Cooperation by Fibroblasts and Bone Marrow-Mesenchymal Stem Cells to Improve Pancreatic Rat-to-Mouse Islet Xenotransplantation

Experimental and clinical experiences highlight the need to review some aspects of islet transplantation, especially with regard to site of grafting and control of the immune response. The subcutaneous space could be a good alternative to liver but its sparse vasculature is its main limitation. Induction of graft tolerance by using cells with immunoregulatory properties is a promising approach to avoid graft rejection. Both Fibroblasts and Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) have shown pro-angiogenic and immunomodulatory properties. Transplantation of islets into the subcutaneous space using plasma as scaffold and supplemented with fibroblasts and/or Bone Marrow-MSCs could be a promising strategy to achieve a functional extra-hepatic islet graft, without using immunosuppressive drugs. Xenogenic rat islets, autologous fibroblasts and/or allogenic BM-MSCs, were mixed with plasma, and coagulation was induced to constitute a Plasma-based Scaffold containing Islets (PSI), which was transplanted subcutaneously both in immunodeficient and immunocompetent diabetic mice. In immunodeficient diabetic mice, PSI itself allowed hyperglycemia reversion temporarily, but the presence of pro-angiogenic cells (fibroblasts or BM-MSCs) within PSI was necessary to improve graft re-vascularization and, thus, consistently maintain normoglycemia. In immunocompetent diabetic mice, only PSI containing BM-MSCs, but not those containing fibroblasts, normalized glycemia lasting up to one week after transplantation. Interestingly, when PSI contained both fibroblasts and BM-MSCs, the normoglycemia period showed an increase of 4-times with a physiological-like response in functional tests. Histology of immunocompetent mice showed an attenuation of the immune response in those grafts with BM-MSCs, which was improved by co-transplantation with fibroblasts, since they increased BM-MSC survival. In summary, fibroblasts and BM-MSCs showed similar pro-angiogenic properties in this model of islet xenotransplantation, whereas only BM-MSCs exerted an immunomodulatory effect, which was improved by the presence of fibroblasts. These results suggest that cooperation of different cell types with islets will be required to achieve a long-term functional graft.