title: Distribution of intraportally implanted microspheres and fluorescent islets in mice.
abstract: The aim of the study was to evaluate the distribution of intraportally transplanted islets in mice. We initially administered 2000 polystyrene microspheres with a diameter of 50 microm intraportally into normoglycemic C57BL/6 mice. In separate experiments other mice were injected similarly with 300 microspheres each with a diameter of 100 or 200 microm. One week later the animals were killed, and the lungs and livers were removed and divided into lobes. The number of microspheres in each individual liver lobe and in the lungs was counted using a stereomicroscope. In other experiments, athymic C57BL/6 mice were similarly implanted with 250 islets isolated from transgenic mice expressing the enhanced yellow fluorescent protein in the islet cells. The distribution of microspheres and islets was independent of size, and fairly homogenous within the liver, with the exception of the caudate lobe, which contained fewer microspheres and islets, respectively. Approximately one third of all microspheres and islets were present as aggregates. Eighty-five to 90% of the implanted microspheres were identified in the liver sections, whereas 60-65% of the implanted islets were recovered. Aggregates or single fluorescent cells were observed in the liver of islet-implanted mice. We conclude that islets and microspheres implanted into the liver distribute fairly homogenously and quite a few of them exist as aggregates or, with respect to islets, as fragments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Cell Biology, Uppsala University, SE-75123 Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: von Seth
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nyqvist
authors.forename: Arne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Andersson
authors.forename: Per-Ola
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Carlsson
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Köhler
authors.forename: Göran
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mattsson
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nordin
authors.forename: Per-Olof
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Berggren
authors.forename: Leif
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jansson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D006085:Graft Survival; D006499:Hepatic Artery; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D016381:Islets of Langerhans Transplantation; D008099:Liver / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D008168:Lung / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008863:Microspheres; D011169:Portal Vein / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous / Q000379:methods* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes