University of Groningen
Extracellular matrix molecules applied to promote functional survival of microencapsulated
pancreatic islets
Llacua Carrasco, Luis Alberto
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Publication date: 2018
Link to publication in University of Groningen/UMCG research database
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Llacua Carrasco, L. A. (2018). Extracellular matrix molecules applied to promote functional survival of microencapsulated pancreatic islets. University of Groningen.
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Propositions belonging to the PhD dissertation
Extracellular matrix molecules to enhance functional survival of
micro-encapsulated pancreatic islets
by L. Alberto Llacua Carrasco, defence scheduled on 07 November 2018
1. The application of collagenase preparations to isolate islets has anunderesti-mated impact on the islet-cell microenvironment. Replacing specific damaged components from the microenvironment can improve or restore metabolic function (this thesis).
2. Exogenous extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules have an impact on pancreatic islet functional survival in an ECM dependent fashion (this thesis).
3. The need for ECM molecules in islets varies between species (this thesis). 4. Specific ECM molecules confer natural protection against cytotoxic activity (this
thesis).
5. Achieving normoglycemia using an islet graft is one thing, achieving optimal metabolic control is a second.
6. The addition of specific exogenous ECM molecules has an important role in the maintenance of the islet metabolic processes in artificial membranes (this the-sis).
7. ECM molecules seem to be involved in the modulation of specific genetic path-ways. Research on function-effector relationships of ECM molecules and islet function could lead to targeted strategies to promote islet-graft survival result-ing in the need for less donor islets to induce normoglycemia (this thesis). This could lead to the need for less donors and making islet transplantation available for a larger group of patients.
8. Quantification of research-quality by counting the number of publications forc-es scientists to become more specialized. Integrating rforc-esearch is therefore lforc-ess attractive, because it is more difficult to substantiate and to publish.
9. In medical sciences, “Good is what is useful, even when we do not know why” (Richard Koch).
10. A message to prospective PhD students: do not be discouraged with the stress and pressure that a PhD study brings with it. If you did not fight with your super-visor over the style of work, if you did not experience a rejection of a paper by a journal, if you did not get lost during the fieldwork, if you did not experience the RSI syndrome (pain in wrist and back, red eyes, sleepless nights), well . . . what did you learn from it then?
