Mechanisms of Glucose Counterregulation in Pancreatic Islet Transplantation

Pancreatic islet transplantation improves glucose counterregulation and stabilizes glycemic control in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus prone to severe hypoglycemia even if insulin independence is not achieved. However, the extent and underlying metabolic pathways of this improvement are unknown. Investigators therefore compare systemic glucose turnover including lactate gluconeogenesis and muscle glucose utilization, between insulin-requiring islet transplant recipients, matched type 1 diabetic subjects who did not receive islet transplantation, and matched healthy non-diabetic subjects.