title: Excellent effect of three-dimensional culture condition on pancreatic islets.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Culture of cells in simulated microgravity may be potentially beneficial to the fields of cell biology and somatic cell therapy. We aimed to examine three-dimensional culture condition on pancreatic islets.
  
  
  METHODS
  Islets of Langerhans were cultured in conditions of stasis, microgravity, and microgravity with a polyglycolic acid (PGA) fibrous scaffold. After 5 days in culture, islets were transplanted into the leg muscles of streptozotocin-treated diabetic Wistar rats. The blood glucose and insulin content were determined from the tail vein blood of recipients. The grafts were then frozen, dried, and coated for analysis by scanning electron microscopy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Grafts cultured in the three-dimensional conditions (simulated microgravity in the presence or absence of a PGA fibrous scaffold) were capable of significantly normalizing insulin production and blood glucose concentration when compared to control grafts (p<0.017). Scanning electron microscopy showed that the transplanted islets from three-dimensional culture groups demonstrated normal morphology with extracellular matrix on the surface. Islets in the PGA group exhibited well adhesion to PGA scaffolds.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The three-dimensional culture conditions significantly improved the function and morphology of the grafts. The function and morphology of the grafts in the microgravity with a scaffold group was the excellent one.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150086, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.forename: Chun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Wan Jun
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Ren Ping
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Zeng Ling
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yu Bo
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Shi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000166:cytology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D016381:Islets of Langerhans Transplantation; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar