Pancreatectomy with islet autotransplantation for the treatment of severe chronic pancreatitis: the first 40 patients at the leicester general hospital.

Background: Surgical resection of the pancreas is considered a final resort in the treatment of chronic pancreatitis. However, the opportunity to perform an islet autotransplant at the same time provides the potential to prevent the onset of diabetes.

Methods: Pancreatectomy together with islet autotransplantation has been offered in our center since 1994.

A Coculture Model of Intrahepatic Islet Transplantation: Activation of Kupffer Cells by Islets and Acinar Tissue.

Clinical and experimental studies of intrahepatic islet transplantation have allowed histological and systemic observations to be made, but the location of the transplanted islets makes it difficult to assess direct effects on the cells of the liver. An in vitro coculture model of Kupffer cells with islets or pancreatic acinar tissue is described, using porcine tissue and measuring the secretion of thromboxane B, prostaglandin E, 6-keto-prostaglandin F, and prostaglandin F as an indicator of Kupffer cell stimulation. The results have demonstrated activation of Kupffer cells in the presence of acinar or islet tissue, both when the cells were in direct contact and when separated by a membrane.