Adult Pig Islet Isolation

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is caused by autoimmune destruction of pancreatic beta cells, which results in little or no insulin production. Islet transplantation plays an important role in the treatment of T1DM, with the improved glycometabolic control, the reduced progression of complications, the reduction of hypoglycemic episodes when compared with traditional insulin therapy. The results of phase III clinical trial also demonstrated the safety and efficacy of islet allotransplantation in T1DM. However, the shortage of pancreas donors limits its widespread use. Animals as a source of islets such as the pig offer an alternative choice. Because the architecture of the pig pancreas is different from the islets of mice or humans, the pig islet isolation procedure is still challenging. Since the translation of alternative porcine islet sources (xenogeneic) to the clinical setting for treating T1DM through cellular transplantation is of great importance, a cost-effective, standardized, and reproducible protocol for isolating porcine islets is urgently needed. This manuscript describes a simplified and cost-effective method to isolate and purify adult porcine islets based on the previous protocols that have successfully transplanted porcine islets to non-human primates. This will be a beginners guide without the use of specialized equipment such as a COBE 2991 Cell Processor.