Long-term organ culture of large numbers of human fetal pancreata: analysis of their insulin secretion.
Cultured human fetal pancreas has been transplanted into diabetic man in an attempt to cure the metabolic disorder. However, the capacity of large numbers of these organs to secrete insulin in organ culture has not been reported previously. This report sets out the characteristics of 321 human fetal pancreases of gestational age 12-20 weeks obtained over a period of 34 months, 295 of these being maintained in organ culture. Average insulin secretion was constant at 2.22 +/- 0.35 mU/plate/day over a 90-day period, the maximal duration of culture possible. Explants were lost because of infection or reduced insulin secretion. Practical guidelines for obtaining and maintaining viable explants in culture were established as follows: Insulin secretion had to be greater than 0.1 mU/plate/day. Secretory rates of this order were associated with a positive insulinogenic response to theophylline. Prostaglandin induction, suction curettage, and hysterotomy were equally suitable as methods of termination of pregnancy. The pancreas had to be obtained within 4 hours of termination of pregnancy. The tissue had to be diced into explants within a further 4 hours.[1]References
- Long-term organ culture of large numbers of human fetal pancreata: analysis of their insulin secretion. Tuch, B.E., Turtle, J.R. Diabet. Med. (1987) [Pubmed]
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