Islet function after storage at -2 degrees C and -196 degrees C.

Abstract

The radical treatment of type 1 diabetes by transplantation requires the extracorporeal storage of islets, and this has frequently been studied. Damage from ice formation, however, has prevented the development of any satisfactory method for preservation. We compared islet function after frozen storage with that after non-frozen storage. Isolated rat islets immersed in 10% dimethyl sulfoxide were kept at -2 degrees C (group A) and -196 degrees C (group B) for 7 days. After one day of culture, some of the islets were incubated in 3.3 and 16.7 mM glucose-containing Krebs--Henseleit bicarbonate buffer for 60 min. The other islets were incubated with 3H-leucine for 2 h. The radioactivity of whole-islet homogenate and the insulin extracted from it were measured. We also counted the number of islets before and after the 7-day storage. The islets thus preserved were transplanted into streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats and the fasting plasma glucose was determined weekly. Non-cooled islets were used as controls (group C). Insulin release in the presence of 16.7 mM glucose did not significantly differ between groups C and A, whereas it was lower in group B than in groups A or C. The islet uptake of 3H-leucine was lower in A and B compared with C, but the insulin synthesis was similar in all three groups. More islets were recovered from A than B. Fasting plasma glucose was lowered similarly in the diabetic rats after transplantation of islets from A and B. The relative ease of preservation at -2 degrees C, and the positive results of this experiment, favor this method of preservation.