FIG. 5.

Contribution of duct cells to IL-8 and VEGF expression in transplanted human islet grafts. Endocrine-enriched (21% duct cells, 79% endocrine cells) and duct cell–enriched (93% duct cells, 7% endocrine cells) fractions from the same donor were transplanted under the renal capsule of NOD/scid mice. Grafts were removed at indicated times and total RNA extracted and reverse transcribed into cDNA. IL-8 and VEGF expression was measured by real-time PCR. For basal condition expression levels, a cell sample of each preparation was taken before transplantation. □, endocrine-enriched fraction; ▪, duct cell–enriched fraction. Figure represents three independent experiments; each data point is the mean ± SE of at least three animals. P vs. matched islet graft: §P ≤ 0.01; #P ≤ 0.001.