Hyaluronan deposition in islets may precede and direct the location of islet immune-cell infiltrates
AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Substantial deposition of the extracellular matrix component hyaluronan (HA) is characteristic of insulitis in overt type 1 diabetes. We investigated whether HA accumulation is detectable in islets early in disease pathogenesis and how this affects the development of insulitis and beta cell mass.METHODS: Pancreas tissue from 15 non-diabetic organ donors who were positive for islet