ILHOTAS DE LANGERHANS

The insulin-producing cells are also known as Islets of Langerhans. An islet is a cluster of cells in the shape of a microscopic “sphere”. They are distributed throughout the pancreas, an organ located behind the stomach. The islets were first studied and described by Paul Langerhans in1869, hence the name Islets of Langerhans.

An adult pancreas contains 700,000 to 1.2 million islets, representing 2 to 3% of the organ´s total mass.

Among the types of cells which compose an islet are the alpha, beta and delta cells. Beta cells produce and release insulin; alpha cells produce and release a hormone called glucagon (responsible for increasing blood glucose levels); delta cells produce somatostatin, a hormone believed to be responsible for controlling the amount of insulin and glucagon produced. This delicate and complex group of cells controls blood sugar levels. Any change in this system may cause the onset of diabetes.

THE ISLET ISOLATION PROCESS

Isolation starts with the preparation of the donated pancreas.

An enzyme (digestive) solution is injected in the pancreas via a perfusion apparatus.

The pancreas with the enzyme solution is then placed in a stirring chamber to break the tissue down into smaller pieces. The enzyme solution circulates in the chamber several times, slowly dissolving the tissue.

The pancreatic tissue is filtered, resulting in non-purified tissue.

This tissue is washed several times, collected and purified by means of a density gradient device. The resulting purified tissue will be used in the transplant.

This procedure takes from 6 to 10 hours.