posted on 2024-01-12, 21:07authored byYi Wang, Kai Wang, Xi Wang, Ying Luo, Haifeng Chen
Challenges remain to be solved for the clinical translation
of
β-cell encapsulation technology in the treatment of type 1 diabetes
(T1D). Successful delivery of β cells urgently needs the development
of an encapsulation device with a thin dimension and rapid mass transport
that offers stable immune isolation and complete retrieval. In this
study, we focus on a laminate in which an islet-embedding alginate
hydrogel layer (Alg) is sandwiched between two polymer layers (polyether
sulfone, PES). Mechanical support by the PES layer protects the alginate
from disintegrating after implantation and allows complete retrieval.
The multilayered device has a thin membrane configuration (∼1
mm), and the edge of the laminate and the gaps between Alg and PES
offer a semiopen structure that could be more permeable to molecules
compared with the closed pocket of conventional macroencapsulation.
Islets are suspended in the alginate solution and then encapsulated
in the hydrogel layer in the middle of the laminate after gelation.
Encapsulating syngeneic or xenogeneic islets in the laminate device
corrected chemically induced T1D in mice for over 90 days in both
the intraperitoneal space and the epididymal fat pad. The multilayered
membrane system may therefore provide a translatable solution in β
cell-transplantation therapy in T1D.