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Surgical Perfusion and Isolation of the Porcine Pancreas for Islet Isolation
Published on: June 7, 2024
Effective islet isolation method with extremely high islet yields from adult pigs
Yukihide Yonekawa1, Shinichi Matsumoto, Teru Okitsu
1Department of Transplantation and Immunology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Japan.
Cell Transplantation
|February 4, 2006
Summary
A new porcine islet isolation method significantly increases islet yield, achieving over 1 million islet equivalents per pig. This improved method shows promise for enhancing islet transplantation success in humans and xenotransplantation.
Area of Science:
- Transplantation Biology
- Islet Isolation Techniques
- Xenotransplantation Research
Background:
- Successful islet transplantation relies on efficient islet isolation.
- Porcine pancreas is a suitable model for human islet isolation research due to physiological similarities.
- Existing methods like the Ricordi chamber have limitations in yield and efficiency.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate a novel porcine islet isolation method designed for maximal islet yield.
- To compare the new method against established open pan and Ricordi chamber techniques.
- To assess the functional capacity of isolated islets in vivo.
Main Methods:
- Fifteen porcine islet isolations were performed, with five replicates for each of the three methods (new, open pan, Ricordi).
- The new method involves intact pancreata, intraductal collagenase injection, a large filtration chamber, low collagenase concentration (Liberase HI), and large-scale purification containers.
- Islet yield, purity, viability, and in vitro function were assessed. In vivo assessment involved transplanting islets into SCID mice with chemically induced diabetes.
Main Results:
- The new method yielded significantly higher islet equivalents (IE) per pancreas: >1,000,000 IE before purification and ~800,000 IE after purification.
- Compared to the open pan method (30,666 +/- 11,532 IE) and Ricordi method (317,073 +/- 86,093 IE), the new method demonstrated a statistically significant increase in islet yield (p < 0.01 and p < 0.05, respectively).
- All mice (n=8) transplanted with 1000 islets from the new method achieved normoglycemia within 4 days.
Conclusions:
- The novel porcine islet isolation method achieves exceptionally high islet yield and good function.
- This method offers a significant improvement over existing techniques, potentially advancing human islet isolation protocols.
- The high-yield porcine islets are functionally effective in vivo, supporting their application in clinical xenogeneic transplantation.
