Extended Survival of MHC-Compatible Islet Grafts From Diabetes-Resistant Donors in Spontaneously Diabetic BB/W Rat

Transplantation of a large inoculum of incubated islets of MHC-compatible donors led to an extended survival of the grafts to an average of >86 days in 71% of male diabetic BB/W recipients. Identical results were obtained whether the immunologically privileged abdominal testis or the nonimmunologically favored renal subcapsular space was used as the organ site for the injection of the islets. Survival of the islet grafts was also independent of the duration of diabetes in the BB/W rats at the time of transplantation. These results showed that under our experimental conditions the grafted islets were able to become established and survive for extended periods in nonimmunosuppressed spontaneously diabetic BB/W hosts.