Somatomedin-C in human fetal pancreas. Cellular localization and release during organ culture.

The presence of somatomedin-C/insulin-like growth factor I (SM-C/IGF-I) was investigated in human fetal pancreatic glands obtained after prostaglandin-induced abortion at 14-17 wk of gestation. Pancreatic explants were cultured in medium containing 11.1 or 22.2 mM glucose and 20% fetal calf serum for 8-10 days. During this period they were exposed, on two separate occasions, to serum-free culture medium for 24 h. SM-C/IGF-I and insulin were measured radioimmunologically in the serum-free media and in acid-ethanol-extracted homogenates of the cultured explants. SM-C/IGF-I was measurable in the conditioned media only after extraction by reverse-phase chromatography to remove somatomedin-binding proteins. On gel filtration at neutral pH of extracted medium samples, the immunoreactive SM-C/IGF-I was recovered in the region of the homogeneous peptide with an apparent molecular weight of 7000-8000. Explants cultured in 22.2 mM glucose contained more SM-C/IGF-I and had a tendency to release more of the peptide into the culture medium than explants cultured in 11.1 mM. There was no difference in insulin content or release between the two groups. By immunocytochemistry, SM-C/IGF-I was localized to the beta-cells of the endocrine pancreas in both freshly fixed tissue and cultured explants. We conclude that the human fetal pancreas contains SM-C/IGF-I and secretes the peptide during tissue culture. The presence of SM-C/IGF-I in the islets of Langerhans may contribute to the growth and development of the insulin-producing beta-cell.