Boosting the engraftment of subcutaneously transplanted pancreatic islets by nanofat.

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Aims In the therapy of type 1 diabetes mellitus, the subcutaneous space has been suggested to be a clinically preferable transplantation site for pancreatic islets due to its easy accessibility. However, its poor vascularisation capacity and, thus, challenging environment typically result in islet engraftment failure. In the present proof-of-principle study, we demonstrate that this problem can be overcome by nanofat, an emulsified fat derivative already used in clinical practice. Materials and methods The cellular composition of nanofat was assessed by immunohistochemistry. The angiogenic activity of the soluble and cellular nanofat fraction was analyzed by an angiogenic protein array, tube formation and spheroid sprouting assays. The viability and endocrine function of islets exposed to the nanofat fractions was investigated by flow cytometry, qRT-PCR and ELISA. In vivo, islets and nanofat were co-transplanted under the kidney capsule as well as into the subcutaneous space of diabetic animals. Results In a panel of in vitro assays, we showed that the soluble and cellular nanofat fraction improve the viability, hormone release, and angiogenic activity of islets. The beneficial effects of these two fractions were validated in vivo in the murine diabetic kidney capsule model, as indicated by an accelerated restoration of normoglycaemia. The co-transplantation of islets with nano

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

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