Pancreatic islets activate portal vein endothelial cells in vitro.

This study assessed the active role of the portal vein endothelium in the functional loss of pancreatic islet (PI) grafts, considered in the context of PI transplantation for treatment of type I diabetes mellitus. We hypothesized that PI engraftment may be jeopardized by portal vein endothelial cell-induced activation of host T cells. We designed an in vitro system using portal vein endothelial cells (PVEC) from Lewis (Lew) rats and PI from Brown-Norway (BN) and Lew rats.