Japanese scientists say they’ve identified the cause of early rejection of transplanted pancreatic islet cells used in treating type 1 diabetes. According to a UPI report, researchers at the Riken Institute and Fukuoka University said their discovery sets the stage for development of treatment technique which could be four times more effective than existing islet transplant methods.
In the study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the researchers found that HMGB1, a nuclear protein whose precise function has previously been unclear, is produced by the islet cells and directly triggers their early rejection. The scientists developed a system to measure the level of HMGB1 in the blood and determine the onset of rejection. These findings may hold the key to much higher success rate in islet transplants.
