AmCyte to Announce Advances in Adult Stem Cell Regenerated Islet Program at the International Society for Stem Cell Research 3rd Annual Meeting.

LOS ANGELES -- AmCyte Inc. (www.amcyte.com), a leader in encapsulated islet replacement and pancreatic adult stem cells, will present results from its Adult Stem Cell Regenerated Islet Program at the 3rd Annual Meeting of the International Society of Stem Cell Research, taking place in San Francisco, June 23-25, 2005 (http://www.isscr.org/meetings/program.htm).

AmCyte will present data from its Adult Stem Cell Regenerated Islet Program, which aims to create a transplantable supply of islets for the diabetes patient community.

The studies to be presented at the ISSCR meeting show:

--AmCyte has demonstrated that endocrine progenitors are enriched in islets in comparison to other pancreatic tissues based on the expression of critical transcription factors and potential progenitor markers.

--We have developed a culture process which allows in vitro expansion of adult human pancreatic cells, including insulin, glucagon, Ngn3, Pax4, and PGP9.5 expressing cell populations, signaling the expansion and subsequent differentiation of endocrine progenitors.

--Expanded cells are glucose responsive and form islet-like clusters upon encapsulation. Analysis shows that islet-like clusters have cellular architecture and composition similar to encapsulated non-expanded human islets.

--Transplanting these encapsulated islet-like clusters into diabetic SCID mice demonstrates their potency to reduce blood glucose levels to normal levels.

--Retrieved islet-like clusters from diabetic SCID mice contain insulin positive cells and secrete insulin upon glucose challenge with concurrent human C-peptide secretion.

--This study is a promising advance in solving the organ shortage for islet transplantation.

"These data underscore our commitment to adult stem cell work in the diabetes space," said Oliver Foellmer, Director of Business Development. "With the advent of Prop. 71 we hope to extend our R&D programs and collaborate with research institutions across California to accelerate the pace of progress for stem cell-based diabetes treatments."

AmCyte Inc., located in Santa Monica, Calif., specializes in islet transplantation therapy to treat diabetes. The company is developing Regenerated Islets utilizing its proprietary adult stem cell technology to scale up the supply of transplantable islets to meet clinical trial and patient needs. AmCyte's encapsulation technology protects transplanted islets from rejection without life-long immune suppressive medication.