Immunological Study of Islet Transplantation
A special issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409). This special issue belongs to the section "Cellular Immunology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 115
Special Issue Editor
Interests: pancreatic islet transplantation; transplant immunology; graft rejection and tolerance; hematopoietic progenitor cell processing; cGMP cell manufacturing; regulatory T cells; immune tolerance induction; islet preservation; cell therapy quality assurance
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Islet transplantation has emerged as a transformative cell-based therapy for patients with insulin-dependent diabetes complicated by severe hypoglycemia unawareness. While refinement of islet isolation protocols and immunosuppressive regimens has substantially improved short-term engraftment outcomes, long-term islet survival remains limited by complex immunological barriers. These include alloimmune rejection mediated by T lymphocytes and B cells, recurrent autoimmunity targeting β-cell antigens and sterile inflammation at the transplant site driven by instant blood-mediated inflammatory reactions and innate immune activation.
This Special Issue invites original research articles and reviews that advance our understanding of the immunological mechanisms governing islet allograft and xenograft survival. Topics of interest include T cell and B cell allorecognition pathways, the role of regulatory T cells and tolerogenic strategies, donor-specific antibody formation, complement activation, encapsulation approaches to evade immune attack, the immunomodulatory impact of cGMP-grade cell processing conditions and novel biomarkers predictive of rejection or tolerance. Studies integrating multi-center comparability data, advanced manufacturing platforms and translational models are particularly encouraged. Collectively, this issue aims to bridge bench-to-bedside investigations and accelerate the development of durable, minimally immunosuppressive islet replacement therapies.
Dr. Wanxing Cui
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cells is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- islet transplantation
- transplant immunology
- immune rejection
- immune tolerance
- regulatory T cells
- autoimmunity
- islet encapsulation
- islet preservation
- cGMP cell processing
- type 1 diabetes
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
