Abstract
Allogeneic pancreas transplantation as diabetes mellitus treatment option results in long-term normoglycemia without hypoglycemia risk. In diabetology, transplantation therapy is assigned only to selected patients.
Regarding the shortage of organ donors and adverse effects of immunosuppressive drugs, exogenous insulin therapy remains the standard. New methods based on cell therapy and tissue engineering are being developed to evade the donor organ shortage.
Extracellular matrix components prepared by organ and tissue decellularization are used for development of "bioartificial" organs. Acellular native protein scaffolds are then recellularized by selected cell types.
Extracellular matrix proteins mediate cell migration, differentiation, proliferation and promote cell functions. Functional tissues and simple organs have been prepared using this method in vitro, which are now applicable in vivo.
Preparation of complex organs is yet to be optimized. However, the methodology seems promising for the "bioartificial" pancreas, which is being prepared by our team in the Laboratory of Pancreatic Islets in IKEM.