Inflammation is a primary contributor to early graft loss and poor islet engraftment. Human amniotic epithelial cells (hAEC) possess regenerative, immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory properties. In particular, these cells express HLA-G and HLA-E, involved in immunomodulation and immune tolerance. Here, we hypothesized that hAECs could protect islets from cellular damage induced by proinflammatory cytokines and we assessed the cytokine-induced expression of HLA-G and HLA-E in hAECs.