title: Microculture system for studying monolayers of functional beta-cells.
abstract: A method is described for growing monolayers of newborn rat beta-cells in microculture trays. After disruption of the pancreas with collagenase, islets were isolated by Ficoll density gradient centrifugation, trypsinized to obtain individual cells, and plated in 96-well tissue culture trays. The cells were incubated for the first 3 days in growth medium containing 0.1 mM 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine to promote monolayer formation. The cultures could be maintained in a functional state, as defined by their responsiveness to known modulators of insulin secretion, for at least 2 weeks. As few as 1 X 10(3) islet cells/well gave results that were reproducible within +/- 10%. It is suggested that the microculture system for islet cells might prove to be a rapid and reproducible screening technique for studying drugs, viruses, or other agents that affect beta-cell function.
mesh_terms: D015056:1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthine / Q000494:pharmacology; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005947:Glucose / Q000494:pharmacology; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism; D000078790:Insulin Secretion; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D007700:Kinetics; D008722:Methods; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D007328:Insulin; D005947:Glucose; D015056:1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthine