Repeated intraportal injections of subtherapeutic islet cell isografts restore normoglycemia in streptozotocin-diabetic rats

Poor engraftment and consequent loss of β-cell mass could be one of the factors that are responsible for function loss after intraportal islet transplantation (Tx). Streptozotocin-diabetic rats were transplanted with syngeneic islets, which were injected into the portal vein via an indwelling catheter connected to a subcutaneous port. In Group I (n = 6), 1,000 islets were injected in a single dose into the liver. In Group II (n = 6), five doses of 200 islets were repeatedly injected over a period of 14 days, for a total of 1,000 islets. In Group III (n = 4), five decreasing doses of islets were injected over a period of 14 days, for a total of 750 islets. Nonfasting blood glucose (n-FBG) and body weight (b.wt.) were determined twice a week and an intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT) was performed at 30 and 90 days. In Group I, n-FBG decreased in 2 wk from the time of first islet injection, averaging 110 ± 21.9 mg/dL at 1 mo (p < 0.05 vs. normal controls); this value was maintained throughout the 3-mo duration of the study. In Group II, n-FBG was normalized in 2 wk averaging 90.2 ± 25 mg/dL on day 12 (p = NS vs. normal controls) and 75.8 ± 14.6 mg/dL at 1 month (p = NS vs. normal controls); this value was maintained throughout the 3-mo duration of the study. In Group III, n-FBG decreased to normal values in 2 wk, averaging 77 ± 15.7 mg/dL at 1 mo (p = NS vs. normal controls), but normoglycemia was maintained for 40 days and then followed by a progressive increase. Only in Group II, K_G (percent/min decline in glucose level) was not significantly different from that of normal controls (1.702 ± 0.531 at 1 mo and 1.676 ± 0.891 at 3 mo), while it was significantly lower than normal controls in both Group I and III animals. Body weight increase after Tx correlated with the number of transplanted islets and at 90 days, Group III rats showed less increase than Groups I and II (p < 0.05), while no significant differences in b.wt. were recorded between Group I and II. The findings indicate that intraportal islet Tx, injected repeatedly and in small doses, produced better metabolic effects than injection of the same total number of islets in a single dose.