Science at UM [S02-ep25]: From Pancreatic Islet Transplants to the AETE-ISO Program
This week on "Science at UM," Orianne Villars, a physician in the Endocrinology and Diabetes Department at Montpellier University Hospital, and Julia Sabatier, a hospital engineer, discuss pancreatic islet transplantation. The report takes us to the set of “Analysis of Trace Elements in the Environment and Isotopes” with Rémi Freydier and Olivier Bruguier. Finally, our guest for the last three minutes, Caroline Blanvilain, introduces us to the exhibition “Récits d’Horizon.” A program broadcast on Divergence FM every Wednesday at 6 p.m.
In France in 2022, 5,494 organ transplants were performed; for tissue transplants, that figure rose to over 6,000. This recovery following the difficult years of the COVID-19 pandemic has helped reduce the active waiting list to just under 11,000 patients.
The history ofgraftsandtransplantsdates back tothe 19thcentury, when a Swiss doctor named Jacques Reverdin first attempted to cover the surface of a wound with small piecesof skin. As you might expect, this didn’t go very well, and it wasn’t until 1886 that the first successful corneal transplant was performed.
These techniques improved throughout the 20th century, and organ transplantation began to develop. In 1952, the first living-donor kidney transplant was attempted on the young Marius Renard. The teenager died three weeks later, but this failure nevertheless enabled the medical community to understand the role of T cells in the rejection process and to successfully perform the first kidney transplant in 1954.
The 1960s saw the first liver transplants, followed in 1967 by the first heart transplant performed in South Africa and, a year later, in France by the renowned Professor Cabrol.
For people with diabetes, the first pancreatic transplants were performed in 1976. That is the topic we will focus on today—or, more specifically, the transplantation of pancreatic islets, known as Langerhans islets, which has only been authorized by the French National Authority for Health (HAS) since July 2020. Last March, Montpellier University Hospital successfully performed not its first islet transplant, but the first isolated islet transplant at the hospital by the Cell Therapy Unit (UTC).
Our two guests played a key role in this breakthrough. Orianne Villars is a physician in the Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes at Montpellier University Hospital, and Julia Sabatier is a hospital engineer in charge of the technical aspects and the laboratory that isolates these islets.
See also:
Press Release: Montpellier University Hospital Performs Its First In-House Isolated Pancreatic Islet Transplant
In the second part of the program, we take you to the School of Pharmacy, where the Hydropolis building houses the technical facilities for the OSU OREME’s AETE-ISO research program, which stands for “Analysis of Trace Elements in the Environment & Isotopes.” The analyses conducted at this facility, where six people work, are used for research, particularly in the fields of water, the environment, geology, materials, bio-health, ecology, agronomy, and archaeology. And we’ll be following Rémi Freydier and Olivier Bruguier as they give us a tour.
Finally, our guest for the last three minutes is Caroline Blanvilain, associate dean of the School of Education, who introduces us to the exhibition *Récits d’Horizon*, which runs through June 8.
At UM Science, you’ve got the program—let’s get started!
Co-production: Divergence FM / University of Montpellier
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: Lucie Lecherbonnier / Aline Périault
Reporting: Aline Périault
Editing: Bruno Bertrand
Director: Naomi Charmetan
Tune in to the show “A l’UM la science” on Divergence FM 93.9
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