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Infant human pancreas. A potential source of islet tissue for transplantation
Insights
Infant human pancreas contains significantly more insulin and less amylase than adult pancreas, making it a promising source for islet transplantation. Dispersed infant pancreas tissue shows high islet yield and purity for potential diabetes treatment.
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology and Metabolism
- Transplantation Biology
- Pancreatic Islet Research
Background:
- Assessing the potential of infant human pancreas for islet transplantation is crucial for developing new diabetes therapies.
- Understanding the composition of infant pancreas, specifically islet and exocrine tissue, is key to evaluating its suitability for transplantation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the insulin and amylase content in infant human pancreas before and after tissue dispersal.
- To compare the composition of infant human pancreas with juvenile and adult human pancreases, as well as rat pancreas models.
- To evaluate the suitability of dispersed infant human pancreas for islet transplantation in diabetic patients.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of tissue insulin and amylase content in twelve infant human pancreases (≤1 year old) before and after mincing and collagenase digestion.
- Comparison with analyses of juvenile/adult human pancreases and neonatal/adult rat pancreases.
- Assessment of islet mass and insulin/amylase ratio as indicators of pancreatic tissue quality.
Main Results:
- Infant human pancreas exhibits significantly higher insulin concentration (1,128 µg/gm) and total insulin content (1,718 µg/pancreas) compared to adult pancreas (140 µg/gm, 7,209 µg/pancreas).
- Infant pancreas has lower amylase concentration (0.24 mg/gm) than adult pancreas (3.0 mg/gm), resulting in a much higher insulin/amylase ratio (4,800 vs. 46).
- Dispersed infant human pancreas yields islet tissue with purity and insulin/amylase ratios comparable to or exceeding that from adult pancreases.
Conclusions:
- Infant human pancreas is a rich source of islet tissue with a favorable composition for transplantation, relatively free from exocrine enzymes.
- The high islet yield and purity after collagenase digestion suggest infant pancreas is an ideal candidate for transplantation in selected diabetic patients.
- Further research into infant pancreas transplantation could offer a viable alternative for diabetes management.
Abstract:
Twelve pancreases from human infants one year old or less were analyzed for tissue insulin and amylase content before and after dispersal of pancreatic fragments by mincing and collagenase digestion. Tissue insulin and amylase content provide an index of pancreatic islet mass and exocrine digestive enzyme content, respectively. The results were compared with similar anaylses performed on juvenile and adult human pancreases before and after islet isolation and on intact and dispersed neonatal rat and adult rat pancreas. Infant human pancreas has an average tissue insulin concentration of 1,128 mug./gm. of tissue and a total insulin content of 1,718 mug/pancreas, as against values of 140 mug./gm. of tissue and 7,209 mug./pancreas for adult human pancreas. Average tissue amylase concentration is 0.24 mg./gm. of tissue in infant human pancreas and 3.0 mg./gm. of tissue in adult human pancreas. The insulin/amylase ratio in infant pancreas is 4,800, as against 46 in the adult pancreas. Neonatal rat pancreas, which can be dissociated and transplanted without separation of islet and exocrine components, has a similarly high tissue insulin and low tissue amylase content when compared with adult rat pancreases. Infant human pancreas has a total islet mass 24 per cent that of an adult human pancreas, and neonatal rat pancreas has a total islet mass 11 per cent of that of an adult rat pancreas. One neonatal rat pancreas prepared by minimal collagenase digestion can cure diabetes when transplanted via the portal vein to a rat. Following dispersal of infant human pancreas by collagenase digestion, the islet content and the insulin/amylase ratio of the recovered tissue equals or exceeds that which usually can be isolated from adult cadaver pancreases. Infant human pancreas is a rich source of islet tissue that is relatively uncontaminated by exocrine digestive enzymes. After dispersal, infant human pancreas may be ideal for transplantation to selected diabetic patients.