Optimization of culture conditions for the preservation of monkey pancreatic islets in culture.

Culturing of islets is essential for various purposes before transplantation. It is necessary to establish optimal culture conditions for each animal species for their preservation in culture. In this study, attempts were made to preserve the Indian bonnet monkey islets in culture. The islets were isolated from monkey pancreas by the collagenase digestion method. They were separated from acinar cells by dextran density-gradient centrifugation. They were preserved in a humidified atmosphere of 5% carbon dioxide and 95% air for 7 days. The culture medium used was RPMI-1640. Various optimal conditions such as volume of the culture medium used, number of islets in one culture dish, concentration of glucose in culture medium, and fetal calf serum percentage were tested for their better preservation in culture. After the culture period, they were tested for their insulin secretory capacity by exposing them to various secretagogues. Histologic appearance of the cultured islets also was examined. Both insulin secretory characteristics and histologic structure were found to be normal.