A gelatin hydrogel nonwoven fabric (GHNF; NIKKE MEDICAL Co., Ltd., Osaka, Japan) was prepared using a previously reported method [16 (link)] and processed into a circular sheet (22 mm diameter, 0.5 mm thickness). Two GHNF sheets sandwiching a silicone spacer (26 mm diameter, 0.5 mm thickness) were placed into the left dorsal subcutaneous space 3 weeks before islet implantation (GHNF group), and a silicone spacer alone was also arranged in the same way (control group). The duration of pretreatment was determined according to a previous report in mice by comparison with hematoxylin–eosin staining [12 (link)]. GHNF and silicone spacers were implanted into healthy rats and STZ was injected 7 days before islet transplantation.
After removing the silicone spacer, different numbers of syngeneic rat islets were transplanted using a gastight syringe (Hamilton Co., Reno, NV, USA) to determine the marginal dose of islet grafts using GHNF that normalizes the blood glucose levels (2,700–4,680 islet equivalents (IEQs); n = 11, 5,400–6,300 IEQs; n = 7, 7,200–9,360 IEQs; n = 8). For evaluating the impact of GHNF, 5,400 IEQs of islets were implanted into the pretreated space in the GHNF and control groups. The recipients were followed by measuring the non-fasting blood glucose levels every 3–4 days throughout the study period (60 days after islet transplantation).
After removing the silicone spacer, different numbers of syngeneic rat islets were transplanted using a gastight syringe (Hamilton Co., Reno, NV, USA) to determine the marginal dose of islet grafts using GHNF that normalizes the blood glucose levels (2,700–4,680 islet equivalents (IEQs); n = 11, 5,400–6,300 IEQs; n = 7, 7,200–9,360 IEQs; n = 8). For evaluating the impact of GHNF, 5,400 IEQs of islets were implanted into the pretreated space in the GHNF and control groups. The recipients were followed by measuring the non-fasting blood glucose levels every 3–4 days throughout the study period (60 days after islet transplantation).
Free full text: Click here
