • Neuroscience
  • Pharmacology
  • Physiology
  • Plant Biology
  • Population Biology
  • Psychological and Cognitive Sciences
  • Sustainability Science
  • Systems Biology
Research Article

Transplantation of human islets without immunosuppression

Barbara Ludwig, Andreas Reichel, Anja Steffen, Baruch Zimerman, Andrew V. Schally, Norman L. Block, Clark K. Colton, Stefan Ludwig, Stephan Kersting, Ezio Bonifacio, Michele Solimena, Zohar Gendler, Avi Rotem, Uriel Barkai, and Stefan R. Bornstein
PNAS first published October 28, 2013; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1317561110
Barbara Ludwig
aDepartment of Medicine III and
bCentre for Diabetes Research, Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden, D-01307 Dresden, Germany;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Andreas Reichel
aDepartment of Medicine III and
bCentre for Diabetes Research, Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden, D-01307 Dresden, Germany;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Anja Steffen
aDepartment of Medicine III and
bCentre for Diabetes Research, Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden, D-01307 Dresden, Germany;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Baruch Zimerman
cBeta-O2 Technologies, Petach Tikva 49511, Israel;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Andrew V. Schally
dDivisions of Endocrinology and Hematology–Oncology, Departments of Pathology and Medicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136;
eVeterans Administration Medical Center, Miami, FL 33125;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: andrew.schally@va.gov
Norman L. Block
dDivisions of Endocrinology and Hematology–Oncology, Departments of Pathology and Medicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136;
eVeterans Administration Medical Center, Miami, FL 33125;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Clark K. Colton
fDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Stefan Ludwig
gDepartment of Visceral, Thorax, and Vascular Surgery, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, D-01307 Dresden, Germany;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Stephan Kersting
bCentre for Diabetes Research, Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden, D-01307 Dresden, Germany;
gDepartment of Visceral, Thorax, and Vascular Surgery, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, D-01307 Dresden, Germany;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Ezio Bonifacio
hCenter for Regenerative Therapies Dresden, Technische Universität Dresden, D-01307 Dresden, Germany;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Michele Solimena
bCentre for Diabetes Research, Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden, D-01307 Dresden, Germany;
iMax Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, D-01307 Dresden, Germany; and
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Zohar Gendler
cBeta-O2 Technologies, Petach Tikva 49511, Israel;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Avi Rotem
cBeta-O2 Technologies, Petach Tikva 49511, Israel;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Uriel Barkai
cBeta-O2 Technologies, Petach Tikva 49511, Israel;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Stefan R. Bornstein
aDepartment of Medicine III and
bCentre for Diabetes Research, Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden, D-01307 Dresden, Germany;
jDepartment of Endocrinology and Diabetes, King's College, London SE5 9RJ, England
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  1. Contributed by Andrew V. Schally, September 20, 2013 (sent for review August 15, 2013)

  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Significance

Diabetes mellitus type 1 is an autoimmune disease that results in irreversible destruction of insulin-producing beta cells. Substantial advances have been made in beta cell replacement therapies over the last decades. However, lack of eligible donor organs and the need for chronic immunosuppression to prevent rejection critically limit a widespread application of these strategies. In this paper we present the clinical success of using a bioartificial pancreas for the transplantation of insulin-producing islets without affecting the immune system. In a patient with long-standing type-1 diabetes we could demonstrate persistent graft function and regulated insulin secretion without the need for immune-modulating medication. This strategy opens up avenues for more widespread and safe application of various cell-based therapies.

Abstract

Transplantation of pancreatic islets is emerging as a successful treatment for type-1 diabetes. Its current stringent restriction to patients with critical metabolic lability is justified by the long-term need for immunosuppression and a persistent shortage of donor organs. We developed an oxygenated chamber system composed of immune-isolating alginate and polymembrane covers that allows for survival and function of islets without immunosuppression. A patient with type-1 diabetes received a transplanted chamber and was followed for 10 mo. Persistent graft function in this chamber system was demonstrated, with regulated insulin secretion and preservation of islet morphology and function without any immunosuppressive therapy. This approach may allow for future widespread application of cell-based therapies.

  • β-cell replacement
  • immune barrier
  • oxygenation

Footnotes

  • ↵1B.L. and A. Reichel contributed equally to this work.

  • ↵2To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: andrew.schally{at}va.gov.
  • Author contributions: B.L., A. Reichel, A.S., B.Z., C.K.C., S.L., S.K., E.B., M.S., Z.G., A. Rotem, U.B., and S.R.B. designed research; B.L., A. Reichel, A.S., B.Z., C.K.C., S.L., S.K., E.B., M.S., A. Rotem, U.B., and S.R.B. performed research; B.L., A. Reichel, A.S., B.Z., A.V.S., N.L.B., E.B., M.S., Z.G., A. Rotem, U.B., and S.R.B. analyzed data; and B.L., A. Reichel, A.S., B.Z., A.V.S., N.L.B., E.B., M.S., Z.G., A. Rotem, U.B., and S.R.B. wrote the paper.

  • The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Next
Back to top
Article Alerts
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on PNAS.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Transplantation of human islets without immunosuppression
(Your Name) has sent you a message from PNAS
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the PNAS web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
Transplantation of macroencapsulated islets
Barbara Ludwig, Andreas Reichel, Anja Steffen, Baruch Zimerman, Andrew V. Schally, Norman L. Block, Clark K. Colton, Stefan Ludwig, Stephan Kersting, Ezio Bonifacio, Michele Solimena, Zohar Gendler, Avi Rotem, Uriel Barkai, Stefan R. Bornstein
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Oct 2013, 201317561; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1317561110

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Request Permissions
Share
Transplantation of macroencapsulated islets
Barbara Ludwig, Andreas Reichel, Anja Steffen, Baruch Zimerman, Andrew V. Schally, Norman L. Block, Clark K. Colton, Stefan Ludwig, Stephan Kersting, Ezio Bonifacio, Michele Solimena, Zohar Gendler, Avi Rotem, Uriel Barkai, Stefan R. Bornstein
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Oct 2013, 201317561; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1317561110
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Mendeley logo Mendeley
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: 118 (2)
Current Issue

Submit

Sign up for Article Alerts

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

You May Also be Interested in

Abstract depiction of a guitar and musical note
Science & Culture: At the nexus of music and medicine, some see disease treatments
Although the evidence is still limited, a growing body of research suggests music may have beneficial effects for diseases such as Parkinson’s.
Image credit: Shutterstock/agsandrew.
Scientist looking at an electronic tablet
Opinion: Standardizing gene product nomenclature—a call to action
Biomedical communities and journals need to standardize nomenclature of gene products to enhance accuracy in scientific and public communication.
Image credit: Shutterstock/greenbutterfly.
One red and one yellow modeled protein structures
Journal Club: Study reveals evolutionary origins of fold-switching protein
Shapeshifting designs could have wide-ranging pharmaceutical and biomedical applications in coming years.
Image credit: Acacia Dishman/Medical College of Wisconsin.
White and blue bird
Hazards of ozone pollution to birds
Amanda Rodewald, Ivan Rudik, and Catherine Kling talk about the hazards of ozone pollution to birds.
Listen
Past PodcastsSubscribe
Goats standing in a pin
Transplantation of sperm-producing stem cells
CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing can improve the effectiveness of spermatogonial stem cell transplantation in mice and livestock, a study finds.
Image credit: Jon M. Oatley.

Similar Articles

Site Logo
Powered by HighWire
  • Submit Manuscript
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • RSS Feeds
  • Email Alerts

Articles

  • Current Issue
  • Latest Articles
  • Archive

PNAS Portals

  • Anthropology
  • Chemistry
  • Classics
  • Front Matter
  • Physics
  • Sustainability Science
  • Teaching Resources

Information

  • Authors
  • Editorial Board
  • Reviewers
  • Librarians
  • Press
  • Site Map
  • PNAS Updates

Feedback    Privacy/Legal

Copyright © 2021 National Academy of Sciences. Online ISSN 1091-6490