Comparative Analysis of the Influence of Extracellular Matrix Biomimetics on the Viability and Insulin-Producing Function of Isolated Pancreatic Islets

Abstract

The creation of a pancreas tissue-engineered construct based on isolated pancreatic islets is hindered by problems associated with maintaining their viability and insulin-producing function. Both biopolymer and tissue-specific scaffolds can contribute to the maintenance of the structure and function of pancreatic islets in vitro and in vivo. A comparative morphofunctional analysis in vitro of isolated pancreatic islets cultured with a biopolymer collagen-containing scaffold and a tissue-specific scaffold obtained as a result of pancreatic decellularization was performed. The results showed that the use of the scaffolds contributes not only to the maintenance of the cultured islets viability, but also to the prolongation of their insulin-producing functions, compared to the islets monoculture in vitro. A significant increase was found in basal and stimulated (under glucose loading) insulin secreted by the islets cultured with the scaffolds. At the same time, the advantage of using a tissue-specific scaffold in comparison with a biopolymer collagen-containing scaffold was shown. We think that these studies will become a platform for creating a human pancreas tissue-engineered design for the treatment of type 1 diabetes.