Intact Islets
Intact Islets - Related Videos
09:41
Confocal Imaging of Neuropeptide Y-pHluorin: A Technique to Visualize Insulin Granule Exocytosis in Intact Murine and Human Islets
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Cited by 12 •
2017
We describe a protocol for visualization of insulin exocytosis in intact islets using pHluorin, a pH-sensitive green fluorescent protein. Isolated islets are infected with adenovirus encoding pHluorin coupled to the vesicle cargo neuropeptide Y. This allows for the detection of insulin granule fusion events by confocal microscopy.
09:31
Sustained Administration of β-cell Mitogens to Intact Mouse Islets Ex Vivo Using Biodegradable Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) Microspheres
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Cited by 2 •
2016
Here, we present methodology to generate and administer compound of interest-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microspheres to intact mouse islets in culture with subsequent immunofluorescence analysis of β-cell proliferation. This method is suitable for determining the efficacy of candidate β-cell mitogens.
07:04
Effective Isolation of Functional Islets from Neonatal Mouse Pancreas
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Cited by 19 •
2017
We describe a protocol herein for isolating intact islets from neonatal mice. Pancreata were partially digested with collagenase, followed by washing and hand picking. 20 - 80 islet clusters can be obtained per pancreas from newly born mice, which are suitable for several islet studies.
07:21
Pancreatic Islets Isolation through Collagenase Perfusion: An Enzymatic Method to Isolate Pancreatic Islet Cells
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2023
Pancreatic islets, also called the Islets of Langerhans, are a cluster of endocrine cells which produces hormones for glucose regulation and other important biological functions. This protocol explains a method for isolating pancreatic islets by first perfusing collagenase via Ampulla of Vater to digest the exocrine pancreatic tissue and a simplified density gradient centrifugation to purify the islets from mice.
03:33
Grafting Pancreatic Islets: A Method to Implant Pancreatic Islets into the Anterior Chamber of the Mouse Eye for In Vivo Imaging
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2023
This video describes the protocol for grafting human pancreatic islets into the anterior chamber of the mouse’s eye to monitor revascularization of human islet grafts in vivo. It also helps to understand the contribution of recipient versus donor cells in promoting the encapsulation and vascularization of the graft.
FAQs
Maintaining the native three-dimensional arrangement preserves the spatial context in which endocrine cells communicate and respond to local signals. This organization supports assessment of glucose-stimulated beta-cell activity and regulated insulin secretion under physiologically relevant conditions. As a result, researchers can evaluate endocrine function in a model that more closely reflects coordinated islet behavior than a system lacking native structure.
Beta cells respond to glucose and produce regulated insulin secretion, but their activity occurs within a multicellular environment that includes alpha and other islet cells. Communication among these populations contributes to local signaling and coordinated endocrine function. Studying Intact Islets therefore allows researchers to examine beta-cell behavior together with interactions that may be lost when cellular organization is not maintained.
The major advantage is preservation of native cellular organization, which maintains cell-cell communication and local signaling. Models that do not retain this organization may provide less physiologically relevant functional information. By keeping the islet structure intact, researchers can make functional assessments in a context that better supports interpretation of coordinated endocrine activity and regulated insulin secretion.
Intact Islets provide physiologically relevant models for studying diabetes and evaluating drugs. Their preserved organization enables researchers to examine glucose-responsive endocrine function while retaining interactions among beta, alpha, and other islet cells. This combination helps connect drug or disease-related observations with coordinated islet behavior, supporting more informative assessment than approaches focused only on isolated cellular responses.
In bioengineering, Intact Islets can be used when designing and assessing encapsulation systems and biomaterials intended to support endocrine function. Their native organization provides a relevant biological system for considering how an engineered environment may accommodate coordinated cellular activity. This application links material and device development with the preservation of functional islet structure rather than structure-independent cell performance.
Intact Islets support the development of tissue-engineered grafts and transplantation strategies aimed at maintaining long-term endocrine activity. Because their architecture and cellular interactions remain preserved, they provide a biologically relevant basis for evaluating approaches that protect or support coordinated function. This context is important when bioengineers seek graft designs that sustain regulated endocrine performance after transplantation.