Porcine islet isolation: prospective comparison of automated and manual methods of pancreatic collagenase digestion.

Abstract

A prospective study was undertaken to compare an automated method of porcine pancreatic digestion with a simpler manual procedure. These techniques have not previously been compared directly. After intraductal distension with collagenase, seven porcine pancreata were divided longitudinally; half of each was digested by the automated method and half by the manual technique. Islet yield and purity were measured. Compared with the manual technique, the automated method isolated a significantly greater total volume of islet tissue (median (range) 3.56 (1.39-5.30) versus 1.07 (0.46-1.92) mm3/g, P = 0.022), increased the median (range) number of 105-microns islet equivalents isolated (5875 (2294-8746) versus 1766 (759-3168) per g, P = 0.022) and improved the islet cleavage index (median (range) 92 (89-99) versus 82 (78-92) per cent, P = 0.035). It is concluded that, although the automated method is more complicated to set up, it greatly improves the yield of intact islets from the porcine pancreas.