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Biomedical subjects

A J Matas

Publications and source records attributed to A J Matas.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

DL-ethionine treatment of adult pancreatic donors. Amelioration of diabetes in multiple recipients withe tissue from a single donor.

Transplantation of adult rat pancreatic islet tissue as a free graft requires the separation of islet from exocrine tissue to avoid host injury or graft destruction by digestive enzymes. The poor yield from islet isolation techniques currently necessitates the use of multiple donors to ameliorate diabetes in a single recipient. DL-ethionine (DLE) is an agent selectively toxic to the exocrine pancreas. We examined the effect of DLE administration on pancreatic digestive enzyme content and islet mass in adult Lewis rats and the ability of such pancreatic tissue dispersed by collagenase digestion without specific islet isolation to ameliorate diabetes when transplanted to the portal vein of syngeneic rats with streptozotocin induced diabetes. Rats fed normal chow supplemented with 0.5% DLE for 14-20 days showed a logarithmic loss of pancreatic mass. Total pancreatic amylase content declined to 0.3 + 0.1 mg, less than 3% of control values (14.3 +/- 1.0 mg). Total insulin content in DLE treated rats was 87 +/- 8 microg, not significantly different from control rats (101 +/- 7 microg). Histological examination confirmed the selective atrophy of exocrine tissue in DLE treated rats. Fresh pancreatic tissue prepared from a single DLE treated donor ameliorated diabetes 75% of the time when transplanted to one or two recipients and 65% of the time when divided between three of four recipients. Tissue prepared from a single DLE treated donor and stored for 24-48 hours ameliorated diabetes 91% of the time when divided between one or two recipients. Only four of 31 diabetic rats transplanted with fresh pancreatic tissue from untreated adult donors became normoglycemic. Pretreatment of adult rats with DLE induces selective exocrine atrophy, permits dispersed pancreatic tissue from a single donor to ameliorate experimental diabetes in up to four recipients, and allows tissue to be preserved by culture for up to 48 hours without specific islet isolation.

Amylases

Encephalomyocarditis virus-induced diabetes mellitus treated by islet transplantation.

There is considerable evidence that at least some cases of juvenile onset diabetes mellitus in humans are a result of viral infection. Viral-induced diabetes in mice may provide an experimental counterpart more similar to the clinical situation than chemical-induced diabetes. Our experiments in such mice indicate that islet transplantation is effective in ameliorating viral-induced diabetes and is encouraging for ultimate clinical application of islet transplantation to juvenile onset insulin-dependent diabetics. In addition, our results show that islets in ectopic sites outside of the pancreas are resistant to damage induced by primary viral infection. The mechanism of this resistance is obscure and will be the subject of future investigations.

Animals

Glomerular basement membrane thickness following islet transplantation in the diabetic rat.

Glomerular basement membrane (GBM) thickness was measured in diabetic rats prior to and following islet transplantation. Over the course of the experiment (from 7 to 13 months of diabetes) GBM thickness in diabetic animals exceeded that of littermate controls. After 7 months of diabetes a group of animals received successful intraportal transplants of neonatal pancreatic tissue. GBM thickness at 2 and 6 months following islet transplantation matched the thickness in nontransplanted diabetic rats and exceeded that in control animals. Failure to reverse GBM thickening in diabetic rats following islet transplantation may be due to very slow rates of GBM tunover in the rat. Previous work has demonstrated normalization of urinary albumin excretion after islet transplantation, suggesting that GBM thickening, per se, is not a significant factor causing albuminuria in rats with longstanding diabetes.

Animals

Bone marrow transplantation for correction of enzyme deficiency disease.

Mutant acatalasemic mice provide a prototype of congenital enzyme deficiency disease. Normal blood catalase levels were achieved permanently in congenitally acatalasemic mice by transplantation of bone marrow cells from congeneic normal catalasemic mice using relatively small numbers of cells following whole body irradiation. The increase in blood catalase activity was physiologically effective as demonstrated by the protection of the previously acatalasemic mice against the otherwise lethal effects of hydrogen peroxide injections. Bone marrow transplantation has the potential to provide a continuous source of some enzymes and may be applicable as treatment for certain congenital enzyme deficiency diseases.

Acatalasia

Autotransplantation of pancreatic fragments to the portal vein and spleen of totally pancreatectomized dogs: a comparative evaluation.

Forty-nine dogs were made diabetic by total pancreatectomy. Fifteen untreated pancreatectomized animals survived a mean (+/-S.E.) of 7.0 +/- 1.1 days with a mean (+/-S.E.) plasma glucose level of 402 +/- 26 mg/100 ml before death. The pancreata of 32 dogs were distended with cold (4 degrees ) Hanks' solution, minced, digested with collagenase (600 U/ml tissue) for 15-25 minutes, and autotransplanted either into the splenic artery (three dogs), directly into the splenic pulp (21 dogs), or into the portal vein (ten dogs). Tissue infusion into the splenic artery resulted in infarction and persistent hyperglycemia. Direct implantation into the splenic pulp of tissue digested for 15, 20 and 25 minutes resulted in permanent normoglycemia (fasting plasma glucose < 150 mg/100 ml) in 7 of 8, 7 of 7, and 6 of 6 dogs respectively. Glucose tolerance test mean (+/-S.E.) K values (% decline of plasma glucose concentration/minute) in these groups two weeks after transplantation were 1.20 +/- 0.20%, 1.60 +/- 0.25 and 0.70 0.08% respectively, indicating that 20 minutes digestion was best for intrasplenic transplantation. Tissue prepared in the optimal manner (20 minutes digestion) and embolized into the liver resulted in normoglycemia in three of eight dogs, and a mean (+/-S.E.) K value of 0.77 +/- 0.10%. Both dogs receiving tissue dispersed for 25 minutes into the portal vein remained hyperglycemic. In the dogs subjected to intraportal transplantation, portal pressure rose from a mean (+/-S.E.) of 6.5 +/- 0.6 cm H(2)O before to 21.9 +/- 2.2 cm H(2)O immediately after tissue embolization, but declined to 6.5 +/- 1.0 cm H(2)O by ten weeks in animals becoming normoglycemic. We conclude that in dogs direct implantation of pancreatic tissue into the splenic pulp is superior to embolization into the portal vein or splenic artery because the splenic circulation is not compromized, portal hypertension is obviated, and glucose metabolism is best controlled as judged by glucose tolerance test K values.

Amylases