Collagenase isolation and 45Ca efflux studies of human islets of Langerhans

22 human pancreases were removed soon after circulatory arrest from donors aged 15--63 years. Part of the pancreas was used for isolation of islets by the collagenase technique. The mean yield +/- SEM, expressed as the number of islets isolated from 4 g pancreas was 79 +/- 15. The yield varied considerably even when the pancreas was removed immediately after circulatory arrest and the histology was normal, and there was no correlation with the age of the donors. The islet content of insulin (ng/microgram dry islet) was 8.5 +/- 1.2 (mean +/- SEM). Isolated islets were loaded with 45Ca in the presence of 20 mM glucose and placed in a perfusion apparatus for further studies of the 45Ca washout. The decrease of washout of radioactivity in Ca2+-deficient medium offers support for the existence of a Ca2+-Ca2+ exchange process. When added in a concentration of 20 mM, glucose tended to stimulate 45Ca efflux in perfusion medium of ordinary ionic composition but inhibited this process when the medium was deficient in Ca2+. Exposure to the calcium ionophore X-537A resulted in immediate stimulation of of 45Ca efflux from human islets as previously observed for islets from rats and mice. This suggests that Ca2+ has a direct regulatory role for insulin release also in humans.