AUTHOR=Eisenson Daniel L. , Iwase Hayato , Chen Weili , Hisadome Yu , Cui Wanxing , Santillan Michelle R. , Schulick Alexander C. , Gu Du , Maxwell Amanda , Koenig Kristy , Sun Zhaoli , Warren Daniel , Yamada Kazuhiko 

TITLE=Combined islet and kidney xenotransplantation for diabetic nephropathy: an update in ongoing research for a clinically relevant application of porcine islet transplantation

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2024.1351717

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2024.1351717

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=<p>Combined islet and kidney xenotransplantation for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy represents a compelling and increasingly relevant therapeutic possibility for an ever-growing number of patients who would benefit from both durable renal replacement and cure of the underlying cause of their renal insufficiency: diabetes. Here we briefly review immune barriers to islet transplantation, highlight preclinical progress in the field, and summarize our experience with combined islet and kidney xenotransplantation, including both challenges with islet-kidney composite grafts as well as our recent success with sequential kidney followed by islet xenotransplantation in a pig-to-baboon model.</p>