Functional Analysis of Human Islets of Langerhans Maintained in Culture

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Islets of Langerhans isolated from experimental animals, such as mice and rats, have contributed much to our understanding of the mechanisms by which pancreatic β-cells secrete insulin in a regulated manner, and this knowledge is important in identifying potential novel therapies for Type 2 diabetes. However, although many of the signal transduction pathways identified in rodent islets are common to humans, some critical differences have been demonstrated experimentally. It is, therefore, essential that experiments are performed using islets isolated from human pancreas to provide robust data defining whether the key observations made in rodents are also applicable to the human situation. The rate-limiting factor in this area of research is the supply of high-quality human islets isolated from pancreases retrieved from organ donors, and the protocols described in this chapter aim to provide methods of maximising information that can be obtained when human islets are maintained in culture.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationHuman Cell Culture Protocols
EditorsRagai R. Mitry, Robin D. Hughes
Pages55-71
Number of pages17
Volume806
ISBN (Electronic) 9781617793677
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 7 Oct 2011

Publication series

NameMethods in Molecular Biology
PublisherSpringer
ISSN (Print)1064-3745

Keywords

  • Cell Survival
  • Gene Knockdown Techniques
  • Humans
  • Islets of Langerhans
  • RNA, Small Interfering
  • Tissue Culture Techniques

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Functional Analysis of Human Islets of Langerhans Maintained in Culture'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this