X-Message-Number: 15358
Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 10:08:43 -0800 (PST)
From: Doug Skrecky <>
Subject: PEG is superior to DMSO for islet cryopreservation

Title
  Use of polyethyleneglycol for porcine islet
  cryopreservation.
Source
  Cell Transplantation.  6(6):613-21, 1997 Nov-Dec.
Abstract
  The aim of this work was to determine whether polyethylene glycol 20000 Da
  (PEG) could be used as protective agent in porcine islet
  cryopreservation. Cryopreservation was
  performed on 1-wk cultured pig islets and consisted in an overnight storage
  in liquid nitrogen. In a first set of experiments, we compared the in vitro
  function of PEG-cryopreserved islets to that of porcine islets cryopreserved
  under the standard procedure using dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), by incubating
  the islets over 45 min in Krebs buffer containing either 2.8 or 10 mmol/L
  glucose. Insulin secretion of both types of islets reached a
  maximum at day 10 postthawing and had stimulation indices above 2 up to 3 wk
  after thawing. PEG-cryopreserved islets secreted more insulin than
  DMSO-treated islets and showed glucose-dependency insulin
  secretion in a 0-16.6 mmol/L glucose range. We also
  established that PEG-cryopreserved islets were as functional in vitro as
  nonfrozen tissue and that they could reverse experimental diabetes of the
  mouse for longer periods of time than noncryopreserved islets (p < 0.005 3 wk
  after transplantation) when implanted in the peritoneal cavity, being
  immunoprotected in a semipermeable hollow fiber. PEG can, therefore, be
  considered as a suitable cryoprotective compound for porcine islet storage.

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