Abstract
Islets of Langerhans were encapsulated in microbeads made from agarose gel or several kinds of polyion-complex membranes. Microbeads act as mechanical barriers between islets and the host's immune cells and antibodies. Islets maintained the ability to secret insulin and further could respond to the step increase in glucose concentration, even when they were cultured in vitro for long period. 1000 hamster islets in agarose microbead were implanted into the peritoneal cavity of diabetic mice. They reversed diabetes in mice for up to 52 days.
