Hemoglobin A1C Percentage in Nonhuman Primates: A Useful Tool to Monitor Diabetes before and after Porcine Pancreatic Islet Xenotransplantation

Abstract

Non-human primates (NHPs) are a very valuable experimental model for diabetes research studies including experimental pancreatic islet transplantation. In particular NHPs are the recipients of choice to validate pigs as possible source of pancreatic islets. The aim of this study was to quantify glycated hemoglobin percentage in NHPs and to assess whether changes in values reflect the metabolic trends after diabetes induction and islet transplantation. Sera from 15 NHPs were analyzed. 9 NHPs were rendered diabetic with streptozotocin (STZ), and 3 of them received porcine islet transplants. Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) percentage was measured with an assay based on a latex immunoagglutination inhibition methodology. Whereas diabetes and its duration were associated with increasing HbA1c levels, postislet transplantation blood glucose normalization was paralleled by a decrease in the HbA1c percentage. Our data provide evidence that HbA1c is a useful tool to monitor glucose metabolism in NHPs.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2011
Source ID
10.1155/2011/965605

Entities

People

  • Anna Casu
  • Marco Marigliano
  • Massimo Trucco
  • Rita Bottino
  • Suzanne Bertera

Organizations

  • UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
  • United States Department of Defense

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Gulf War Illness and Chronic Multisymptom Illness in Veterans.
  • Molecular and Cellular Biology
  • Toxicology/Environmental Toxicology

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology