Pancreatic islet transplantation has made great advances in the last decade marked by improved durability of islet function post transplant. These efforts are in part attributable to development of a standardized manufacturing process that has increased yield and consistency of the isolation. Recent advances can in part be attributed to the Clinical Islet Transplant (CIT) consortium effort through which an expert team of islet scientists and clinicians designed an islet manufacturing protocol for the phase III trials currently underway. Dissemination of this technology has made the production of high quality islets common at multiple US sites. Isolated human pancreatic islets are requisite not only for clinical transplant trials but also have become an invaluable material resource for investigators studying islet biology, physiology, beta cell proliferation, autoimmunity and Type II diabetes. The primary object of the proposed core is to provide high quality islets using the CIT manufacturing protocol to investigators working in the BADERC. The core will take advantage of: 1) an expert and well established islet isolation team with a proven track record of preparing islets for clinical and research purposes, 2) an existing MGH GMP isolation laboratory and islet core infrastructure, and 3) an abundance of available pancreata in New England as there currently is no competition for such organs. Based on these assets, we will be able to make available high quality human islets for research investigations to members of the BADERC tailored to their specific needs.
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