Subcutaneous islet transplantation can be easily conducted with minimum invasiveness, and the implant can be monitored easily. However, a major disadvantage of this transplantation technique is its poor efficacy which could be attributed to poor oxygenation and inadequate vascularization at the subcutaneous tissue. In this study, we explored the use of thermosensitive methoxy-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(Ala), mPEG-poly(Ala) hydrogels as cell-encapsulating materials for the subcutaneous transplantation of MIN6 cells. We confirmed favorable biocompatibility between the materials and cells in vitro, including cell viability and insulin secretion. Histopathological tissue analysis revealed that transplanted MIN6 cells survived and contained insulin in nude mice 14 days after implantation. Moreover, we observed positive CD31 staining, implying new vessel formation, in the graft without MIN6 cells at 7 and 14 days after implantation. These results indicate the feasibility of using mPEG-poly(Ala) hydrogels as delivery carriers for subcutaneous transplantation of MIN6 cells.

皮下胰岛移植可以很容易地以最小的侵入性进行，并且植入物可以容易地被监测。但是，这种移植技术的主要缺点是其功效差，这可能归因于皮下组织的氧合不足和血管化不足。在这项研究中，我们探索了使用热敏性甲氧基-聚（乙二醇）-聚（Ala），mPEG-聚（Ala）水凝胶作为MIN6细胞皮下移植的细胞封装材料。我们证实了材料与体外细胞之间良好的生物相容性，包括细胞活力和胰岛素分泌。组织病理学组织分析显示，植入的MIN6细胞在植入后14天存活，并在裸鼠中含有胰岛素。此外，我们观察到CD31染色呈阳性，暗示在移植后第7和14天没有MIN6细胞的移植物中新血管的形成。这些结果表明使用mPEG-poly（Ala）水凝胶作为MIN6细胞皮下移植的递送载体的可行性。