Successful intracerebral allotransplantation of purified pancreatic endocrine cells in diabetic rat.

Single pancreatic endocrine cells (PEC) have been demonstrated to restore normoglycemia when transplanted intracerebrally in diabetic rat recipients across a major histocompatibility barrier without immunosuppression. Twelve out of twelve transplants of purified PEC have achieved long-term survival of over 176 days. This approach would provide a model to identify the specific cell(s) as inducer of graft rejection and an opportunity for transplantation study in spontaneous diabetic BB rats and larger diabetic animal models.