Fig. 3.

Function of intact cryopreserved human islets in vitro. (a, b) Insulin secretion measured by perifusion in response to 28 mmol/l glucose (high glucose) from islets following isolation (a) and then from the same preparations after thawing approximately 20 years later (b). (c, d) Static insulin secretory responses of long-term cryopreserved islets to 16.7 mmol/l glucose alone (c) or with 20 mmol/l KCl (d). (e, f) The secretory responses to KCl and glucose were positively correlated (e), but secretory competence did not correlate with the duration of cryopreservation (f). (g) Transcriptome analysis demonstrated a high degree of correlation of transcript expression between cryopreserved and freshly isolated islets (Spearman’s ρ = 0.94). The expression level of several beta cell function genes is indicated. FPKM, fragments per kilobase of exon per million fragments mapped; SI, stimulation index