Pancreatic Islet-Cell Toxicity

Abstract

A review of pancreatic islet-cell toxicity historically starts with a kidney poison. Dunn et al.,1 while investigating the possible role of some uric acid derivatives in kidney damage, administered alloxan to rabbits. The expected kidney damage was observed and unexpectedly the islets of Langerhans were found to have undergone necrosis. These workers1 were the first to ask the important question, “How is the islet-cell lesion produced?” Thirty-one years and hundreds of research papers later that question remains unanswered. The mass of information produced and the use of modern techniques, however, may allow the answer to evolve in the near future.