Extended xenograft survival of islets transplanted intratesticularly reinforces the testis as an immune-privileged site

The testis has been shown to be a privileged site for transplantation of allogenic islets in rodents. Pancreatic islets transplantation is a potential attractive treatment for type 1 diabetes. The aim of the precent study was to assess whether the testis of Balb/c mice would have an immune privilege nature as a host for islets transplantation. The isolated guinea pigs (Cavia cobaya) pancreatic cells (500 cells/20 g of recipient body weight) were transplanted into the testis or peritoneum of alloxan-induced diabetic Balb/c mice. The results showed that intratesticular xeno-transplanted islets were able to survive up to 14 days significantly (P