A Protocol for the In Vitro Culturing of Vascularized Pancreatic Islet Organoids

TL;DR

This paper introduces a method to grow vascularized pancreatic islet organoids in the lab, which could help in studying diabetes and developing treatments.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel protocol for culturing vascularized pancreatic islet organoids using HUVECs and Matrigel.

Findings

Vascularized HUVEC prolongs the survival of pancreatic islet organoids in vitro.

The interaction between vascularized HUVEC and pancreatic islets enhances insulin secretion in response to glucose.

Matrix adhesive materials facilitate the self-assembly of vascularized organoid complexes.

Abstract

This study presents a protocol for co-culturing pancreatic islet cell clusters derived from pancreatic tissue with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) on Matrigel using a specialized culture medium to form vascularized pancreatic islet organoids. We established a novel culture system for vascularized pancreatic islet organoids and compared the survival and insulin secretion capabilities of pancreatic islet cells in the presence and absence of glucose stimulation. Our results indicate that matrix adhesive materials can effectively facilitate the self-assembly of the vascularized endothelial cell–pancreatic islet organoids complex. Vascularized HUVEC prolongs the survival of pancreatic islet organoids in vitro. Moreover, the interaction between vascularized HUVEC and pancreatic islets significantly enhances the insulin secretion ability in response to glucose stimulation. This study reports a protocol for the long-term in vitro culture of pancreatic islet organoids, offering methods for the vascularization of pancreatic islet organoids on Matrigel. These data contribute to the understanding of how vascularization impacts the fate and function of pancreatic islet organoids, although the specific mechanism still requires further clarification.

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