Lim S M, Heng K K, Lim N K, Seah M L, Wee A, Li S Q, Soh P, Rauff A, Vengadasalam D
Department of Surgery, National University of Singapore.
Ann Acad Med Singap. 1991 Jul;20(4):465-71.
The human fetal pancreas is a potential source of islets for transplantation into insulin-dependent diabetic patients. In this study, 35 human fetal pancreas obtained from prostaglandin-induced abortions (12-26 weeks gestation), were placed in culture to determine their capacity to secrete insulin over 30 days. Culture media were sampled twice weekly for insulin and histology was performed serially. Of the 35 pancreases cultured, six were lost due to bacterial contamination, five discarded due to undetectable levels of insulin in culture, nine are still under study, whilst 15 pancreases have been cultured for one month, and insulin studies completed. Three patterns of insulin release were observed: (a) progressive decline (n = 6), indicating non-viable tissue at the onset; (b) delayed decline, indicating significant tissue damage before organ culture (n = 5); and (c) insulin production in vitro over 30 days (n = 4), with viable islets detected histologically. Factors such as gestational age and cold ischaemia time did not correlate with the pattern of insulin secretion observed. This was probably due to a more important variable, not easily assessed, of the period of intrauterine (warm) ischemia. These data suggest: (1) that a small number of fetal pancreases procured from prostaglandin-induced abortuses do yield islets which remain viable in culture over 30 days, and (2) the functional status of islets can be monitored in vivo by measuring insulin secretion, thereby providing a means of identifying tissue suitable for transplantation.
人类胎儿胰腺是移植到胰岛素依赖型糖尿病患者体内的胰岛潜在来源。在本研究中，从前列腺素诱导流产（妊娠12 - 26周）获得的35个人类胎儿胰腺被置于培养中，以确定它们在30天内分泌胰岛素的能力。每周两次采集培养基样本检测胰岛素，并连续进行组织学检查。在培养的35个胰腺中，6个因细菌污染丢失，5个因培养物中未检测到胰岛素水平而被丢弃，9个仍在研究中，15个胰腺已培养1个月且胰岛素研究已完成。观察到三种胰岛素释放模式：（a）逐渐下降（n = 6），表明开始时组织无活力；（b）延迟下降，表明器官培养前有明显组织损伤（n = 5）；以及（c）体外30天内产生胰岛素（n = 4），组织学检测到有活力的胰岛。胎龄和冷缺血时间等因素与观察到的胰岛素分泌模式无关。这可能是由于子宫内（温暖）缺血期这个更重要但不易评估的变量。这些数据表明：（1）从前列腺素诱导流产获得的少量胎儿胰腺确实能产生在培养中30天内仍保持活力的胰岛，以及（2）通过测量胰岛素分泌可在体内监测胰岛的功能状态，从而提供一种识别适合移植组织的方法。
