Islet transplantation can effectively control the blood glucose of fragile type 1 diabetes patients, thus significantly reducing hyperglycemia and improving HbA1c, and has become one of the ideal options for the treatment of type 1 diabetes patients. However, despite great progress, current islet transplantation is still limited by the isolation process, the culture period, and the rapid decline in islet functional activity after transplantation. Long-term survival and function of islet grafts are affected by non-immune and immune-related factors. To overcome these obstacles, various strategies, including stem cell combination transplantation, have been used for islet transplantation. Stem cells can promote vascular regeneration of islets and reduce inflammation and innate immune damage in the early stage of islet transplantation through potential immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects. Therefore, combined transplantation of islets and stem cells can improve the survival rate of islets. In view of this, we are very honored and pleased to have some of the leading research groups in diabetes research contribute to the topic of islet transplantation. This special issue of the current landscape is dedicated to summarizing the latest advancements in allogenic and xenogenic islet transplantation and strategies to overcome its current limitations. Diversified topics related to islet isolation, islet transplantation, stem cells, immune regulation, angiogenesis, and strategies overcoming immune responses are welcome.

Owing to the availability of more advanced genetically engineered pigs, more immunological and physiological barriers have been overcome. With the results of pig organ xenotransplantation steadily improving, consideration is now given to the first clinical trials of xenotransplantation. The first step is kidneys, but possibilities also exist in pig islet transplantation for patients with diabetes.

Vols. for 1963- include as pt. 2 of the Jan. issue: Medical subject headings.

Recently, remarkable progress has been made in the area of preclinical xenotransplantation experiments. Surprisingly, a heterotopic heart from the gene-editing pig continued to beat for almost 2.5 years, when implanted in the monkey abdomen, and a pig life-supporting kidney could also function for over 1.3 years in monkeys. Concerning islets, islets from gene-editing pigs could work for more than one year in monkeys. It is noteworthy that one group reported a survival of adult wild-type pig islets of over 600 days. On the other hand, the progress in these preclinical trials strongly affected not only the xenotransplantation study itself but regeneration studies to use pigs as a scaffold to foster human induced pluripotent stem cells.

Transplantation, Bioengineering, and Regeneration of the Endocrine Pancreas, Volume 2, sets a new standard in transplant and regenerative medicine. The book details the state-of-the-art in modern islet auto-transplantation, also discussing current progress in regenerative medicine research in diabetes medicine. Regenerative medicine is changing the premise of solid organ transplantation, hence this volume catalogs technologies being developed and methods being implemented. Bioengineering and regenerating beta cells, clinical pancreas and islet transplantation, tissue engineering, biomaterial sciences, stem cell biology and developmental biology are all addressed and applied directly to diabetes medicine. - Provides comprehensive and cutting-edge knowledge of whole pancreas and islet transplantation - Addresses imaging, treatment, scaffold technology, the use of stem cells to generate insulin, 3D printing, and more - Offers an update on the progress of regenerative medicine research aimed at beta cell replacement for the treatment of diabetes

An understanding of the complex workings of the immune system is essential for all surgeons. Immune responses play a crucial part in the way human body reacts to infection and trauma. Immunology for Surgeons contains a high-level discussion of this difficult clinical area. The text looks at tumor immunobiology and immunotherapy as well as the worldwide results of various clinical trials. The topics discussed focus on relevant immunological and molecular biological trends for future treatment of complex surgical disease. The main objective of the text is to render a difficult area accessible for the postgraduate surgical trainee and established surgeon who is interested in immunology.

This title provides an illuminating examination of the current state of xenotransplantation – grafting or transplanting organs or tissues between members of different species – and how it might move forward into the clinic. To be sure, this is a critical topic, as a major problem that remains worldwide is an inadequate supply of organs from deceased human donors, severely limiting the number of organ transplants that can be performed each year. Based on presentations given at a major conference on xenotransplantation, this title includes important views from many leading experts who were invited to present their data and opinions on how xenotransplantation can advance into the clinic. Attention was concentrated on pig kidney and heart transplantation as it is in regard to these organs that most progress has been made. Collectively, these chapters effectively highlight the many advantages of xenotransplantation to patients with end-stage organ failure, thereby encouraging the mapping of a concrete pathway to clinical xenotransplantation. The book is organized across 22 chapters, beginning with background information on clinical and experimental xenotransplantation. Following this are discussions addressing how pigs can be genetically engineered for their organs to be resistant to the human immune response through deletion of pig xenoantigens, and the insertion of ‘protective’ human transgenes. Subsequent chapters analyze complications that arise in practice, comparing allotransplant and xenotransplant rejection. The selection of the ideal patients for the first clinical trials is discussed. Finally, the book concludes with an analysis on the regulatory, economic, and social aspects of this research, including FDA perspectives and the sensitive, psychosocial factors regarding allotransplantation and xenotransplantation. A major and timely addition to the literature, Clinical Xenotransplantation will be of great interest to all researchers, physicians, and academics from other disciplines with an interest in xenotransplantation.