Bone marrow transplantation and solid organs

The recent issue of Transplantation embarks on two articles on simultaneously doing a bone marrow transplantation and pancreas and islet cell respectively.
The first paper is a basic science study that showed bone marrow derived pancreatic cells are mobilized into injured pancreatic tissue and contribute to β-cell regeneration. Transplantation of BM-derived cells improved the function of injured pancreas, although the response is not sufficient to restore sustained normoglycemia is their conclusion.
The second paper was on islet cell transplants, another basic science study. Cotransplantation of bone marrow cells with islets was associated with enhanced islet graft vascularization and function in this paper.


This concept of bone marrow transplantation along with solid organs is not novel now. It was first reported few years ago in NEJM of actual 5 cases of kidney transplants along with bone marrow and the need for immunosuppresion was eliminated in these patients.  This is true thinking out of the box. Long terms outcomes of these patients is still underway.