title: Improved islet survival and funtion with rat endothelial cells in vitro co-culture.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Pancreatic islet transplantation is an emerging therapy for type 1 diabetes. To preserve its function, transplanted islets must be revascularized because arterial and venous connections are disrupted during islet isolation. The current paradigm is that islet revascularization originates from the transplant recipient. This study was designed to test whether the function of isolated islets can be retained by co-culture with thoracic aorta endothelial cells in vitro.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sprague-Dawley rats were used in this study. The endothelial cells (ECs) were isolated from the thoracic aorta. The viability of the isolated islets was assessed by acridine orange/propidium iodide (AO/PI) double staining. The islets were either placed in standard cultures (group A) or in co-cultures with ECs (group B). Islet viablity was assessed by an insulin release assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The islets in group B exhibited normal morphology with >90% staining positive as detected by AO/PI with 7 days. Insulin release assays showed a significantly higher simulation index (SI) in group B compared with group A (P < .05) except on the first day.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggested that co-cultrue of freshly isolated rat islets with ECs improves postculture survival and islet function in vitro.
authors.affiliation: Department of Renal Transplant, Center of Nephropathy, First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University Medical College, Xi'an, Shannxi, PR China.
authors.forename: H-J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: W-J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: X-H
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: X-M
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: X-S
authors.initials: XS
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: P-X
authors.initials: PX
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Z-L
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002469:Cell Separation / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D002470:Cell Survival; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D017364:Collagenases; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D005362:Ficoll; D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D008794:Metrizoic Acid; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D005362:Ficoll; C038920:lymphoprep; D008794:Metrizoic Acid; D017364:Collagenases