Successful xenogenic islet transplantation with Ba²⁺-alginate encapsulation

Islet transplantation is one of the promising treatment strategies for the cure of diabetes. However, the hurdles such as shortage of human tissue, immune rejection and recurrence of autoimmunity should be overcome for successful islet transplantation. Xeno-transplantation can be a solution to shortage of human sources. Immune isolation by microencapsulation of islet with alginate polymer could escape the immune injuries. Microencapsulated xenoislet transplantation is a one of the ideal strategies to cure the diabetes. Here, we introduce microencapsulation of islets for successful xenogenic islet transplantation. We achieved optimization of encapsulating condition. First, we demonstrated viability and insulin secreting capacity of encapsulated islets in vitro. We confirmed their ability of maintaining normoglycemia and escaping immune rejection after rat or porcine islet transplantation to diabetic mouse models.