Figure 4.

Representative growth in size of the islets in islet/mesenchymal cell cultures of duct ligated pancreata. Islets were grown for 28 days with or without MSCs. A and D: Islets at day 0 of culture with or without MSCs. B and E: Islets cultured for 15 days with or without MSCs. C and F: Islets cultured for 28 with or without MSCs. The surfaces of the islets after dithizone staining were marked and measured and areas of all islets were added up. G: Quantification of the total size of the islets before, after 15 and 28 days in culture in the absence or presence of MSCs. Thirty (30) to 40 islets were analysed in each condition. Data of mean values in µm²±SE are shown in the graph. **P<0.05