Transplantation sites for porcine islets.

Aims/hypothesis: Xenotransplantation has great potential to provide beta cell replacement and thereby provide a cure for large numbers of people with type 1 diabetes. Crucial to the success of xenotransplantation is establishment of the most viable sites for transplantation.

Methods: We compared porcine islet tissue transplanted into kidney, liver and spleen in pig recipients as assessed by blood glucose levels and IVGTT.

Chains, necklaces and weaving chain-link grids from self-assembly reactions.

Assembly of two ditopic units, a phenanthroline substituted by 4-ethynyl pyridines at the 2-and 9-positions and a dimetallic paddlewheel, gives a linear chain polymer rather than a closed cyclic species, which would appear equally possible. The chain may be decorated by binding a copper-containing macrocycle around the phenanthroline units to form a polypseudorotaxane. When two phenanthroline ligands are assembled in a first step around copper(I), the paddlewheel acceptor can link them in a second step to form a two-dimensional interwoven grid that resembles the form of a chain-link fence.

Pre-clinical model of composite foetal pig pancreas fragment/renal xenotransplantation to treat renal failure and diabetes.

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Background: Development of a limitless source of β cells for xenotransplantation into patients suffering type 1 diabetes and renal failure that can control their diabetes and provide normal renal function in one procedure would be a major achievement. For the islet tissue to survive transplantation, as an islet-kidney composite graft this would have significant advantages. It would simplify the surgical procedure; remove the complications caused by the exocrine pancreas whilst reversing diabetes and uraemia.

No beneficial effects of levosimendan in acute porcine endotoxaemia.

Background: Levosimendan has been proposed as an attractive alternative to adrenergic agents for the treatment of sepsis-induced heart failure and haemodynamic derangements. Its use in this setting is, however, still not well investigated. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that levosimendan is able to attenuate endotoxin-induced pulmonary hypertension and improve myocardial function in a porcine model.