Gene combination transfer to block autoimmune damage in transplanted islets of Langerhans

Islet transplantation therapy would be applicable to a wider range of diabetic patients if donor islet acceptance and protection were possible without systemic immuno-suppression of the recipient. To this aim, gene transfer to isolated donor islets ex vivo is one method that has shown promise. This study examines the combined effect of selected immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory genes known to extend the functional viability of pancreatic islet grafts in an autoimmune system. These genes, indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), and interleukin (IL)-1 receptor antagonist protein (IRAP), were transferred to isolated NOD donor islets ex vivo then transplanted to NOD scid recipients and evaluated in vivo after diabetogenic T-cell challenge. The length of time the recipient remained euglycemic was used to measure the ability of the transgenes to protect the graft from autoimmune destruction. Although the results of these co-transfections gave little evidence of a synergistic relationship, they were useful to show that gene combinations can be used to more efficiently protect islet grafts from diabetogenic T cells.