Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 23, 2026
07:04
Effective Isolation of Functional Islets from Neonatal Mouse Pancreas
Published on: January 6, 2017
Engineering functional islets from cultured cells.
Shohta Kodama1, Koji Kojima, Shigeyuki Furuta
1Tissue engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Harvard Medical School , Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. skodama@fukuoka-u.ac.jp
Tissue Engineering. Part A
|April 24, 2009
Summary
Tissue engineering pancreatic islets in vitro offers a promising solution for type 1 diabetes treatment. These engineered islets successfully restored normoglycemia in diabetic mice after transplantation.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Regenerative Medicine
- Endocrinology
Background:
- Pancreatic islet transplantation is limited by donor availability for type 1 diabetes.
- Tissue engineering offers a potential solution to generate functional islets in vitro.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a method for tissue engineering functional pancreatic islets.
- To evaluate the efficacy of these engineered islets in vivo.
Main Methods:
- Rat pancreatic islets were dissociated and cultured on polyglycolic acid (PGA) scaffolds.
- Cells were further cultured in a thermoreversible gelatin polymer (TGP) for 40 days.
- Tissue-engineered (TE) islets were transplanted into diabetic mice.
Main Results:
- All transplanted mice achieved normoglycemia.
- Oral glucose tolerance tests confirmed normal glucose regulation.
- Immunohistochemistry confirmed the endocrine function of TE islets, including insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin secretion.
Conclusions:
- In vitro tissue engineering of pancreatic islets using PGA and TGP is feasible.
- These TE islets are functional in vivo and can reverse hyperglycemia.
- This approach holds potential for treating type 1 diabetes.
