Resveratrol fails to improve marginal mass engraftment of transplanted islets of Langerhans in mice

One limitation of current islet transplantation protocols is the loss of up to 70% of the transplanted islet mass. Inflammatory events play a major role in islet loss including the cytokines TNF alpha and IL-1. Resveratrol, a compound with anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties, has the potential to mitigate islet loss. Using a syngeneic marginal after mouse islet transplantation model we tested the ability of resveratrol to enhance islet engraftment. We failed to show a difference in diabetes reversal between mice treated with vehicle and those treated with either 10 mg/kg (47.1% for resveratrol vs. 35.3% for control) or 50 mg/kg (20% for resveratrol vs. 22.2% for control) of resveratrol daily for three weeks. In addition, at one month there was no difference in glucose tolerance or graft survival (10 mg/kg: 552.6 ng/ml resveratrol group vs. 576.6 ng/ml control group; 50 mg/kg: 463 ng/ml resveratrol group vs. 444.1 ng/ml control group). In summary, over a wide range of doses, resveratrol did not exert a benefit on mouse islet engraftment. Further studies should be conducted with human islets before deeming resveratrol ineffective in islet engraftment and survival.