Comparison of two types of microencapsulated adult pig pancreatic islets in vivo and in vitro

Objective To observe and compare the functions of two types of microencapsulated adult pig pancreatic islets in vivo and in vitro.Methods Adult pig pancreatic islets were encapsulated with agarose or alginate,cultured at 37℃ in a humidified atmosphere of air and 5%CO 2 and then transplanted into diabetic rats.Results (1)There was no significant difference between the two encapsulated groups in vitro.(2)There was significant difference in the mean level of blood glucose on the 7th day after transplantation between two types encapsulated islets groups as compared with the control group and unencapsulated islets group ( P 0.01, P 0.05 respectively).(3) There was significant difference in survival period of diabetic rats between the two encapsulated islets transplantation groups and the other two groups.(4) The survival period of encapsulated islet with alginate transplantation group was longer than that of encapsulated islet with agarose transplantation group.Conclusion Microencapsulated adult pig islets with alginate or agarose may survive in diabetic rats with their biological activity,but the survival period of the encapsulated islets with alginate group was longer than that of the encapsulated islets with agarose group.