Pancreas physiology and pathology
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Study of pancreas physiology and pathology
IRAS ID
196549
Contact name
Kourosh Saeb-Parsy
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Cambridge
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Diabetes is responsible for significant morbidity and mortality and its incidence is gradually increasing. Pancreas and islet transplantation are current curative treatments for diabetes, but emerging treatments include generation of insulin-producing cells derived from stem cells. Islets are typically transplanted fresh due to the absence of an effective method for their cryopreservation. The lack of a suitable cryopreservation technique therefore limits the clinical application of islet transplantation. Islets are clinically transplanted by injection into the portal vein of the liver, but little information is available on the localisation and survival of islets after transplantation. Moreoever, ischaemia reperfusion injury after islet transplantation is thought to negatively impact on islet survival. The aim of this study is to use pancreatic tissue (including islets) to address key questions relating to the function of the pancreas, development of type I and type II diabetes, and to investigate strategies that can improve cryopreservation of islets and ameliorate ischaemia reperfusion injury after islet transplantation. The study will only use pancreatic tissue and islets obtained from commercial suppliers or from research collaborators who have obtained the tissue with informed consent from donors or from donor families.
REC name
West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/WM/0093
Date of REC Opinion
15 Feb 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion