BIOARTIFICIAL ORGANS III: TISSUE SOURCING, IMMUNOISOLATION, AND CLINICAL TRIALS
Copyright © 2001 by the New York Academy of Sciences
description
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 944:226-239 (2001)
© 2001 New York Academy of Sciences
An Overview of the Immune System with Specific Reference to Membrane Encapsulation and Islet Transplantation
DEREK W.R. GRAY
Nuffield Department of Surgery, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
Address for correspondence: Prof. D.W.R. Gray, D.Phil., F.R.C.P., F.R.C.S., The Nuffield Department of Surgery, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headington, Oxford, OX3 9DU, U.K. Voice: 44 1865 220145; fax: 44 1865 768876.
derek.gray{at}nds.ox.ac.uk
The concept of immunoisolation by use of a bioartificial membrane is discussed, concentrating on the immunological mechanisms that are likely to be operative in the light of recent information on the workings of the immune system. Special attention is given to the use of encapsulation for the purpose of treating autoimmune diabetes by implantation of xenogeneic islet tissue. It is argued that the term immunoisolation is misleading because the immune system is always activated by the indirect pathway of antigen presentation and that the term immunomodulation would be more appropriate.
Key Words: overview • immune system • membrane encapsulation • islet transplantation
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