Isolation of human and porcine islets of langerhans and islet transplantation in pigs

Survival of isolated human islets of Langerhans maintained in tissue culture.

“…Initial studies indicated that the isolation procedure was generally more complicated and yielded considerably fewer islets than in laboratory animals, a finding that agrees with previous reports in the literature (11)(12)(13)27). The results were also related to donor age in that only pancreatic glands obtained from donors below 45 yr of age yielded satisfactory islets.…”

Preparation of Viable islet Cells from Dogs by a New Method

“…The tissue insulin and amylase content are presumably proportional to B-cell mass and exocrine cell content, respectively; therefore, insulin/amylase ratio reflects the purity of islet cell mass relative to exocrine cell contamination. 8 - 13 A 57% recovery of B-cell mass was suggested by insulin recovery. Approximately a sixfold purification of B-cell content was noted.…”

Pancreas and islet transplantation

“…A minimal effect on diabetes has been observed after transplantation of isolated islets to the peritoneal cavity of totally pancreatectomized pigs [98] or to the portal vein of monkeys made diabetic either by partial pancreatectomy and streptozotocin [85] or total pancreatectomy [176]. Scharp et al [85] found that serum insulin and Kg values increased after intraportal transplantation in monkeys with mild diabetes induced by partial pancreatectomy and streptozotocin, but they did not report the long term fate or the actual course of diabetes in this model.…”

“…The collagenase digestion/Ficoll gradient separation technique has been used to isolate viable islets from mouse [97], dog [86], pig [98], monkey [85], and human pancreases [99]. In general, application to large animals has been difficult [100].…”