Successful Islet Transplantation After Purification in Iodixanol-UWS • IPITA 1999 Sydney • @1MEMO 20260326

Pig islets after isolation in Iodixanol-UWS • 7th IPITA World Congress 1999 • 1MEMO_20260326_1 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles•Media • TakeNode 467e773c-fc4b-416e-99d5-c88df76ddff4 • Presentation by Michel van der Burg (Notes #5).

Shortly after our introduction at the previous IPITA World Congress, September 1997 in Milan (Italy) of the novel Iodixanol -UWS solution for isolation of juvenile pig islets (1), we reported successful xeno-transplantation in diabetic Swiss nude (immunodeficient) mice of adult pig islets isolated with this Iodixanol -UWS method, first Tuesday, Jan 27, 1998 at the 17th Workshop of the AIDSPIT Study Group in Igls, Austria (2a), and next April 1998 at the 10th Congress of the Dutch Transplantation Society (2b). We had started these first pig islet xenotransplants in mice also that same month of September 1997 — highlighted in the image below ( 1MEMO_20260326_12 )

First pig islet xeno transplants in mice • 1MEMO_20260326_12 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles•Media • TakeNode d4cc1f11-c107-4011-8dbe-9649da76e3ff • September 1997, we performed our first two pig islet xenotransplants into diabetic Swiss nude mice. The pig islets were isolated with Iodixanol-UWS from an adult pig pancreas (top panel: sample of the islets stained red with dithizone, fresh after isolation and purification). These pure islets were kept 1 week in a culture solution, before transplantation of the islets by injecting the islets under the kidney capsule in 2 diabetic Swiss nude mice. Both mice had normal blood glucose from the day one after transplantation, and upon removal of the kidneys for examination at 1 month after transplantation , we observed excellent islets under the kidney capsule , as shown in the bottom panel image of a kidney section stained with H&E (note : the inserted portrait of the Swiss nude mouse, actually is our #7 pig islet xenograft, alive and kicking, Dec 1997).

Starting with the September 1997 IPITA meeting in Milan, I was sharing in detail the materials and methods of our purification procedure, face to face and in post-congress correspondence, with my colleagues of the other islets centers, thus facilitating fast implementation by Bernhard Hering and Shinichi Matsumoto of the Iodixanol-UWS purification method in the Minneapolis islet center, contributing to their successful single-donor pig islet allo-transplants, as reported by Shinichi Matsumoto May 1998 at the 24th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, in Chicago (3).

That month, May 1998, I also finished the first series of human islet purifications with the novel Iodixanol-UWS density gradient, while working on human islet isolations in the Miami team at the Diabetes Research Institute (Scientific director Prof. C. Ricordi, MD) of the University of Miami , in Miami, Florida, USA . The successful outcome of the human islet purification work done in Miami was reported from January 1999 in a talk and poster presentations , including a poster presentation at the 7th World Congress of the International Pancreas & Islet Transplant Association, Sydney (Australia) August 1999 (4).

Viability of Fresh vs Cultured Pig Islets for Transplants • 1MEMO_20260326_2

Slideshow presentation by Josephine Rijkelijkhuizen • 7th IPITA World Congress 1999 • Viability of Fresh vs Cultured Pig Islets for Transplants • 1MEMO_20260326_2 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles•Media • TakeNode 7164b724-65bf-4d3f-8a40-89b188957d1b • Notes #6

1MEMO_20260326_3 Download

Handout • PDF (Viability of Fresh vs Cultured Pig Islets for Transplants)
7th IPITA World Congress 1999 • 1MEMO_20260326_3 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles•Media • TakeNode 995e90b3-d797-435c-a510-00a0e35bc424 • Handout presentation by Josephine Rijkelijkhuizen (Notes #6).

In our oral presentations at the 7th World Congress of the International Pancreas & Islet Transplant Association, Sydney (Australia) August 1999, we demonstrated both the complete recovery of pure intact pig islets during isolation in UWS and purification in the novel solution of Iodixanol (Optiprep) in UWS, and the superior viability of these islets following short-term storage in culture solution (‘culture’) , allowing successful xeno transplantation of the pig islets in mice (5,6), rats (7), and monkeys (8) .

The 7th IPITA congress abstracts were published online only at the official website of the IPITA, in Oxford at the time (www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/ipita), and cannot be retrieved now (9). However, I kept an archive with photocopies of our abstracts published in print in the Abstract Book of the 7th IPITA , posted below.

One of our papers was included among the top 10 papers selected for submission of a full paper in a special issue of the journal Cell Transplantation — see below.

Josephine Rijkelijkhuizen at the 7th IPITA World Congress 1999 • 1MEMO_20260326_4 • Photo by Michel van der Burg • Miracles•Media • TakeNode 0c2ef6fb-bdff-4895-9dde-eb242f957cb9

Top 10 Paper

Our study — collaborative research of our Surgery Department (LUMC), and workers of the Biomedical Primate Research Centre in Rijswijk (Netherlands) — presented by our student researcher Josephine Rijkelijkhuizen, showing that cultured pig islets, isolated and purified in Iodixanol-UWS, can be transplanted without hyperacute rejection in cynomolgous monkeys , was selected in the top 10 outstanding studies at the memorable Sidney World Congress of the International Pancreas & Islet Transplant Association (9) , and the full paper included in a special issue of the journal Cell Transplantation (10).

Our studies , together, demonstrated the importance of both donor organ selection (choosing adult organs), selection of non-toxic, endotoxin-free media, such as iodixanol and UWS, as the isolation solutions, and selection of islets that survive storage in culture, for a successful outcome after transplantation in this difficult model of xeno-transplantation, grafting porcine islets in other species.

Notes

1) Innovative Islet Purification in Iodixanol-UWS • IPITA 97 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles.Media • @1MEMO 20250128 • URL michelvanderburg.com/2025/01/28/

2a) Iodixanol-UWS Purification for Porcine Islet Transplantation • AIDSPIT 1998 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles.Media • @1MEMO 20250131 • URL michelvanderburg.com/2025/01/31/

2b) Fresh vs Cultured Pig Islets for Xenografts • NTV Bootcongres 1998 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles.Media • @1MEMO 20250201 • URL michelvanderburg.com/2025/02/01/

3) Matsumoto S, Zhang H J, Gilmore T, van der Burg MPM, Sutherland DER, Hering BJ. Large scale isopycnic islet purification utilizing non-toxic, endotoxin-free media facilitate immediate single-donor pig islet allograft function (Abstract). Transplantation 1998; 66: S30 • 1MEMO_20260326_10 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles.Media • TakeNode a7e8ec21-1757-45f4-90c6-1a5f457e0d9f , View/download PDF below.

1MEMO_20260326_10 Download

Presentation at the 24th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, Chicago (USA) May 1998. 24th ASTS Program book, Abstract #A-120 • 1MEMO_20260326_5 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles.Media • TakeNode 9efdd5cb-f6da-4dec-b9d9-63cf0b254b30

4) Van der Burg MPM, Ranuncoli A, Molano R, Kirlew T, Ringers J, Bouwman E, Terpstra OT, Ricordi C. New powerful tool for human islet purification: OptiPrep-UWS? 7th World Congress of the International Pancreas & Islet Transplant Association, Sydney (Australia) August 22–25, 1999. Abstract in Programme and Abstract Book, page 169, P298 . In : New Powerful Tool For Human Islet Purification • OptiPrep-UWS ? • IPITA 1999 Sydney • @1MEMO 20260325 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles.Media • URL michelvanderburg.com/2026/03/25/

5) Van der Burg MPM, Rijkelijkhuizen JKRA, Zwaan RP, Bouwman E. Recovery of adult pig islets during isolation using Liberase vs collagenase-P, purification in OptiPrep-UWS, and culture for transplantation in nude mice. 7th World congress of the International Pancreas & Islet Transplant Association, Sydney (Australia) August 22–25, 1999. Programme and Abstract Book, page 164, #281 . 1MEMO_20241203_3 • In : Iodixanol Purification of Porcine Islets • Sydney IPITA 1999 • 1MEMO 20241203 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles.Media • TakeNode 64ace253-d25b-4b6d-af5b-08060712c471 • URL michelvanderburg.com/2024/12/03/

6) Rijkelijkhuizen JKRA, Bouwman E, Van der Burg MPM. Pre-transplant culture markedly improves pig islet graft survival in nude mice. 7th World congress of the International Pancreas & Islet Transplant Association, Sydney (Australia) August 22–25, 1999. Programme and Abstract Book, page 117, #162 . 1MEMO_20260326_6 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles.Media • TakeNode 5ce0c54f-a6a1-4cc9-8f68-9a1cd723badf

7) Rijkelijkhuizen JKRA, Van der Burg MPM, Bouwman E. Longterm survival of porcine islets in the rat. 7th World congress of the International Pancreas & Islet Transplant Association, Sydney (Australia) August 22–25, 1999. Programme and Abstract Book, page 112, #152 . 1MEMO_20260326_7 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles.Media • TakeNode bc9a48ee-23ff-48f1-ab2c-5bcef071ebaa

8) Rijkelijkhuizen JKRA, Bouwman E, Van der Burg MPM, Ringers J, Ossevoort MA, Kuhn EM, Frost P, Jonker M. Successful suppression of the early rejection of pig islets in monkeys. 7th World congress of the International Pancreas & Islet Transplant Association, Sydney (Australia) August 22–25, 1999. Programme and Abstract Book, page 144, #231 . 1MEMO_20260326_8 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles.Media • TakeNode 29bb03b4-8b02-4aa9-9b33-715ca006c28e

9) Ricordi C. Prime Time for Pancreas and Islet Transplantation at the Turn of the Millennium. Cell Transplant. 2000 Nov;9(6):853-855. doi: 10.1177/096368970000900611. PMID: 28886292. URL https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epdf/10.1177/096368970000900611 (Free Full Paper)

10) Rijkelijkhuizen JK, Bouwman E, van der Burg MP, Ringers J, Ossevoort MA, Kuhn EM, Frost P, Jonker M. Successful suppression of the early rejection of pig islets in monkeys. Cell Transplant. 2000 Nov-Dec;9(6):909-12. doi: 10.1177/096368970000900618. PMID: 11202577. URL https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epdf/10.1177/096368970000900618 (Free Full Paper) • Collaborative research From Biomedical Primate Research Centre (M.O., E.M.K.,
J.W., K.H., M.J.), Rijswijk, and Leiden University Medical Centre (J.K.R.A.R., J.R., M.vdB., E.B.), Leiden, The Netherlands .

Sydney Convention Center • 1MEMO_20260326_9 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles.Media • TakeNode 1ce6bbf2-adf1-4ce3-8c69-cd2d1339be81 • Sydney Convention Center – Darling Harbour (demolished in 2013)

Cultured pig islets for xenotransplantation • 1MEMO_20260326_11 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles•Media • TakeNode bd15f087-29cd-4e99-a555-9fbfbd1729bc • Reflection contrast microscopy (ultrathin section) of 1-week cultured pig islets . During storage in culture remodeling of the isolated islets occurs, showing rounded islets , with some central necrosis after prolonged culture. Transplantation of 1250 islets (IEQs) from this same 1-week cultured pig islet preparation cured all (n=3) diabetic nude mice indefinitely (over 150 days). In contrast transplants of freshly isolated islets (not cultured) using the same dose of 1250 islets (IEQs) from this same islet preparation, did not cure diabetic nude mice (n=2). Adult pig pancreas procurement by Michel van der Burg from the nearby Westgeest slaughterhouse (in Zoetermeer) facility for large sows processing by Ballering Export (Son, Netherlands; a company of second cousins, of mine).
. Islet isolation (using Iodixanol-UWS) and transplants team work by Josephine Rijkelijkhuizen and Michel van der Burg, Leiden Islet Laboratory (LUMC), May 1998. Reflection contrast microscopy by Frans A. Prins and Michel van der Burg. Not previously published data and photo by Michel van der Burg.

#IPITA #Sydney #surgery #DRI #Miami #clinical #laboratory #purification #optiprep #iodixanol #density #gradient #UWS #pancreas #human #pig #rat #mouse #monkey #xeno #islets #islet #Langerhans #isolation #UW #university #Wisconsin #transplantation #diabetes #man #history #Holland #Netherlands #Leiden #hospital #LUMC #1memo #michelvanderburg #Rijkelijkhuizen #Matsumoto #Hering #Minneapolis #Ricordi

Citation info : Successful Islet Transplantation After Purification in Iodixanol-UWS • IPITA 1999 Sydney • @1MEMO 20260326 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles.Media • URL michelvanderburg.com/2026/03/26/

New Powerful Tool For Human Islet Purification • OptiPrep-UWS ? • IPITA 1999 Sydney • @1MEMO 20260325

7th IPITA World Congress 1999 • 1MEMO_20260325_1 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles•Media • TakeNode 770715b8-ca68-4c00-8a24-24fe0d216c10

Poster presentation (#P298) Michel van der Burg, 7th World Congress of the International Pancreas & Islet Transplant Association, Sydney (Australia) August 22–25, 1999 (1).

Outcome of the first series of human islet purifications with the novel Iodixanol -UWS density gradient — developed originally in the difficult model of pig islet isolation in our Leiden Islet Laboratory of the LUMC (2) — and, performed in 1998 during my working visit at the “fast track” center of the Diabetes Research Institute (Scientific director Prof. C. Ricordi, MD) of the University of Miami , in Miami, Florida, USA .

Notes

1) Van der Burg MPM, Ranuncoli A, Molano R, Kirlew T, Ringers J, Bouwman E, Terpstra OT, Ricordi C. New powerful tool for human islet purification: OptiPrep-UWS? 7th World Congress of the International Pancreas & Islet Transplant Association, Sydney (Australia) August 22–25, 1999. Abstract in Programme and Abstract Book, page 169, P298 .

Abstracts of previous IPITA meetings had been published in print in scientific journals (2), however, at the turn of the millennium in 1999, with the rise of the internet , the 7th IPITA congress abstracts were published online only at the official website of the IPITA, in Oxford at the time (www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/ipita), and cannot be retrieved now (3).
I kept an archive with photocopies of our abstracts published in print in the Abstract Book of the 7th IPITA. Below that abstract of poster presentation P298 at page 169 in the Programme and Abstract Book.

7th IPITA World Congress 1999 • 1MEMO_20260325_2 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles•Media • TakeNode 9a8affeb-120a-4484-a390-fe058ac64af4

A previous poster on this human islet work had been presented at the 4th International congress of the Cell Transplant Society, Montreux (Switzerland) March 21–24, 1999. See:
Optiprep For Human Islet Purification • Cell Transplant Society 1999 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles.Media • @1MEMO 20250203 • URL michelvanderburg.com/2025/02/03/

A previous talk on this human islet work had been presented Monday, 25 January 1999, at the 18th Workshop of the AIDSPIT Study Group in Igls , Austria. See :
Efficacy of the novel iodixanol-UWS density gradient for human islet purification • Igls Aidspit 1999 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles.Media • 20241202 • URL michelvanderburg.com/2024/12/02/

2) Innovative Islet Purification in Iodixanol-UWS • IPITA 97 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles.Media • @1MEMO 20250128 • TakeNode • URL michelvanderburg.com/2025/01/28/

3) Ricordi C. Prime Time for Pancreas and Islet Transplantation at the Turn of the Millennium. Cell Transplant. 2000 Nov;9(6):853-855. doi: 10.1177/096368970000900611. PMID: 28886292. URL https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epdf/10.1177/096368970000900611

Citation info : New Powerful Tool For Human Islet Purification • OptiPrep-UWS ? • IPITA 1999 Sydney • @1MEMO 20260325 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles.Media • URL michelvanderburg.com/2026/03/25/

Igler Art • Via Romea #52 • @1MEMO_20260324

Igler Art • Via Romea #52 • @1MEMO_20260324 • Michel van der Burg • Miracles•Media • School street art on the Jakobsweg route in Igls, Tyrol, Austria, March 2026 • TakeNode 69bce182-3569-4fe0-9f15-e93708c72069 Here the Jakobsweg follows the same route as the Via Romea.

23•Igler Art project by ‘VS Igls-Vill’ school in Igls (Innsbruck-Igls, Tyrol, Austria), in front of the school at the crossing of the Habichtstraße and Viller Steig — the Jakobsweg pilgrimage route from Igls towards Vill.
Here the Jakobsweg ( Camino de Santiago , St James Way ) follows the same route as the Via Romea Germanica.