Abstract
Background: Islet transplantation has the potential for treating type I diabetes; however, its widespread clinical application is limited by the massive apoptotic cell death and poor revascularization of transplanted islet grafts. Methods: We constructed a surface-modified adenoviral vector with RGD (Arg-Gly-Asp) sequences encoding human X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis and hepatocyte growth factor (RGD-Adv-hHGF-hXIAP). In vitro transgene expression in human islets was determined by enzyme-liniked immunosorbent assay. RGD-Adv-hHGF-hXIAP-transduced human islets were transplanted under the kidney capsule of streptozotocin-induced diabetic NOD/SCID mice. The blood glucose levels of mice were measured weekly. The kidneys bearing islets were isolated at the end of the experiment and subjected to immunofluorescence staining. Results: The transduction efficiency on human islets was significantly improved using RGD-modified adenovirus. HGF and XIAP gene expressions were dose-dependent after viral transduction. When exposed to a cocktail of inflammatory cytokines, RGD-Adv-hHGF-hXIAP-transduced human islets showed decreased caspase 3 activity and reduced apoptotic cell death. Prolonged normoglycemic control could be achieved by transplanting RGD-Adv-hHGF-hXIAP-transduced human islets. Immunofluorescence staining of kidney sections bearing RGD-Adv-hHGF-hXIAP-transduced islets was positive for insulin and von Willebrand factor (vWF) at 200days after transplantation. Conclusions: These results indicated that ex vivo transduction of islets with RGD-Adv-hHGF-hXIAP decreased apoptotic islet cell death and improved islet revascularization, and eventually might improve the outcome of human islet transplantation.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 658-669 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Journal of Gene Medicine |
Volume | 13 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2011 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Adenovirus
- Apoptosis
- Islets
- RGD
- Revascularization
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Molecular Medicine
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
- Drug Discovery
- Genetics(clinical)