Partial hepatectomy improves the outcome of intraportal islet transplantation by promoting revascularization.

Revascularization of grafts is one of the important key factors for the success of islet transplantation. After partial hepatectomy, many growth factors such as hepatocyte growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor are increased in the remnant liver. These growth factors have properties that promote angiogenesis.

Nerve growth factor is associated with islet graft failure following intraportal transplantation.

Nerve growth factor (NGF) has recently been recognized as an angiogenic factor with an important regulatory role in pancreatic β-cell function. We previously showed that treatment of pancreatic islets with NGF improved their quality and viability. Revascularization and survival of islets transplanted under the kidney capsule were improved by NGF.

Brain death in combination with warm ischemic stress during isolation procedures induces the expression of crucial inflammatory mediators in the isolated islets.

Tissue factor (TF) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) expressed on the islets have been identified as the main trigger of the instant blood-mediated inflammatory reaction (IBMIR) in islet transplantation. Because the key steps that directly induce TF and MCP-1 remain to be determined, we focused on the influence of brain death (BD) on TF and MCP-1 expression in the pancreatic tissues and isolated islets using a rodent model. TF and MCP-1 mRNA levels in the pancreatic tissues were similar between the BD and the control group.