Summary
Pancreatic islets obtained from newborn Lewis rats were kept free-floating in TCM
199 either in the presence of 50% human amniotic fluid (HAF), 50% Hank's balanced
salt solution (HBSS) or 10% fetal calf serum (FCS) for up to 14 days. The culture,
in the presence of HAF, resulted in a good islet viability as demonstrated by islet
number, islet insulin content and insulin release into the medium. Contradictory results
were obtained when HBSS was used as the medium supplement. Moreover, the islets cultured
in HAF-supplemented medium are characterized by a marked replicatory activity as reflected
by the incorporation of labeled thymidine into islet DNA and gradual increase in DNA
content with the progression of culture time. Even if compared to DNA synthesis of
islets cultured under so called standard culture conditions as e. g. supplementation
of 10% FCS to the medium, 50% HAF but not yet 10% HAF was found to stimulate the islet
replication twofold already after 4 days of culture. It was also demonstrated that
FCS has no additional effect on HAF-stimulated DNA synthesis.
These findings support the view that HAF-enriched culture medium may have a use in
supporting the long-term survival of well preserved endocrine pancreatic tissue.
Key words
Human Amniotic Fluid - Pancreatic Islets - Tissue Culture
