title: In vitro morpho-functional analysis of pancreatic islets isolated from the domestic chicken.
abstract: The technique whereby islets were isolated from the pancreas of chicken and their in vitro histological and functional characterization are described in this paper. Our isolation procedure consisted of two steps: initially the pancreas removed from the chicken was perfused with a 2% solution of collagenase and enzymatic digestion was then carried out using the same solution. After this, density gradient separation was performed on the digested tissue, by means of differing Histopaque solutions: at the end of the separation, the islets were studied by light microscopy after treatment with diphenylthiocarbazone, which selectively stains beta-cells, and by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The results reported here show the pattern closely resembled that encountered when islets were studied in situ. The beta-cells of the islets proved in vitro to preserve their functional capability of producing insulin even after stimulation with glucose or arginine.
authors.affiliation: Cattedra di Istologia ed Embriologia, Istituto di Anatomia Umana Normale, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bianchi
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bernardini
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Marchetti
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Navalesi
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Giannarelli
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dolfi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lupetti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001120:Arginine; D001481:Basal Metabolism; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D002645:Chickens / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D005947:Glucose; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism; D000078790:Insulin Secretion; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008854:Microscopy, Electron
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D007328:Insulin; D001120:Arginine; D005947:Glucose