Figure 5. Survival and function of encapsulated rat islets in vitro.

Viability was assessed over 30 days in(green) and propidium iodide (red). Encapsulated islets remained viable over 30 days of culture. Scale bar 200 µm (A). The function of the encapsulated islets was tested in vitro 30 days post encapsulation by glucose stimulated insulin secretion test. Islets were incubated in medium with 2.8 mM glucose, 16.8 mM glucose and 16.8 mM glucose supplemented with theophylline. The stimulation index was respectively 2 (glucose-stimulated) and 5 (theophylline-stimulated). The mean and SEM are shown of one representative experiment out of three (B).