Fig. 6: In vivo characterization of SC-alpha cell transplantation.

a Fasting-induced hypoglycemia in control (n = 9 animals) and SC-alpha transplanted mice (n = 9 animals). Continuous glucose monitoring for 24-h period at 5 weeks post transplant. Food was removed after 15 h and restored at 22 h. SC-alpha-cell-transplanted mice are protected from hypoglycemia. b Insulin tolerance test on control (n = 9 animals) and SC-alpha (n = 9 animals) transplanted mice at 6 weeks post transplant. SC-alpha-cell-transplanted mice are protected from hypoglycema. c Continuous glucose monitoring of mice for 4 weeks reveals that mice transplanted with SC-alpha cells (n = 10 animals) have elevated blood glucose compared to control animals (sham surgery, n = 10 animals). Graph represents the average daily blood glucose value at 5-min intervals for all animals in each treatment group. Each data point represents the average of 280 CGM readings (10 mice × 28 days). d In transplanted mice, SC-alpha cells reduce instances of hypoglycemia in mice. Average blood glucose reading by CGM over 28-day period (n = 10 animals for each group). e Percentage of time over 4 weeks spent in range (≥70 mg/dL) and hypoglycemic (<70 mg/dL) (n = 10 animals for each group). f Total serum glucagon levels in response to an arginine bolus at 4 weeks post transplant. SC-alpha-transplanted mice (n = 5 animals) and control animals (n = 5 animals) were fed ad libitum and injected i.p. with arginine. Total serum glucagon levels were measured at time 0 (T0), 10 and 30 min post injection. g Fasting and fed total serum glucagon levels for control (n = 5 animals) and SC-alpha (n = 5 animals) transplanted animals. Fasted mice were deprived of food for 6 h before blood collection. Blood was collected from fed animals 2 h after food was restored. h Glucose tolerance test in control mice (n = 5 animals) and SC-alpha-transplanted mice (n = 5 animals). All data are presented as mean ± SEM. Significance was calculated using a two-tailed unpaired Student’s t test.