Optimal temperature in short-term hypothermic preservation of rat pancreas

Rat pancreases were hypothermically preserved for 24 hr in University of Wisconsin preservation solution at specific temperatures (4, 7, 10, and 15 degrees C) to evaluate the effect of preservation temperature on islet yield and islet function. Following hypothermic storage, the loss of recoverable islets was highest in the 15 degrees C-preservation group, followed by that of the 4 degrees C group and significantly less in the 7 and 10 degrees C groups (p less than 0.05). Islet function, as measured by insulin output following glucose challenge in perifusion, was reduced (p less than 0.0001) in all preservation groups. The mean insulin secretion rate was lowest in the 4 degrees C group, highest in the 7 degrees C group, and intermediate in the 10 degrees C group. The islet preservation index, a parameter taking into consideration both islet yield and islet function after preservation, was more than double in the 7 and 10 degrees C preservation groups as compared to the 4 degrees C group (p less than 0.0001). This study shows that significant improvement in islet yield and function occurs when the rat pancreas was preserved at 7-10 degrees C rather than at 4 degrees C.